Mari Isaacson

There are so many things we take for granted. Isn’t that true?!?!?!

Would you believe that I have been experiencing a lot of culture shock since returning back to the states. Yes, the US is my home country, but I have been living ‘abroad’ (Canada & Europe) for almost 25 years!! Therefore, I thought you might be interested in some of the “cultural differences” I have been confronted with in the last 3 months. Some of it is quite amusing.

- different Holidays

- coffee!!!! I miss my european coffee!!

- church services (size, how the service is done, who gives the sermon, music, those involved in the service, special music, choir…)

- Traffic!!! (Traffic signs, traffic light functions, traffic rules,… I must say here, Americans are much more polite in traffic!!!)

- LANGUAGE!!!

- Food!

- Cars!! (size! stick vs. automatics!)

- gassing up the car! (my first time gassing up here in the US I didn’t know what to do!!! No joke, I stood there for 5 minutes before a voice from nowhere about scared me out of my wits… that voice then went to apologize for scaring me… I was rather embarrassed… the voice by the way was from an intercom. The lady in the store could see what I was doing.)

- prices!!!

- buildings

- greetings or lack thereof… in Austria we greet each other on the streets, when we enter a shop or business…

- locks on the doors… you lock in the opposite direction!

- clothing sizes, shoe sizes…

- store and mall sizes

- worth of the $

- power wattage

- plugs and sockets

- toilet paper and kleenexes…would you believe it, when I first moved to Austria, the toilet paper was like sandpaper, now it is even nicer and thicker than the tp here!!! Family and friends used to send me tp…. now perhaps I should get some of my austrian friends to send me some… what do you think!?!?!?

- Health food stores

- Postage

- How dates are written

- How time is kept (normal or military… in Europe its always military)

- Bedding!

- Europeans do MUCH more walking

- whether cats are indoor or outdoor cats

- cleaning your teeth in public… Austrians always hide their mouth while doing it!

- Table manners (how to use your utensils, what to do with your hands – for example, Austrians hold the knife in the right and the fork in the left. When the knife is not being used to cut the food, it is used to push the food onto the fork. There is no ‘hands in the lap bid’.

- attitude towards nudity. I won’t even begin to explain that one, sorry…

- not recognizing places I grew up in due to the many changes

- not knowing where to go to fax something, photocopy something, get passport pictures, find a computer battery….

Well, the list could be longer… give me time!  If I am having such problems with the US being my home country, imagine how it is like for foreigners!

Mission Conferences are pretty special. It has been a very long time since I was able to attend one, let alone be a part of one. I do remember the Mission Conferences we used to have at Prairie Bible Institute. They were awesome. I loved to hear what the missionaries had to share of their lives on the missions field. They were normal people like you and me.  Normal people willing to step out of their comfort zones to do something that was “unnormal”. Don’t worry, I know that isn’t a word but it fits the bill.

Last week I had the awesome privilege of being one of those normal people doing something “unnormal”! I was a missionary in Austria for the last 19 years. Believe me, I was totally out of my comfort zone… learning a new language I was still learning as I left, eating totally different foods (which I definitely won’t complain about… it was great food! Now I have to adjust to totally different food again being back in the states!), having to deal with a different mentality, different landscape (I did have the mountains, but totally missed the Ocean. Kaernten has tons of beautiful lakes, but nothing that compares to the vast ocean with its smells and surprises!). Clothing was somewhat different, even if you find that hard to believe. Ha, the Austrians could always spot the Americans right off without an American even saying a word… the clothing gave it away, especially the white tennis shoes. Oh man, we won’t even begin to mention the politics in everything, religious traditions that were such a way of life, the medical side of life and so much more. Ha, I am experiencing so much culture shock just being back!

Nonetheless, it was a joy and a privilege to be one of the “missionaries” at the Mission Conference at First Baptist Church in Moses Lake, Washington. On the first Sunday I sang a medley I put together… Jesus Loves Me and Does Anybody Love The Children. The latter song I had learned from some friend at PBI. I hadn’t heard the song before attending there nor since leaving. I wasn’t even sure it was a published song. Still that song had never really left me. Perhaps it inspired me to write the poem, Who Cares. Perhaps. Anyway, I really wanted to sing that song. Amazingly, Laura, the pastors wife found the words for me. That was a gift in itself. Now I have the words as I do hope to sing the song again while on furlough… in fact, every chance I get. I like it as a medley with Jesus Loves Me. God used those songs to speak to peoples hearts. Amen!

On Wednesday I spoke to the adults in the evening service. Would you believe it, I didn’t even stumble around with my words like I often do due to forgetting how to say certain things in English. I still stumble, but not that night. The Lord was good. Then on Friday I had a great time with the children. There weren’t a lot of children there, but the ones that were, were a real joy to be with. It was great.

Again I was awed and inspired by other missionaries there who shared their experiences and lives. I just hope and pray that I too can be such a blessing to those who come to hear me speak. We are just normal people living “unnormal” lives. But I am more than sure that we are not the only ones who experience the awesomeness of God in our every day lives. We are all missionaries in a sense. At least we should be! What do I tell the children?… if you are sharing your faith with someone else, then you too are being a missionary. Are you a missionary?