No one ever said that missionary transitions were easy. This one has to be about the hardest I can remember. It has been going on for several months now and though I hope to be settled soon, I am not sure if I ever will be again.

In times like these, it is often the little comforts we enjoy the most, which are the hardest to give up. Though I grew up in a country where most women hand wash clothes in a basin, I am not very good at it. For the last 25 years, I have packed the same washing machine to several continents and been very happy to use it! Sure, I can hand wash for a time, but after a few weeks (now going on a few months), I am overwhelmed by the amount of clothes which need to be hand washed each day. Then there are just some items, like heavy blankets which I am not even sure how to wash in a bucket!

What about chairs? Until recently I took having chairs for granted; right now I do not even have one to sit on. Our family is sitting on a floor mat in an empty room eating meals. Since I live with a lower back problem, living at floor level is a physical challenge for me.

The same goes for cars, I am not fond of driving them but I sure like riding in them! After many long, hot dusty weeks of walking miles to the grocery store, to church and the round of offices for every possible rubber stamped document of the utmost importance, I am weary. Just plain tired. My shoes are worn out and I am ready to ride for awhile!

The other night I was thinking on these things while I sipped tea from a glass jar. Did I mention that we also have very minimal dishes and cooking utensils? I will be perfectly honest and say that I bought a particular brand of spaghetti sauce just so I could have the jar to make tea in. Fortunately, the spaghetti sauce was very good and when I saw it again in the store, I bought another jar of it. Now my husband and I both have our own jars for hot tea!

But I digress from my story; I was sipping tea from my spaghetti jar the other night and actually thanking the Lord for the jar. Many things were not going particularly well but I could focus on the jar and thank the Lord for it. Wouldn’t you know it, it was that very same evening we got word that money was available for us to purchase a used car! What wonderful news! I can certainly thank the Lord for the jar and now the hope of a car!

I wish I could say, that I have learned to give thanks in all things, but I haven’t yet. Many people erroneously think that missionaries have the ability to sacrifice everything with ease. Though we learn to adapt and live within a new culture and language, we cannot be totally stripped of our cultural upbringing and expectations. I still attempt to create a familiar environment in a foreign land where I can eat, sleep and experience those basic comforts which are important to me. I believe these enable me to live and serve more effectively those to whom I have come to minister.

Are you in transition today? Is it getting harder for you to relinquish those little comforts? God knows your heart. Thank him for the jar and ask him to give you patience and hope for the rest!