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Monday, October 26, 2015

6 Days Left - Lessons I've Learned as an Expat

Mackinac Island, MI
Shopping at Costco here in Taipei is like nothing I've experienced before.  Think Black Friday craziness every single day.  The doors open at 9 and the cash registers open at 10.  There is a line of cars in the street waiting to get into the parking ramp.  A line snakes out the door of people waiting to get in.  Once in the store, you get in a long, single file line and with your cart  you ride up the bumper to bumper filled escalator belt to the second floor.  From there it's just chaos trying to get down an aisle.  I've heard it said that this is the third busiest Costco in the world.  I would believe it.  I break out in a sweat just thinking of making a trip to this store.  But if I want cheese, and you know I do, I have to put on my big girl panties and deal with it.  

Saturday morning, I was in Costco looking over the freezers.  I've realized that I like to freeze everything and the little freezer above the fridge is impossibly small--especially when I'm shopping at Costco.  There was another woman there looking at the freezers too.  We began chatting.  She's been looking at them for awhile now, so she was able to give me a lot of good information.  Of course the inevitable questions began:  "Where are you from?  Why are you here?  How long have you been here?"  Then out of the blue, she asked me if I had heard of BSF before.  I was completely surprised.  In a country where less than 3% of the people are Christian, how would she know to ask me if I had heard of Bible Study Fellowship before?  As it turns out, we go to the same Bible study.  Looking back, she probably recognized me and was trying to put a finger on where she had seen my face.  Being one of three white faces amongst some 200 women, I guess I stick out a bit.  

It was like God was telling me "You are part of a big family."  I've learned that, it doesn't matter where I am in the world, I am part of a bigger family.  I am not alone.  

You are not alone either.  God gave you brothers and sisters all over the world.  Sometimes it takes a little or maybe even a lot of hunting, but you are not alone.

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