"Is this real life?"

I wish I could access YouTube so I could link this to the video entitled, "David visits the Dentist." It's this hilarious video a father took of his 6 year old son high on painkillers after a trip to the dentist. Amongst other humorous comments and noises, one of the things David slurrs out is, "Is this real life?" as he looks cross-eyed at the video camera. And I must admit that I identify deeply with this blazed kindergartner.

Is this real life? Am I really a missionary living in the bush of Northern Kenya? Do I really eat a basic diet of rice, bread, and mutton? Do I really deal with 100 degree weather every day and praise the Lord when it hits 90? Am I really learning how to function in a different language? Do I really find it totally normal to walk around town and see half-naked women and warriors wearing fake flowers on their heads and fluorescent pink kikois? At what point did my life change from that of a college student's in Southern California to this?

It seems that I'm part of a trend now-a-days to go live/work abroad straight out of college. I've had lots of friends who have sent themselves off to Europe to work as an au-pair, or off to Asia to teach, or off to South America to do humanitarian work. But, as I've seen so far, these have all been temporary arrangements. 6 months to a year is the common time frame I hear, and it's mine as well. 12 months in Korr, Kenya teaching secondary students at a Christian school for poor Rendille nomads. Temporary contracting work with an incredible benefits package.

And then, when the adventure runs its course, you move on to the next thing.

At least that's how I've thought of it until now...

What if this weren't temporary? What if I didn't plan for "next" just at this moment? What if I'm called to stay at Tirrim Secondary for more than just by 12 months?

For all of my friends who have gone abroad to work or do missions, there's always been the understanding that you come home afterward and start real life as an adult with certain responsibilities. I'm not necessarily thinking of a 9-5 at the office, just something that brings in enough cash to invest and then looking to settle somewhere. It's cool to go explore the world while you're still young and not tied down, but eventually many of us think, "I'll end up back in such-and-such state, working as a such-and-such." Even to my previous mentality, that's real life.

What if, though, this, here and now, this adventure, is to be my real life? I would be perfectly happy if Kenya weren't just some brief period in my life, but a substantial part of it. To say, "I lived in Kenya for a little bit after college" is great, but to say, "I live in Korr, Kenya and teach the most beautiful people you'll ever meet, and they have changed my life forever..."

And so, as I reflect on what "real life" will be for me after December 2010, I'm trying to stay away from the fuzziness of preconceived notions and leave my life and heart open to divine direction. I admit that at times here, in Kenya, I feel that I'm floating out of my car-seat and that I only have 3 fingers, but I guess that's why I'm not ultimately in the driver's seat.