The life of a mission worker is characterised by change. Our lives are marked by constant comings and goings. Every arrival brings new life; every departure brings a little bit of death. We live in a constant cycle of welcome and farewell, joy and grief.
Our own journey consists of giving up our roles to do Bible College, returning to a temporary home while we fundraise, leaving home and arriving in the mission field, living somewhere temporarily while we’re trained, moving to the place we are assigned, returning for ‘home assignment’, and returning to the mission field again.
Much of our security in transition can be placed in family, but the downside of this is that it can make us focus on our nuclear family at the expense of the wider community. Single mission workers of course left their family behind and can risk isolation in the mission field. So we build strong, supportive friendships, but just when we need those friendships most, our friends go on home assignment, or leave the field altogether, and we have more bereavement to deal with.
All this can take its emotional toll on mission workers, and I have seen some of us so badly affected by the pain of loss that we withdraw from community to protect ourselves from the grieve of loss. So how can we thrive in the constant cycle of arrivals and departures?
Remember that we are aliens and strangers. Most humans have an innate desire for stability, expressed in concepts like ‘settle down’ and ‘home’. Those of us who are continually on the move, or live in a moving community, need, like the Israelites in the Exodus, to remember that our security is in the constant reassuring presence of God. Whether we camp for a night or a year, we move on when the Pillar of Fire moves on.
Delight in the temporary. When we make a good friend, we want them to be in our lives forever. Instead of thinking about the future, let’s learn to enjoy today, this week, and shift our focus into the present. When that friend moves on, keep memories and souvenirs, thank God for the friendship, and let someone go.
Use ritual. People who live in transient communities often use ritual to help reinforce their group identity and process transition. The Jews are a good example of this. We too can do the same by developing a welcoming or leaving ritual, with the giving of gifts, opportunity for prayer and blessing, laughing and crying, sharing hopes or memories, and the reading of scripture.
Build a RAFT. We’ve commented before on the value of the RAFT model designed by David Pollock. Whether using it for yourself or to help others on their journey, it’s a good way of helping with the transition even if it’s not us who are leaving.
Look to God for our resources. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). When we feel we’re running out of emotional resources to cope with the comings and goings, turn to God who has more than enough resources to supply our every need.
Do selfcare. In all of this, we need to be aware of the damaging effect on us of constant change. Self-care is an important factor in coping. Do what you need to do to recharge your batteries, and if you need to, seek outside help with a debriefer or counsellor.
Life in the mission field is demanding, and we should make every effort to ensure we can thrive in it.
