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Old Things New Again

Our family left the U.S. in August of 2007 and is now back for a brief furlough. It is common knowledge that missionaries, by design, are social misfits, based simply on the fact that they have been “out of it” for so long. We have seen this in other long-term missionaries, but surely it couldn’t happen to us. First off, we are cool. And, second, we have only been gone for three years.

Sure enough, as it turns out, we are out of it…clueless…out of touch….dare I say…dorks. The U.S. culture has sprinted forward and left us back in time. We are stuck way back in 2007. That can’t mean much, right?

Let’s see:

• When we left in 2007 the iPhone 1 had just been released and the Android was still a year away.
• When we left in August of 2007 Facebook had 50 million users. It now has 500 million.
• Last time we were living the U.S. Netflix didn’t have on demand movies that stream directly to your TV.
• The Kindle was released after we left.
• When we left the Dow Jones was at 14,000 and the U.S. unemployment was at 5%.
• In 2007 only two 3D movies were released. In 2010 24, 3D movies will be released.
• When we left Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber had not released any music.

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