It used to take a couple of days to get accustomed to a new ministry. You arrive in a new country and immediately get shipped to your “home” for the month. You meet the contacts, settle in, and get started. As the race progresses, it becomes easier . It becomes a part of your life. Spending more than 3-4 weeks in one location feels weird. It stops taking a few days to get used to your new surroundings. It becomes a lifestyle.
You get used to only learning 3-5 words in the native language. You get used to wearing the same 3 shirts and eating food you don’t like. You get used to having down time and working your butt off. You get used to kids wanting to touch you and being stared at. You get used to feeling like a family with your contacts and your teammates. You get used to the heat and ice cold showers.
You get used to having deep conversations with your contacts about their testimony and their passion for the ministry. You get used to touching people’s lives with your testimony.
But you never get used to saying goodbye.
You know it’s coming. It happens every month: the time to leave. Some months, you count down the days. Other months, it comes before you even know what’s happening.
But it never gets easier.
Odds are you’ll never see the majority of the people you meet on the race again. You may never even talk to them again. Will you remember them in 5 years? Will they remember you?
You’re probably waiting for the silver lining of this blog, or the lesson that I learned from this process. But, what you see is what you get. Bottom line: it sucks. It sucks to leave a ministry site that has made you feel like you’re home. It hurts knowing that you may never see these incredible, awesome, God loving people again. It wrecks your world, and it happens every month.
Every.
Month.
