Where God Leads He Provides!
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But Everything Isn’t Perfect
Even though life is wonderful when you are in the will of God, please don’t expect everything to be perfect. There will always be sacrifices that you make along the way. Here are a few that I have made that most of the ladies will be able to relate to. For one, since I am African-American and I’ve chosen to wear my hair natural, free from any chemical straighteners, I find it virtually impossible to find any hair care products suited for my hair here. All of the products are geared toward Asian and Caucasian hair. The reason this is so challenging is because my hair is very dry in its natural state so, it’s necessary to provide it with lots of moisture. In the United States, black hair care is big business so it’s never a problem to find a variety of products to fit my every need. Here in Thailand, specifically Hua Hin, the percentage of African-Americans are less than .1%, no exaggeration. Over the last 5 1/12 months we have met about 7 other African-Americans. We are definitely even more of a minority here. That leads to another issue that we experience on a daily basis. Everywhere we go, I especially, get stared at relentlessly. In American culture most of us were taught by our parents that staring is rude. Apparently that isn’t taught here at all. It isn’t hostile in any way, just curious. Many have never seen an African-American person so they stop what they’re doing and literally just stare...sometimes with their mouths open and eyes wide. At first it was funny and amusing but now sometimes it just feels weird. It has made us realize how much we took for granted living in a place where there were people that looked like us. Don’t get me wrong, we love experiencing this new culture and making friends from all over the world but there’s still something necessary about being around people of your own culture. Currently, we have about 2 friends that are African American that we see often. This is really important to maintaining a sense of normalcy in our lives. Another major adjustment for me is the lack of shopping options. I love fashion. And I love to shop. But I’m a thrift shopper. I love to find beautiful clothes at the fraction of the cost. It’s like a treasure hunt. Actually, in the US it was my hobby. I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt just as much as the actual purchase of the clothes. I always had plenty of clothes to choose from and many favorite stores to shop at in my neighborhood. It was a favorite activity I would engage in at least twice a week. I knew moving here would challenge me in this area...but I just didn’t know how much! First of all, I feel like a giant in the land of little people. The sizes here run extra, extra small. This isn’t good for a curvy girl like me. Especially, since I’m in this place in my life where God is teaching me how to love myself regardless of whether or not I fit the description of what society calls beautiful. So, it’s really difficult to go into store after store and the largest size they have is an 8...that’s really a 6. Thailand defines beauty as having the whitest skin possible and being as small as humanly possible. Neither of which I am. So, it’s extremely challenging to get stared at every day, everywhere I go, look COMPLETELY different from everyone, and not even be able to shop because I can’t fit anything in the stores. Oh, but how could I leave out the lovely stores that I can shop at? They often have names like the Big Shop or Jumbo Size. They haven’t gotten the memo about fat shaming here yet. There is absolutely no delicacy used here when it come to size. I’ve been told when trying on something - “No! You’re jumbo size, you need this!” And then they’ll hold up some house dress looking thing. Ugh! That’s when I have to smile and say no thank you. Inwardly, I pray for strength and usually right about that time Thomas will offer me some loving words of encouragement and remind me of how beautiful he thinks I am. Thank God for a good husband. So, those are just some of the things that I personally struggle with from time to time. I think it’s important to be honest about our experiences here. Everything isn’t perfect but through it all, I thank God that He’s causing it all to work together for our good. The lessons that we’re learning here couldn’t have been bought back at home. I never realized how sheltered we really were from the world living in our own little bubble. This experience continues to open my eyes, not only to how others live on the the other side of the world but also it helps me to see how I used to live in America with fresh eyes. I will never look at life quite the same anymore. |
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AuthorJennifer Stearns is a fun-loving, devoted wife, pastor and mother of three. Spoken word artist and first female recipient of the Talitha Cumi Communications "She Has Arisen Award," currently serves as a pastor and missionary in Thailand along with her loving husband, Thomas Stearns. Archives
July 2017
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