Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…
A command, our mission, left for us from Jesus. A mission that has recently started to shape every part of my life. And while I have many reasons for accepting this mission, including reasons none other than because it’s what Jesus has commanded, I have one reason that is purely selfish.
It’s been eight months of traveling the world. Eight different countries full of amazing places and even more amazing people. Eight months filled with painful goodbyes and leaving pieces of my heart behind. But one thing that has helped with many goodbyes is knowing that I will see them again one day in heaven. That as brothers and sisters in Christ there is one thing that ties us all together, one thing that is greater than distance or zip code, and that is that this is not our home. That one glorious day we will all be together with our Father.
But for those other goodbyes where there isn’t that hope or certainty…
It’s those goodbyes that mean so much! It’s those goodbyes that break my heart.
I couldn’t understand why this was affecting me so much, why I was so sad about saying goodbye to someone I knew for three days. He was our guide we had hired to take us trekking through the Himalayas. He was one of the kindest persons I have ever met, along with his sons who were our porters. He went out of his way to take care of us, even outside of taking care of everything that had to do with the trek. He picked us up from the remote village we were in, riding in the two hour van ride. He organized our hotel and all transportation. On the trek he did everything to make sure we were all okay and happy. After just a few hours of being with him and his sons, it felt like we were all family. Anything we needed he took care of it. After the trek he organized everything to get us to the next village we needed to get to. Including riding in the van with us again, just to say goodbye and make sure we got there safely.
And sure, maybe he was just doing his job as a guide, but when you’re a weary traveler far from home, having someone look out for you means more than you could ever imagine. I have been blown away by the many people on this journey that have gone out of their way to help me or make me feel at home.
God has continually amazed me on this Race at how quickly you can come to know someone. I had grown so use to my American bubble, where people go about their lives keeping to themselves. Where talking to strangers is awkward and unnecessary. But some of the best conversations I’ve had, have been on this race, with people I barely know and a language barrier. In fact as I write this, the man sitting next to us on the bus invited us all to his sister’s wedding. He has made it his personal duty of being our guide on the bus, getting off at every stop, showing us where the bathrooms are and insisting on getting us food and water. And on our prior travel day in Nepal, the family squashed next to me in the van, invited us to come to their home for tea. Both perfect strangers whom I knew for less than an hour.
As I travel the world I am blown away by the kindness and generosity of perfect strangers. Perfect strangers who have taken compassion on us. Who have done everything to make us feel at home. As I travel the world I’ve come to see that it’s truly the little things that mean so much. So in my journeys I have come to meet some of the most amazing people. Whether knowing them for a month or just a few minutes there have been countless people who have added something wonderful to my life. All people whom I hope I will see again one day!
He doesn’t know Jesus. Although he is open to it, I don’t know if I will be seeing him and his sons again. And that makes me so sad. It was another goodbye with uncertainty. Another goodbye that broke my heart. But thru every goodbye I have come to learn the power of prayer. The power of being able to not only hold people in my heart but in my prayers.
But as painful as these uncertain goodbyes on the Race have been, with people I have known for no longer than a month, it got me thinking about the people back home. About those who I’ve known my whole life, my family and friends. The people who I love more than words can describe. The people who I’m not quite certain if they know Jesus. To imagine an uncertain goodbye with one of them pains me to even think about. Which brings me to one of the biggest things God has been showing me half a world away from home. And that’s to be holding those I love in constant prayer.
And so I’ll continue to pray, continue to pursue making disciples of all nations, in hopes that one day there will be no goodbyes left to say.
