Training camp was beyond amazing.
The members of our squad are truly some of the most incredible people I have ever met, and in the 2 weeks of training camp, I experienced a tremendous amount of spiritual growth. Knowing that this much radical change is possible in two weeks makes me so excited to see what our squad can do with 11 months!
However, the most trying time for us is right now, as we anxiously wait to reunite with our 40 new best friends. After flying on a spiritual high at training camp, it is so easy to crash and burn in these 2 months of proverbial purgatory. All of us are now longing for what God’s call is for us, and now that we can see the goal more clearly than ever, it is so hard to just sit and wait for the moment to go out and do what we feel is our life’s purpose.
We need to look at this time as a gift. During this time, now that the fire has been kindled inside of us, we get the chance to share this light with people at home before we leave for a year. We get to demonstrate how passionately we will share the Gospel and the good news of hope and love with people around the world by sharing it with the people who live right next door. We get to practice listening to God’s voice and obeying while we are within the comfort of our homes. We shouldn’t spend this time longing for the work we will do in the year ahead. Rather, we should strive to brighten the corner where we are now, and share that light with people here at home who need it, too.
It’s funny how home can be the most difficult mission field. We believe the people we grew up with are set in their ways. We’ve known them for 20+ years and we know they are not going to change, but that’s not true. We all get stuck in ruts, but that doesn’t always mean we are happy to be there. People wait their whole lives for someone to nudge them in a new direction and show them a new perspective. We could be that nudge, but if we don’t recognize the current mission field we’ve been given, those people will still sit there waiting, never knowing the truth and joy that we hold.
I grew up in a church that valued tradition, and at times, it was hard to connect with the hymns and standard liturgy. As the young whipper-snapper that I am, sometimes I perceive that kind of church as drab and uninspired, but now that I am looking at the world with brand new eyes, I am starting to see the value of these traditions of the church. After training camp, we were singing hymns during the service, and it was the first time I really worshipped to these tunes. I was able to meditate on the truth in the music, and I understood the joy that people get from singing them. After camp, I was talking with my mom about how to stay focused as I wait to launch for this trip, and she reminded me of the hymn “Brighten the Corner Where You Are” that we used to sing at my grandma’s church. It is a very traditional hymn, but its lyrics fit this place we are now so well. We don’t have to wait for the grand calling to do God’s work. We can still share His love and light in the corner where we are right now.
As society becomes more fast-paced and impatient, this song has been a wonderful way for me to stay anchored and remember that the day we fly to Colombia does not begin our mission trip. Our mission is happening now. Since the day we were baptized we have been on this mission to spread the Gospel, but we often think we need to be on a specific trip to do that work. There are a lot of Christians who will never get the chance to do the work that we will get to do, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t do mission work where they are. We are called to make disciples of all nations, and guess what? America is a nation, too! So while we are here, we can still make disciples and make our corner of the world a little bit brighter before we leave.
