Recently I was involved in leading a retreat for mission workers returning to the UK after finishing a period of service. In our devotional times we looked at several passages from Exodus which seemed to me to be a perfect metaphor for our mission partners journeying into life in the UK.
Like the Israelites, they had left the familiar behind, and there was no going back. They had packed up their belongings and left their homes, friends and ministries behind, and they were on their way to a new home. Granted, not everything where they lived had been easy, but there were plenty of things they missed, like meat (Exodus 16:3) or fish, fruit and vegetables (Numbers 11:5).
But they’ve not arrived home yet. They are still on the journey, in a wilderness of sorts, which is strange and unfamiliar. They don’t belong there. They don’t know their way around. They don’t know how things work, how to use contactless payment or Deliveroo. They are bewildered and vulnerable, and can be quick to become unhappy.
One day they will arrive in the Promised Land. They will find they feel at home, won’t be isolated from the culture and ignorant of terminology and technology. They will settle and belong.
But in the meantime, they need the rest of us to remember that they’re not ‘home’, they’re merely ‘here’. They may feel cold, or miss the noise of exuberant worship, or vibrant assault on their senses of everyday life in their host country. They need us to understand that they are still in transition. Neal Pirolo’s book The Re-Entry Team is a very helpful resource for churches in helping them understand how to support returning mission partners and we recommend that every church gets a copy.
In the meantime, what can these mission partners do to help themselves? They should stay close to the Pillar of Fire and Cloud. It guides them through the desert. It stops when they need rest and moves when they should move on. It comes between them and their enemies. Yes, they can’t actually see the presence of God, but they can feel it and know it in their hearts. And in the midst of a massive change in their lives, God is the one constant in the universe.
