to seek God is the greatest adventure: The Hope to Belong

Update:

We are a little over halfway through our Colombian orientation process and plenty has happened. We have met with many different leaders within the different presbyteries and enjoyed many fruitful conversations over delicious meals. We have attended a conference on climate change and met with a human rights defense attorney to learn more about conflict within Colombia. We stayed with a host family one night and then attended church with them the next morning and we even swung a vacation day in Santa Marta where I swam in the ocean for the first time! It has been a wonderful and often overwhelming first couple of weeks in Colombia. But I think it is easier to tell the stories through pictures, so I hope you will enjoy the ones below!

Encouraging word:

“Most of us use the terms fitting in and belonging interchangeably, and like many of you, I'm really good at fitting in. We know exactly how to hustle for approval and acceptance. We know what to wear, what to talk about, how to make people happy, what not to mention—we know how to chameleon our way through the day.

One of the biggest surprises in this research was learning that fitting in and belonging are not the same thing, and, in fact, fitting in gets in the way of belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn't require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.” –Brené Brown

I have spent the majority of my life fitting in. I know how to make people laugh; I can order at a restaurant without causing a scene. In all honesty, nobody turns their heads when I walk down the street. The desire to fit in here in Colombia is overwhelming. I want to speak the language so I can both understand and communicate with the amazing and inspiring people that I am meeting. I want to wear the right clothes in order that I might not be oppressed by the heat and humidity of Barranquilla. I want to have the courage and knowledge to walk with confidence across the streets so that locals won’t laugh me at as I hesitate too long and then dart across to avoid being hit.

Here in Colombia, I have not yet found a way to fit in. And no matter how intently I listen to the language and attempt to pick up a few words and mash them together to make a point, or how many times I wipe my face of sweat so that others will think I somehow am immune to the heat, the truth is that I will never fit into Colombian culture.

And yet, here I am, in the midst of it all.

And there is hope.

As Brené Brown states in her book The Gifts of Imperfection, life does not become more full or easier simply because we can fit in. In fact, there is a strong distinction to make between fitting in and belonging. As I continually live into Christ and become more of who He made me to be, my hope and prayer is that I will continually feel a sense of belonging within this new community and context.

Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support. Specific prayers for clarity in God’s will and direction and for joy in the unknown.