boot camp and feelings of home

as sherry posted below, we have been spending some time this week with national leaders in forge.  it has been an honor to sit in as they talk through the nature of their work and to listen their honest self-audit.  they are a remarkable group of people who God has clearly used to change the way many people think about mission, church, and kingdom in this country.

for a mob of aussie blokes they were very hospitable and to say we learned a lot would be a gross understatement.  however, one of the key moments for me had less to do with matters of missional thinking and more to do with culture and adaptation.

at one point i picked up a cup of tea and a handful of lollies (candy) and sat down in my chair.  i found myself listening to the voices of each person almost like one listens to instrumental music - for the melody and rhythm and beat.  after a couple of minutes i realised i was grinning like, as my father-in-law would say with his golden-syrup-southern accent, a goat eatin' briars.   i must have looked like a fool there with a wide smile as the team discussed serious issues.  but i felt so richly that i was home among my (strangely charming) people.  i was enjoying this moment when much of what i have learned during my 8 years in the US was submitted to a more elementary cultural training.  i was glad to know that i can still, in some modified way, feel at home in this country.