Harry & Andrea

There are some things you say you’ll never do. Especially in a developing country.

1. Drink tap water. (OK, this one I really didn’t do–at least knowingly!)

2. Eat street food. (Does a root seasoned with lemon and sugar count?)

3. Use a squatty potty.

4. Use a public restroom that’s soaking wet in ever corner and crevice.

5. Eat at a restaurant that cuts onions on the ground floor of the parking garage.

6. Eat food in someone’s home…food that could have been prepared using the water that I’m not supposed to drink with hands that may or may not have been washed when all of the news headlines are about Swine flu.

7. Consider moving to a city with significantly worse pollution than my current city and no air conditioning.

8. Climb into an open-air vehicle to drive across town, in the midst of congested streets and highways, stopping less than 6 inches from other vehicles, with buskers and trinket salesmen squeezing between at every stoplight.

9. Eat really spicy food and enjoy it.

10. Take my shoes off and walk around a temple barefoot.

11. Take my shoes off at a temple and walk around barefoot in ankle-deep water while being pressed against hundreds of people desperate to spend three seconds in front of a statue.

And then you meet real people. Not just South Asians or stereotypes or faces in photos. REAL people who want to shake your hands and welcome you into a culture that is not your own. REAL people who need Jesus. And you decide that sometimes understanding a culture enough to encourage someone in the gospel is a lot more important than your own comfort sometimes.