A Temporary Resident

First day in Chile

It’s 9 pm (Chilean time that is, which is actually 7 pm in EST), and I’m sitting outside on a little balcony area off of my hotel bedroom on the 11^th floor, watching daytime turn to dusk.  There’s a beautiful breeze blowing, and I’m just sitting here soaking in the sounds of the city.  Behind the high rises, strings of dark blue mountains pop up, contrasting with the orange, yellow, green, and blue sky.  Something about those mountains struck me today as I was out walking in the city, taking in my first glimpses of Chile: the contrast between the “sophisticated”, geometric design of the city and the curving slopes of mountains that loomed just beyond the last rectangular box with cut out windows was just so obvious.  When measured against man’s creations, the mountains took on so much more beauty because they weren’t created by any man. 

When I noticed them, I was walking in a park (one of two that I found just a few blocks from my hotel).  The park itself was full of natural beauty; the type that I am not used to seeing in a city.  There were 15 types of trees that were all labeled according to genus and species and mixed in were a bunch of art sculptures. As I walked down the pebble pathways that intertwined the grassy patches of the park, I noticed that I was just about the only person who was there alone.  Everyone else there was with their special someone…A guy and a girl laying on a blanket, cuddling and soaking up the sun; two guys sitting on a bench with their heads together, sharing secrets; more couples walking around hand-in-hand, enjoying the beauty of the afternoon.  But then there was that lonely guitar guy, strumming away, playing and singing to no one in particular and that girl in a dress, sitting against one of the trees, resting and reading in its shade.  Oh, and I can’t forget this old guy dressed in nice clothes taking his afternoon nap on a hard, metal bench, using his briefcase as a pillow.  I think the favorite person that I spotted today, though, was this business man riding his bike down the sidewalk while holding up his smartphone, trying to text.  For the sake of a good laugh and a good story, I kept hoping he would crash into one of the pedestrians or another biker—and he did have some close calls—but luckily for him, he always narrowly missed everyone in his way.

But going back to the scene in the park, as I walked along, it became evident to me that I was already falling in love with this place.  I was already trying to figure out cultural quirks, to observe the people’s way of life, and to place myself here.  Yes, I was alone in a place where most people weren’t.  Yes, I had no idea where I was going when I walked out the doorway of my hotel building. But as I walked through the park, I thought about how much I enjoy being away from home (in Chile, Honduras, wherever I travel, really)…and then about how much I enjoy being at home (in Pennsylvania)…and then about how many homes I could say I actually have (Macha, Zambia, Elizabethtown, Grantham, Teguz, Honduras). 

When I think about spending these upcoming five months as a stranger in Chile, I know that it won’t be easy to call this new place home, at least not right away.  Not without fear and stumbling and learning from it all.  And when I return to the US, I know it won’t be easy to call that place home either.  Not without anger and adjusting and growing through it all.  Sitting down on a bench in the park this afternoon, I came to the conclusion that I’m a sojourner.  The homes that I have are temporary.  The life that God is calling me to might mean that I won’t know exactly where to call home.  I will continue to be a sojourner, a temporary resident in a lot of different places, and truth be told, despite all the ups and downs, I am glad God gave me the longing for adventure, the thirst for new experiences, and the desire to carry his love to dark places.  Because when we think about it, aren’t we all sojourners?  Strangers here on Earth until God calls us to himself and says, “You’re finally HOME!”?