Quick thoughts on re-entry

Wow. I can't believe we've been back in the U.S. for almost three weeks. It's been a wonderful whirlwind of visiting family, re-figuring out the Green Hills/Hillsboro/Belmont area of Nashville, worshiping with our hosts at Woodmont Baptist Church, and, well, eating. I haven't had much time to think about my "transition series," but here's a quick list of things that have been pleasurably present and noticeably absent, in no particular order:

What we've been really glad to see...

1. First and foremost, our families. It's been a real joy to be with parents, brother, sister, and nieces and nephews; and church friends.
2. Tennessee hills and cotton fields.
3. Swimming pools where you don't have to wear a speedo to get in.
4. A dollar's a dollar -- no figuring out the horrible exchange rate.
5. Pre-season college football coverage and NASCAR.
6. Dairy Queen. They have this "Chocolate Extreme" blizzard that's out of this world.

What has been noticeably absent...

1. Sidewalks. Nobody walks anywhere.
2. The vegetable guy -- though I was happy to find a farmer's market nearby. And you knew I'd say cheese.
3. Public transportation.
4. Our French church -- we've missed them much more than we expected to.
5. Pollution -- thank goodness.

I'm sure there is much more that I can add to this list, and I will as time passes.

What I'll Miss, Part 1

During all these changes in the Walters family life, I want to write a few posts about what I'll miss in France, what I'm taking with me, and what I will not miss. I'm going to save the not miss part for later so I can try to avoid sounding like I'm complaining, mad, culture-shocked, or some combination of all.

First, a couple of things I'll miss. Those who know me know that there will usually be food involved, so I'll get that out of the way by saying I'll miss fromage au lait cru. That's cheese made from raw (not pasteurized) milk. We don't have that in the U.S. because of goofy laws, to use technical language. I could also say that I will really miss foie gras, but that might raise the ire of too many animal rights activists and former James Bonds.

Food issues behind me now, I've got to say that one thing I'll miss here in France is the bisou -- the kiss on each cheek that is the standard greeting among friends. Whether it's in our Bible study, at church, or with people in town, I love the way our friends stop what they're doing to greet one another with this wonderfully intimate gesture.

Sure -- it's not easy for this American guy to get the hang of the bisou. Even after four years, I often find myself coming perilously close to a nose collision because I forget which side to start on. Some of my friends swear that in one part of France you start with the left cheek, but in other parts it's the right. Some regions kiss three times, some four. That may be true in their black-and-white culture worlds, but in mine it seems that it's never that simple. It's also hard to know when to go from hand-shaking to cheek-kissing. My greetings sometimes turn into a Michael Jackson-esque dance, with hands going back and forth and heads bobbing like strutting roosters. Now, I just go for the kiss.

For most of our time here, I've said that I would take the French bisou back to the U.S. with me. I think it's a wonderful greeting, especially among brothers and sisters in Christ. At least five letters from the New Testament admonish us to "greet one another with a holy kiss." And it's not just the act of kissing each cheek, there is also the fact that my French friends will stop everything to greet one another. Relationships are important.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well the bisou will make the trip back across the Atlantic. Kissing each other just doesn't translate. But who knows, I may try it anyway.

Going home...

A colleague of ours (that would be Brandon) asked today if I would be blogging on our transition back to the US for our stateside assignment. We arrive in Nashville on July 6. His question got me thinking. It's not a bad idea. What are the things that will be hard? What will I miss? What will I NOT miss? What are the spiritual implications of such a move?

I guess the most obvious thing that we are praying about during this next month is actually the same thing we were praying hard about four years ago: our kids. We begged the Father to watch over our kids and give them ease with the language and good teachers and dear friends and fun activities. We prayed for good health and happy days.

And He answered.

Now, we're praying for our kids leaving their good teachers and good friends, their fun activities and the life they've become accustomed to. Rachel has sweet girls that she is very close to and she loves her school. Jeffrey was sad yesterday as he went to his last fencing practice. Daniel doesn't really understand that he won't be seeing Marie or Vincent or Marine next year. He loves his teacher and his school. For all its difficulties, this is life as my children know it.

Next month means wonderful reunions with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends from church. It will be great. But everyone's different now. It's four years later.

Next month means a new school with new teachers and a really different system. It means staying at school all day with no two hour lunch break and going to school on Wednesday.

Next month means American football and baseball and TV. Next month means Sunday School and youth group and GAs and RAs and choir. It also means church several days a week.

Next month means big changes. If anything is weighing on our hearts and prayer lives right now, that's it.

Thanks for listening.