What's Love Got To Do With It?

So if you would have asked me a year ago if I thought that this time next year I'd be living with a family who can't speak English and constantly wants me to eat (as if I REALLY look like I've got issues with eating ;) ), watching Turkish soap operas almost every night (please note this is because the family does!), taking a 45min-1 hour bus ride to get to a language class, and going to MacDonald's would be my solace, I probably would have laughed in your face. I probably would have then said, "first of all, I can't STAND MacDonald's (or soap operas for that matter)"
But the reality is...this is my life! :) (and FYI I'm LOVING it- Turkish soap operas and all!)
I'm adjusting, and the Lord has shown me such sweet grace in the process of being here so far. I know it's Him because there are things here that are different (some of you have heard stories from my mom). It's not bad...genuinely... just different and I'm learning to adjust. A lot of times I just giggle and go "Well, that's just the way it is here!" That attitude is completely from the Lord!
One thing He's shown me recently though is that during this time of adjusting and learning language I can still love. Love does not need words!
This past week I was looking at the email from my congregation back in North Carolina and realized they were studying 1 Corinthians 13. So I read 1 Corinthians 13 :) Always a good chapter!
Then Sunday I went to worship with a local body here. 1 Corinthians 13 was read and briefly spoken about! Twice in a matter of 3 days the Lord was placing these verses before me (I've learned that when this happens I need to pay attention).
Then yesterday some ladies came over to my host families home for coffee. The lady I'm living with was telling one of the ladies about something that happened to her a few years back that's honestly left alot of fear in her life. I believe the other night she was trying to tell me about this but I didn't understand. I caught the gist of what she was saying, but not the details or even that it was about HER! We are doing well with communicating, but the language barrier causes some issues when it comes to details :/
All that said, this is what (among many other lessons) I believe the Lord was trying to "shake me awake" to: I can learn the language here. In fact I've been trying SO hard to understand, translate, and figure out what this lady is trying to say to me that often I don't listen to what she is telling me. I hear and can figure out words, but I think I was SO focused on the language barrier and the "task" of figuring out what she is saying and what/how I'm going to communicate what I need to say to her that I forgot something very important!

She is a person!

A person who God loves, a person who has had hardships (maybe big, maybe small), who has had joys, who like everyone else deals with things that life throws our way.

And this morning it hit me! "Courtney, you can learn the language; you can know it so well you sound like a local, but are you listening to what is being said?" In other words am I loving the person well by listening and genuinely getting to know the person speaking?
I was challenged with the fact that so often I am task-oriented; learning language, doing what I have to get done for the day, trying to figure out what's being said. BUT love can be shown in ways that LANGUAGE BARRIERS CANNOT HINDER! I don't want to be merely clanging brass! I don't want to merely learn the language! (though I do need to learn the language) But I also want to KNOW the people! I want to genuinely, whole-heartedly LOVE these people!
So in the midst of all the joys and challenges of adjusting and learning language, the Lord once again is gently reminding me to focus on knowing His love and in return LOVING others, and I CAN DO THAT WITHOUT SPEAKING ONE BIT OF THE LANGUAGE!!!

Me in my new "crib"! (Notice the clothes hanging out in the balcony :) )