First Fruits

I like mangoes. really. Like I really like mangoes. I could have one with every meal. Or two.  So when we found that our compound had three mango trees, it wasn't just the kids who were excited.  And a month or so ago, when the first ones started getting ripe, and falling when you touched them, boy was that a happy time for me. For a bit.  See, while not really a big city person, I have lived in cities of 5+million more than on compounds with as much land as we have here.  Which means there's a lot about agriculture that I don't know. Like firstfruits.  I have seen this concept in scripture so many times, of the offering of the first of your produce.  And recently I saw this concept again in 2 Thessalonians:

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. (2:13-15 ESV)

I always thought of this as first, or perhaps also best, as in giving your best to God.  Don't sift through the produce of your fields for the stuff you don't want; give the first stuff you get.
But with mangoes (and perhaps with other firstfruits, I wouldn't know), there is good chunk of time between the firstfruits and the rest of the fruit.  Why, I don't know.  But We must have gotten some 8 mangoes of one of our trees, then nothing.  We had one ripe each day for a good solid week, then nothing.  Just a couple hundred slowly growing, without a one close to ready.  And I've looked around town, and all the mango are like this, at about the same stage of development. We are still probably another good week away from our next ripe mango.
So as I thought about the above verses applying to us, there seemed to be another interpretation, that Paul may well have intended.  The fruit that comes before the rest (particularly if it comes some time ahead, like these mangoes) is something of a pioneer class.  So if God chose some to be the firstfruits of salvation in an area, they are not just first/best or whatever, but it is probably also intrinsically harder for them.  Which makes sense in the context of the pioneer expansion of the church.
This last week, we were considering the fact that (I think this is true) we have the only white kids in town.  There is another expat family with two children, but they're back in the states for awhile.  Lots of single expats, a few couples married with grown kids, or none yet.  But there are lots on the way, we hear. Which makes us a kind of pioneer, as well.  This area has a long history of missionary activity, with one mission having had some 67 families.  Now there are NGO workers galore, but few missionaries. And UN workers come single, or without their families. As things settle down and become more peaceful, we expect there to be more and more expat families, but in the mean time we get to get along without much interaction in the context of our own language and culture.  Not impossible, by any means, but not the easiest, either. So we'll get together and sing hymns and watch movies with people we can speak English freely with, but also share our beignets with the kids across the street.  On our morning walks we practice our greetings (which no one seems to mind) and get to know the town, and how to find home.  And get stared at by the kids that think eyeballing us is more interesting than walking to school. Oh, well. 
I guess I just needed the reminder that maybe this is supposed to be hard, but worth it.  We look forward to the day when we are established and surrounded by many colleagues, both pat and expat, and getting some good work done. One day those hundreds of mangoes are all going to ripen, and I want to be there. :-)