Home Comforts -- Number Two: Friends & Family

April 2013: a rare glimpse of relatives.

As I sat down to prepare this little countdown, it didn’t take me long to realise that the higher up the chart I was climbing, the less Bolivia-specific were my hankerings. And ex-pats the world over will certainly identify with this entry.

Without wishing to seek credit for our decision to come here (we see it as simply having obeyed the Great Commission), there is no getting away from the fact that great sacrifices are involved when you set off for far away lands. And the greatest of these is the emotional wrench of leaving behind loved ones.

Without a doubt, technology has eased the pain somewhat, even within the past decade. When I first came here back in 2000, I mostly relied on AOL Instant Messenger for meaningful ‘conversations’ with family, though occasionally we would treat ourselves to a long-distance phone call. These, however, required no small expense, and the time-delay was so pronounced that it was possible to read a small novel between each exchange.

Nowadays, of course, we can make free phone calls to family and friends via Skype – indeed, a highlight of our week is a Skype date with our respective parents. Facebook is the other web development which has boosted our interactions with loved ones immeasurably, giving us a window into friends’ lives (or, at least, the bits they want you to see!) and enabling us to engage in written conversation instantaneously. In appreciating these tools, our admiration for the missionaries of the pre-internet age has only grown.

But for as long as God permits us all time on this here planet, no matter the great advances which are surely around the corner, there will never be a substitute for face-to-face interactions with our fellow men. In particular, watching significant developments in our loved ones’ lives from afar has been a stretch. Over the last four years we’ve missed several weddings and the infancy of many friends’ children. We had a two-week stop in Canada on our way down here in January 2010, during which time we touched base with one of Amanda’s university roommates, who had just gotten engaged. She and her husband are now expecting their third child! My grandfather’s death was a tough time to be away from home too.

For all the japery of the previous post, this is, in fact, the biggest strain at Christmas time – I just thought I’d save my thoughts on the topic for a single blog entry. Number one is coming up on Friday – forgive me for missing out on the top spot!