My saving grace

Since coming to Guinea about a year and a half ago I have been adopted by 3 families. My host family in training, my host family in the village, and the Nortons. All 3 families have done more than their share to make this low maintenance American happy, but only the Nortons can provide for me what I need most. An escape.
Well, they are really an answer to my prayers. The Norton family consists of Tim, Heidi, and their two kids Philip and Leslie. As Lutheran missionaries with ties to the Northwest it has been a blessing to share the commonalities of home as well as for our love for Christ. I kept trying to convince myself that my spiritual needs would be met from going to Friday prayer at my village's largest mosque, hoping the holy spirit would translate the Malinke and Arabic, but the Norton's services in English, French, and Malinke are much more inviting.
One of the biggest obstacles of my service has been language. In fact, the first 3 times I cried were due to my lack of understanding of local language. And even now with how far I've progressed, nothing can compare to letting out your frustrations in your mother tongue. The Nortons have become a sort of sounding board. And with their 10+ years of living and working in West Africa, their support through prayers, their advice from experience, and their comfort through cold water and food have been so helpful with my life au village.
I don't think I could ever muster up the energy to explain to a Guinean how homesick I feel sometimes, especially on American holidays and birthdays. But the Nortons understand; and more than the moist chocolate birthday cake with sprinkles, more than the three-legged races and bobbing for oranges, more than the guest room with a fan and water bed, it's this understanding that makes me remember that home is never far.