Checkin' In

It's no secret that my time in this country is quickly coming to an end. I have felt it coming since I got back from vacation and it's not a pleasant feeling. It tears and gnaws at me. At the same time it is pulling me towards what is to come and grounding me in what is here and now.

There is a lot (A LOT) of work to do here. I have a lot of friends that I have grown to love. I still don't understand the majority of the language. The church still needs a decent guitar player. The Barber still needs someone to play backgammon with. I have a few more Turkish Bibles to give away. The guys still need a small forward on the "national team." Somebody's got to teach English to all these business men. And who is the Big O going to go fishing with when I'm gone?

But at the same time, I want to be ready for America. I need a job. If any of you reading in the Jackson, MS area know of anything, please let me know. I'll need a place to stay. I'm going to need a car. I've got connections already, but I'll be trying to find and fit into a new church, a new set of friends, a new community. I'm jumping right into some of the best fishing of the year and I'll just have a few short months to get a game plan ready for duck season.

I dream of Chick-fil-a and Rush's chili-cheeseburgers. I dread the day I have to walk away from Yaprak Doner and Adana Kebap. The idea of getting 64 ounces of Dr. Pepper with as much ice as I want at ANY gas station makes me giddy. Not being able to find a lukewarm glass of frothy ayran makes me a little sad. Being able to talk about deep, personal, and spiritual issues at ease with people I understand is something I long for. Doing the same thing when it's difficult, confusing, and sometimes impossible is something I live for.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I see my departure on the horizon and at the same time I'm excited about it and dreading it. I've had a little while to get over my post-vacation moops and I am ready for the spring. Things are about to get back to normal, hopefully (whatever normal is). We should start playing ultimate again this week. We've found another group of guys to play basketball with. We've got our first coffee house coming up soon. It's about to be a lot of fun again.

Some people tell me that it's easy to check out the last few months that you're in country. You see the great shining glory of the western world and it mesmerizes you. I see it. It's tempting me. But I don't want to miss "this." Brothers, sisters, friends, experiences, sights, sounds, and tastes that I won't have there. I don't want to check out. I'm just checking in.