Today I leave for Houston, Texas. Saturday will mark the end of a season for 30 or so amazing men and women of God. They have been in Nicaragua, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique. They are not World Racers, they are part of AIM’s Novas Project. They spent the first two months of their journey in Matamoros, Mexico then shortly before Christmas went abroad until now.
They’ve been sick…often (more than one case of malaria a piece). They’ve had to fight to get along. They’ve had to grapple with some of the hardest things I’ve heard yet from participants traveling abroad. They’re preparing to go home with a brutal mix of emotions – a longing to be reunited with friends and family yet a devastation of what will happen to their African and Nicaraguan friends as they leave.
This week we will talk about re-entry. If you’ve never spent a significant period of time overseas, you may not be familiar with this concept, but coming home is hard to do. There’s a book that likens the return home like a space ship re-entering the atmosphere. Either you “burn up” or “splash down” but either way, something dramatic happens.
It’s not a bad thing to come home, but things are different. People don’t understand the journey that just happened, people don’t understand how dire the situation is over “there”. American’s seem wasteful and extravagant. Everything is more expensive, it’s loud, it’s bright, it’s flashy.
Going abroad is not the only part of this journey that requires courage. Coming home is hard, and the journey will not be easy. Yet, I believe this group of men and women (many of them 18-19 years old) have the courage to integrate back into a world they once knew. One thing is for sure: these are not the same people that left back in September. If you want to know how I know that, just read their blogs: http://www.adventures.org/blogs/?sitetag=fym and you tell me if that’s not evidence of a changed life.
I’m proud of them and all they’ve accomplished. Pray for us over the next three days that this transition may be a good one.
South Africa and Swaziland Teams
Team Nicaragua
Uganda/Kenya
Uganda/Kenya
