This past summer, we went to the U.S. for the first time since we moved to Uganda in January 2016. It was a wonderful experience seeing family and friends. We were blessed by our time with our partnering churches, and we couldn’t ask for a more supportive group of people who surround us. 

An interesting thing is that we also had the reality that life in the U.S. is so different than what we’ve been used to the last 1-1/2 years. Simple things like being able to drink tap water, automatic toilets/sinks/hand dryers, seemingly endless food options, paying for everything with credit cards, constant busyness moving from one thing to the next. It was overwhelming at times, yet there was also the comfort of familiarity. We knew how to get around, we knew what stores to go to, we knew where we wanted to eat, and we knew the social norms. 

We hadn’t really thought about it, but there’s been a level of discomfort we’ve been living in, not just in the lack of conveniences, but being foreigners: not knowing the language, standing out everywhere we go, and being different in so many ways. We didn’t realize how much we have adjusted and are feeling “normal” in the discomfort until we went back to the U.S. 

Adalyn says “we were born in the U.S., we used to live in the U.S. but now Uganda is our home.” The U.S. is familiar but we were just visiting. Life has gone on without us and will continue to move on without us. It’s a weird feeling of familiar, yet not our home. Ironically, we’ve made our home in the unfamiliar, and while it’s uncomfortable sometimes, it’s where God has called us to be.