Returning Home

I have been home for a little over a week now and I am having a bit of trouble writing this blog. It comes as no shock to me, I’ve been here before. Every time I leave the country, whether for missions or to visit friends or a new place, it’s hard to transition back. I have definitely experienced my share of reverse culture shock-it is difficult to figure out how to merge the new world that I have experienced with the one that I live in. I have learned recently that it is okay for processing to take a long time. When I look back on my YWAM experience, I now realize it took me 4 or so years to finish processing and apply my experiences to the person I was becoming and the life I now lived in. I have no idea how long it will take for me to fully process my time in Greece.

But that’s okay. I want it to take as long as it needs to. I know I’ll never be quite the same as when I left, but the truth is that I don’t want to be the same. I want each experience that God puts in my life (whether home or overseas) to change in shape me in a drastic way, as I desire to become more like Him. I don’t ever want to forget the stories I’ve heard over the last few weeks, the faces engraved in my mind, and the little sweaty bodies that have climbed all over me. I want these images and memories to be what motivates me to keep pushing forward to know God better, to love others better, and to help the world better. 

All of that being said, this trip wasn’t just about me. It wasn’t about what I learned or the people I helped or the people that helped me to grow. This is so much bigger than me. There are thousands of people being effected by this crisis. There are families that have been torn apart. There are people that need food, water, clothing, homes, and safety. There are hundreds of volunteers desiring to help serve others and better the world. And above all there are many, many people that NEED Jesus. And that’s what this was about-Jesus. None of this even matters without God and without what Jesus chose to do in order to save us. 

I met many volunteers that knew Jesus and some that did not. I also met some POCs that knew Jesus, but I know that the majority of them don’t know Jesus. Something I have learned though is that sometimes food, clothing, and housing need to come first. I have heard Christians that think that the job of missionaries is to strictly evangelize and share the gospel to all people. And, Yes, that is true...Jesus tells us to go into all the world and share the good news, but He didnt stop there. He didn’t just preach, but He got to know the people around him, he healed and fed them (met their needs), and He showed acceptance (for them-not for their sin), and agape love. 

God does command to share the gospel in all the world, but we can’t ignore other commands that He has given...like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving a home to the homeless, caring for the sick, and visiting those in ‘prison’. And when Jesus gave that command He didn’t ask us to pick and choose who to do that for. During my training, something that blew me away was when the speaker said something along the lines of....People often ask me if there are bad people in the camp? And I say, ‘Well yes of course there are...but Jesus didn’t say I could pick and choose who my neighbor was. He said to love my neighbor. And it is not up to me to decide who is deserving of that love. It is my job to obey Jesus and feed, clothe, and care for regardless of who that person is.’ 

Wow....that is so true. And He doesn’t tell us just to clothe and feed them if they already know Jesus. Truthfully, I didn’t get to share the gospel very much (we could only share if asked) while I was in Greece, verbally anyways. But actions really do speak louder than words. And our actions can be the very thing that help put the truth behind the gospel for people. My job was not try and make everyone I meet follow Jesus, but to sow seeds. And ultimately to obey God. And during this trip we obeyed God by following His lead, loving on others and forming relationships as He presented them, and helping to meet physical needs of POCs both in and out of the camp. 

So how do I carry all of that home with me? How do I make sure that my everyday life is lived in radical obedience to Jesus? This time of processing is about better learning how to do that and allowing God to root in me the changes that He desires. Obviously, I can love my neighbors around me and there are people right here in the United States that need Jesus and there are poor, hungry, homeless, sick, and imprisoned people. God is continue to work in my heart to show me the life He desires me to lead.

But it doesn’t end there. Coming home I don’t just want to focus on the needs around me and forget about the people, the stories, and the situations that I encountered in Greece. Or in Ethiopia or Costa Rica or anywhere that I have spent time in the past. Because God doesn’t call us to just care about the people right around us, but He commands us to go into all the world. (You and) I don’t have to be a long term missionary overseas to care about the refugees in Greece, Turkey, and other countries. And we don’t need to be long term missionaries overseas to do something for the refugees, hungry, and those without Jesus anywhere in the world. 

As I continue to transition back into my life here (for now), I am in a time of reflection, allowing Greece and it’s people to be embedded in my mind in heart. While at the same time finding my place here and how God desires for me to live both right here while continuing to reach out and care for other people in the world. And ultimately, as I learn to obey Him more radically in both the small and big moments. As I merge my time in Greece into my time here, I pray that God will change me in major ways and that I will in turn grow more deeply, passionately, and fearless in love with Jesus and live that out in all areas of my life. 

Matthew 25:35-45

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "