Hi this is Gail Davis with some words to strengthen you on your journey.
As I prayed for many of you, I wondered how you are coping with the challenges brought on by the pandemic. It has impacted all of us and forced us to imagine creative ways to carry out our work & ministry.
I was contacted recently by a former missionary asking for help with transition. He remembered a session that was done in training, called the transition bridge. As I looked over the information that I had on the transition bridge, I thought about other missionaries I had trained.
I wondered, “What does it feel like to start across that bridge and not be able to get to the other side?” How does it look & feel to get stuck at one stage and not be able to move forward? Some of you know what I am talking about. Some of you anticipated crossing the transition bridge into the new culture where you could settle in and begin building friendships and getting involved in life and ministry there. But because of the pandemic you were stopped from crossing over. Others were already on the other side in language school, adjusting to their new life when everything stopped. No one anticipated how long this would continue, nor when it would end.
Transition to another culture is a process that requires moving through stages from being settled to resettling somewhere else. There are 5 stages in transition: settled, unsettling, chaos, resettling and newly settled. Normally, when we leave our home (which has been a settled place) we move through these stages sequentially until we arrive at our destination and begin resettling. Everyone moves through these stages at their own pace. In fact, if you are going through this as a family you will find that each person may be at a different stage in the process. It’s important to talk about the journey, identify what stage you are in and use words to describe the feelings you have at this stage. Validate each other’s experience and demonstrate love.
I have been through the experience of transition many times as a missionary. Transition was hard, it took longer than I expected that it would. But I never went through the delay that you have been through. I don’t like delays. I’ll bet you don’t either. In fact, when I start a journey, I like to finish it. I get frustrated when airlines offer me incentives to take a later flight in exchange for vouchers. I just want to get there!
I’ve learned through my journey & transition experiences that God will be with us. In fact I have noticed that God takes advantage of those delays to speak to me. Sometimes it’s a reassuring word, sometimes it’s something he wants to teach me. What has God been saying to you in this delay? Lately I’ve been reading in Exodus. As I re-read how God led the Israelites out of Egypt, I have noticed that more feelings come to the surface as I reflect on what they went through. I think about how they must have felt, leaving the comfort of what was known and heading into the unknown. You may be feeling a little like you are between two worlds-the one you have known, or were getting to know and the one in the future that is unknown & constantly changing because of the pandemic. At times like these I have to just focus on right now and what is in front of me. I ask myself these questions, What’s going on today? How should I respond to the needs in front of me? How does God want to use me today? How should I pray?
God will take you through this and help you to cope with the uncertainty of it all. Allow Him to lead you and give you peace.
And until next time, remember, you are on a great journey of faith! Keep moving forward.
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