It’s the 11th month of my 11 month mission trip.
The last month. The home stretch.
Wow, how did we get here…it’s hard to believe we’ve been out of the states almost a year yet it seems like forever since my feet have been on American soil.
Regardless of how I feel or how much of a time-warp this year has felt like, the fact is in 32 days I’m coming home. I’ll say goodbye to Malaysia, goodbye to my teammates who have become like family, and goodbye to this nomadic lifestyle.
In a lot of ways my heart is so torn…I know inevitably I’ll soon be returning home but I want to savor these last days and there are even some parts of me that want it never to end.
I was battling this mix of emotions as I read about some of the crazy and cool things Jesus did in the book of Mark yesterday. I read the story of Jesus healing a man possessed with a ‘legion’ of demons. Many of you know the story of how Jesus ended up casting the demons from the man and into a herd of pigs who prompting ran themselves off a nearby cliff.
Read this account of what happened next in Mark 5: 15-20:
“When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolishow much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”
The man got a taste of Jesus’ goodness and power and begged to go with him, traveling on to the next town. But Jesus said no. He said, “Go home.” He commanded the man not just to go home, but to go and share his story of the mercy and goodness of the Lord that he encountered.
”Go home to your own people…”
The man went not only to his own region of Gerasenes, but to Decapolis, the Ten Cities. He told his story…he told of the way he encountered Jesus and walked away changed. One thing I really never expected on the World Race was to gain a deeper heart for Americans, my own people…but that is exactly what has happened.
My favorite part of the story in Mark is the last sentence in verse 20…”And all the people were amazed.” Just a few verses back the people were pleading with Jesus to leave because they were confused and scared by the whole casting demons into the pigs thing. But after the testimony of this man, the man who had been healed and changed personally by Jesus…after hearing his story they were no longer terrified but amazed.
I’ve had mixed feelings about this whole re-entry into the US thing…there are so many more adventures I want to go on with the Lord, so many directions my heart feels pulled. But I know that right now, in this next season, He is calling me home.
I’m so often tempted to discredit my story and reason that others have better ones to tell. Yet in a weird and marvelous way, I feel like the Lord has sent me on this journey in order to bring me home…mostly for the purpose of telling my story (and this isn’t something that really even crossed my mind until yesterday).
So in a new and refreshing way I’m excited to go home. I’m still going to savor these next 32 days, but I have a new excitement for the things the Lord is going to do on the other side of this journey.
“Go. Go home and tell your story…tell my story, and all the people will be amazed.”
