I don’t know! It seems that I have said that a lot over the last few weeks/months. And this is a fact that makes me so uncomfortable.
When are you leaving for South Africa? I don’t know!
Where will you be living? I don’t know!
THEN…once we were in Fish Hoek, the “I don’t knows” increased dramatically.
How many dollars is that? I don’t know
Where can I buy ______? I don’t know
What did he/she say? I don’t know How does this work? I don’t know
How do you get there? I don’t know
Which suitcase is _______ in? I don’t know
How do you covert to…..kilometres? Celsius? Grams? I don’t know
So many “I don’t knows.” Transitioning into another culture is not easy. It isn’t suppose to be. The “I don’t knows” are far greater than the “I know thats.” And I am sure that they will be for a while. But each day, we live and learn. We are so far out of our comfort zone that we don’t even know what we don’t know. But we are learning that we don’t have to know it all. WE don’t have to have all the answers. Because there is ONE greater that already knows all the answers. In fact, He knows the questions before they are even answered.
“Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know.” Job 32:10
“I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.” Ecclesiastes 3:12
“The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” John 4:25
While we don’t know the answers to everything….in fact, we don’t know that answers to hardly anything at this point. There are a few things that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt. I know…..the Lord sent us to one of the most beautiful places on earth. His creativity is so evident in His creation. 
I know that….He placed this desire in our hearts. The beauty of this place is amazing. But the desire of our hearts is to serve the precious children of this land; to be a light that shines for Him in the darkest places.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
I know that….whatever the Lord has planned here will be exciting, overwhelming, hard, and rewarding. The faces of His children will proclaim His name to the ends of the earth. The stories will be heart-breaking, but we know that He makes beauty out of the ashes.
I know that….He already knows how we will live, the needs of our partners in the US, where I can buy whatever we need, how to convert to kilometres, Celsius, and grams, how to drive on the other side of the road, how to get to wherever we need to go, and so much more.
Instead of focusing on the “I don’t knows,” I chose to focus on what He knows.
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Townsends in South Africa 
I know I am the worst person to ask 20 questions when we talk!!!! Just being a Mom, I guess….You know more than you think you know…and I know I am the luckiest Mom in the world!!!! Love you all….
Oh, you’re so right, it is definitely uncomfortable when you feel like you’ve lost all the answers to questions you are used to knowing the answers for! I love how you turned it around and focused on what He knows. And you know HIm. Lovely.
I having passing mastery of English and Spanish, with a smattering of French for good measure. I can say I don’t know in multiple ways in all three languages. Sometimes, it seems overwhelming, the unknown. It’s always humbling, to be sure, which isn’t such a bad thing.
I resonate with this so much! I remember how idiotic I felt when we first moved here…and I’ve been in a posture of learning for quite some time now. But I also remember when we hosted our first guest from the U.S., and it was so life-giving! “Wow-you guys know so much!” they would say…and even though it felt like we really didn’t know anything, we were thrilled to see the progress we had made. We weren’t just traveling through…we were truly learning the deeper things about the culture that helped us start to settle into our overseas home. Thank you for sharing such encouraging scriptures!