Making Friends

Part of ministry on the mission field is building relationships with the nationals. Although I am friendly and talk with people, it seems to take forever to get past that superficial level of "Hi, how are you?" Making friends at any level takes time, but often I feel as thought I am running at an even slower pace than others. This is also compounded by our world of instant everything. Of course, I am always my own hardest critic. After four months of working here I am beginning to see the fruits of this slow relationship building phase of ministry. The past three weeks, I have been invited to do more things than the past four months combined. I have had a wonderful time being able to fellowship with my friends and to see that I am making at least a small difference.