Our favorite game

Our pastor preached today all about these things.
-The church is God's plan for local outreach (and therefore global)
-Life is a short term missions trip

This is something that my friend Lori and I have been going back and forth about since we were teenagers. This is something that comes up in every conversation I have with my friend Jen.

(btw you two, you may tell me to shut up if you are unable to have this conversation
ONE MORE TIME with me)

This is something I think is very easy to get wrong. This is why you never tell a missionary "you could never do what they do", because they would say the same thing to you. We are all supposed to be doing this all the time, and it's always hard. Right? Note: there is no way I have that down. And I'd much rather be "over there" than "here", but I must keep reminding myself that it is actually the same. With clean water.

It's the same when one more patient needs a "favor" because of their own neglect and you want to scream. When the church seems too self-serving and it disappoints you. When you are so stupidly bored and live in the boonies and want to go back to where your life had meaning. And you realize you better find a way to make being nice to that patient, joining your church, and washing the floor have some meaning.

It's like Rob Thomas said, "these small hours, these twists and turns of fate... still remain."

In honor of this concept, we shall play a game called...
Is it the 3rd world...
...or Tennessee?

- You drive by wild turkeys, turtles, farm cows, vultures, deer, dogs, but no other cars to get to the main road.
.... It's Tennessee!!! (if it were the 3rd world, you'd probably drive by more animals. and some naked people)

- Your power comes and goes more than once in the morning this week. There's a generator, but it's not being used. This lack of electricity makes you late for work.
... It's Tennessee!!! In the 3rd world, the generator would actually be hooked up, but no one would get why the Americans are so addicted to electricity and can't get out the door without it.

- Someone is driving up the wrong side of the road.
... It's Tennessee!!! In the 3rd world, there's only a wrong side of the road if there's traffic.

- You dry and straighten your hair to make it look nice, only to walk out the door and have it frizz in an instant.
... It's Tennessee! In the 3rd world, it's hot enough that my hair curls and there isn't a chance of stopping it.

- People claim to be speaking the same language you do, only when they talk, you have NO CLUE what they are saying.
... It's Tennessee! I've met people in the 3rd world who spoke English as their 9th language better than some the people around here.

- It's tough to find the diet soda you like. And forgot about it ever being on sale.
...It's Tennessee! We love our obesity down here. And in the 3rd world, there's always Diet Coke. And it's never THAT expensive.

I'll probably think of more of these and we can play this game again. It's fun. Until then, make your life your own missions trip.