back in the springs

I'm back in colorado springs and just made my first grocery shopping trip.  It was fairly uneventful as SafeWay is pretty empty on weekday mornings.  Although I did see this treasure in the parking lot:

It's kind of strange being back in the states where everything is clean, understandable, and extremely fast paced.  I'm still processing everything I learned and experienced in Gabon, but I can say this; 8 things I learned in Gabon:

1. You don't drive on the right or left side, you drive where ever the potholes aren't.
2. Chairs and couches aren't usually as comfortable as they look.
3. Driving anywhere in Libreville takes 45 minutes.
4. Every fruit is better in Gabon.
5. Sometimes when you are on the internet it's really just Yahoo and Skype that work.
6. It's impossible to enjoy God too much.
7. It's sunny in the rainy season and always overcast in the dry season.
8. Just because God takes you to a whole new country, culture, and climate, doesn't mean he's going to teach you something brand new.  Chances are he's going to help you understand what you've been trying to learn by seeing and experiencing it in a whole new way.

I want my life post-Gabon to be different.  I want to see with new eyes, to apply all of the things I've learned.  But I know things don't just happen overnight.  And that growing is a process.  But I know there are two things that God is calling is calling me to and taught me while I was in Gabon:

1. He wants me to be relational, because at his core, God is relational.
2. He wants me to enjoy him more.  He is faithful and good and loves me.  He wants me to enjoy and rejoice in this.

I have memories from this trip that I will treasure forever.  And I picked up a couple things that will reminded me of a God who is at work in the people of Gabon, who is a beautiful artist, and who calls me his daughter.