culture shock and more

I returned from Ecuador one week ago today. After spending a little over 6 weeks in a foreign country, using a foreign language, surrounded with brand new people, I have come back to the land of the familiar. The land where things move faster and people are out to fulfill their own agendas. In our debriefing, one of the missionaries told us that we would experience a little bit of culture shock upon reentering the country where we have spent a large majority of our lives. I expected this, but I didn't realize how it would affect me until I actually got here and experienced it.

A few days after returning, I walked through the Wal-Mart parking lot and said hello to a stranger who only stared blankly back at me. This was the first time that I realized how truly different the people are from the ones that I have spent my summer working with. Ecuador (and most other Latin American countries, I would assume) is the land of "buenos dias" (good morning), "buenas tardes" (good afternoon), and "buenas noches" (good night). It is considered rude not to speak when passing strangers on the street. I realize how simple this is, but it makes me wonder what kind of witness we are giving to people day-to-day. When someone says hello to us in a parking lot, do we automatically assume that they have other motives? Sure, they may not be a nice, genuine person... But do they not deserve courtesy? Do they not deserve to be treated as Christ loves them? I have news for you... He does. Is the way that we even simply greet people reflecting the message that Christ died for them?

Do we live our lives as if we have something life-changing and bigger than anything we could find on this Earth? Do we live with what Jesus did on the cross before our eyes and at the forefront of our minds? I have a feeling that if we did, we would be more sensitive to the emotional, physical, spiritual needs of the community around us and to the nations.