Philippians 2:1-2 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (ESV)
Our team leader and his wife, who had arrived in the Philippines just one year before us, were kind enough to set up a home for us. After traveling for a whole month around the island leading a short-term singing and drama team, Jim and I looked forward to getting settled into our temporary new home. There was another missionary couple who would be living with us, who had just arrived as well. Until one of us could figure out another place to live, we would both use the same house.
The home was furnished, very big and spacious; However, it didn’t have any air condition or much ventilation, causing it to be very warm to live in. In due time, Jim and I learned to acclimate to the heat of the Filipino weather rather quickly because of it. Even to this day we get cold easily.
The other couple lived on one side of the house and we lived on the other, but we both shared the kitchen, which proved to be interesting!
What we had in common: We both were newlyweds. Jim and I had been married for a year and a half and they had been married less than a year. We all graduated from the same university and were recruited by our team leader couple. However, we didn’t know each other well until the last six months before coming to the Philippines. We were all about the same age and we both were new career missionaries.
What some of our differences were: They came from a Christian home background. Jim and I came from a religious, but not necessarily Christian, family background.They loved to eat beef and we delighted in fish. I had not had much experience setting up a home and they seemed to be good at it. Cooking was another story! I was intimidated by it all. They may have too, but they didn’t show it. Before I came I only knew how to cook things that were instant and she knew how to cook from scratch. Nothing in the Philippines, at the time, was done instantly.
A month after we moved into our home the other couple was kind enough to find another place and moved out. Having two newlyweds, who just met, living together, especially in another culture for the first time, just isn’t the wisest choice. We needed our space!
I am an extrovert, processing outward and the other wife processed inward. So the more I processed outward due to insecurity, the more she went in. The more she went in, the more I went out. Jim is often the same way when going through transitions, processes inward before speaking his thoughts, so they must have thought I talked way too much! I know what I was thinking, “Does anyone feel like I do?” Because I sure wasn’t hearing it!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (ESV)
P.S. Today this couple is like an uncle and aunt to our kids and we are still good friends. We learned and grew through our differences, our life situations and our commitment to one another. We are thankful for team-mates who loved us through the good and the bad.
Personal Reflections: What are some of your early experiences in a new place or what strange experiences are you going through now? How about with teammates? What is God teaching you through the process? Can we pray for you? What is one of your stories, please let us know in the comments section of the blog “First Home”
From one pilgrim to another, journeying together.
”Consider how you may spur one another on towards love and good deeds… encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)
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