How was your Thanksgiving break?  Mine was one of the most peaceful in recent years.  No, I did not just eat and sleep all day.  In fact, I was quite busy hosting a huge Thanksgiving family get-together at my house.   Incidentally, the highlight of the Thanksgiving break for me was the success of my first-ever cooked turkey!  Thanks to the step-by-step online instructions, my turkey and all its trimmings turned out quite fabulously.   With the laptop right on the kitchen counter, it was like having a private cooking instructor right alongside me.  As wonderful as these online cooking assistances are, however, it no longer affords us an excuse not to be able to cook something.  At this rate, sooner or later, our husbands may demand we turn out Martha Stewart-ish dishes! 
The reason I felt peaceful and well-rested, I believe, has to do with how I spent the days following Thanksgiving – to be more specific, how I did not get lured into the Black Friday or Cyber Monday bargain hunting insanity.  Yes, I do confess I too have “been there and done that” in the past, but this year I had NO desire whatsoever to be a part of it.  Did I finally become completely sanctified, become like Jesus, with no worldly desires?  Did I get too old and weak to engage in this physically and mentally challenging endeavor?  Or was it because I now have everything I ever needed or wanted?  We all know that’s not the case.
Then why was it different this year?  How was I able to overcome the fierce enticement of amazing Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals?  I came up with three reasons, and I hope to apply these principles not only during the Thanksgiving holidays, but throughout the year from now on.  First, my mind was preoccupied with successfully hosting my first ever Thanksgiving party, which was going to be my way of expressing appreciation for each family member, who has so richly blessed my life.  With that “loftier” goal in mind, my selfish desire and need became less significant.  Secondly, as soon as all the sales ads were delivered home, they were dumped straight into the recycling bin.  Eve was tempted and subsequently sinned because she allowed her eyes to keep gazing at the forbidden fruit.  I knew better not to have them around to stimulate and overwhelm “the cravings of my sinful heart and the lust of my eyes.”  Thirdly, and most importantly, I had no desire to add even one more item to the ton of “stuff” we’ve accumulated over the years.  Most of these were probably things that  we ‘had to have’ at the time, but in this new season of our lives  as we prepare to go out as long-term missionaries, we wish we didn’t have as much stuff to have to get rid of. 
It’s not that we’ve lived a life of excessive luxury or indulgence (ask my children; they’ll vouch for it), but we surely could have done without a whole lot of things.  Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34).  I cannot help but think, “What if all this stuff distracted us from solely looking to Jesus for true satisfaction?  How much more fruit would we have been able to bear if we had invested more into the lives of other people?”  But thank God that He is the God of second chances!  As Elder Frank and I follow the Holy Spirit’s lead into the next phase of our lives, we pray we will no longer be weighed down by the things of the world, but passionately pursue after God’s heart.  We desire to “travel light, dwell deep” for the remainder of our lives.

From Pastor Sara’s Heart
December 2, 2012

“Re-entry Shock” is a term to explain the culture shock when missionaries come back home after many years in the mission field. We too definitely are going through it. Since we left home, Samar Island, on November 1st, we have been living out of suitcases for 10 days in Seoul, Korea, 10 days in LA, California, now in Columbia, Maryland. Thus my body and heart are trying so hard to adjust to each time zone, weather and culture. Though my previous experiences tell me eventually my body will get used to whatever changes it faces, the issues of my heart are a totally different matter.
This past Thanksgiving was the first holiday get-together in nearly six years.  That evening when all the food was spread out, I was literally shocked by the amount of food we had on the table.  Automatically my mind was racing to Samar and the gathering we just had a month ago.  For the 20th anniversary celebration of the SICAP Ministry, we had to feed close to 90-100 people for almost a whole week. Beginning with Sunday dinner to Saturday breakfast, seventeen meals altogether we spent $2,000 which also included two whole roasted pigs. Does it mean that the cost of food is much cheaper in Samar?  Actually it is pretty comparable with the food price here except rice.  Then how did we do it?  Tons of rice with one side dish usually in the form of soup or stew which contains meat and vegetables.  However, even that one dish meal is far better than our people usually have at their homes. By contrast, on the Thanksgiving table we had almost ten different kinds of food which were cooked by four different families.
I guess the natural part of the re-entry shock is to compare constantly between where you came from and where you are now.  But I usually don’t verbally express it because a few years ago I learned a lesson.  I kept saying every time we had gathering, “I can’t believe you guys throw these things away (meant disposable plastic utensils).  In Samar we would use these for years.”  Then Sofia got tired of it and said, “Mom, don’t say things like that.  You can make people here very uncomfortable.” Therefore although I won’t say anything, in my mind, I am immediately estimating how many people I can feed with this much food.  How long could these disposable utensils last in Samar ?  I even think about our dogs and cats which can be fed for days with all the fruit peels, bones and leftover food. The difficult part is that we live the re -entry lifestyle back and forth  constantly.  After a couple months of plenty and comfort here, we need to re-enter back to the other life style in Samar again in January.
Hence how do we deal with these often head spinning encounters? Consequently over the years, we have learned to rely on things that remain perpetual like this enduring body of Christ we call our home church and its familiar faces.  Around next March when we move most of our possessions from Samar to Southern California, our lives will again go through topsy-turvy moments.  Nevertheless we will keep on looking upward for our Father and eastward for our Family.

From Missionary Ruth’s Heart
December 2, 2012