Sacrifice

Once again I have had to go through some painful goodbyes. On Monday I left the Wycliffe Centre (the Head Quarters of Wycliffe Bible Translators UK), after having lived there for three months making new friends and valuing every moment with old friends. As I drove home, I felt an incredible sense of loss at the thought of never seeing some of those people again or never being able to spend the same kind of time with them that I have enjoyed until now.

This has caused me to think about the meaning of ‘sacrifice’. People often say that missionary life is one of sacrifice, but I wonder what they understand by that. Do they think of how we’ve given up the chance to have a well paid job? Do they think of how we’ve said goodbye to certain privileges such as good healthcare or reliable electricity? Do they think of not being able to enjoy the luxuries of life such as going to the cinema or nice restaurants?

It might be surprising to hear that I don’t consider any of these a sacrifice. Why? Because inherent in the word ‘sacrifice’ is pain, and missing out on the above things doesn’t really bother me that much. Yes, they make life difficult and uncertain at times, but I would rather be in Tanzania than have any of those things.

However, what does bring pain, is goodbyes. For me, the biggest sacrifice of being a missionary is the loss of stability in relationships. We are always moving around ourselves or saying goodbye to others who are moving. Saying goodbye to friends often feels so final. Even though I am thankful for Skype and email, they can never take the place of face to face contact, of living with or close to someone or of working with someone. And that is painful.

God never said that life serving Him would be easy, in fact Jesus said “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). However, I find comfort in the fact that I don’t do that alone, Jesus walks beside me, He is my good shepherd who leads and guides me through both the good times and the dark times (Psalm 23). This doesn’t take the pain out of the sacrifice, but it does bring comfort, and also provides hope for the future, when one day I will live in my permanent home that Jesus is getting ready for me right now, and I’ll never have to say goodbye again!

Valuing every moment with friends

Here, there and everywhere

So much going on, and so little time to write about it! I've visited a white horse, a model village and Oxford, all giving me opportunities to spend quality time with friends. I've been traipsing the English countryside once again the last few days as I spent a long weekend visiting Kent with a friend from Bible college days, a beautiful and interesting county with its comical oast houses and old castles. Then friends from church came to visit me here at the Wycliffe Centre and we enjoyed a walk through the woods round about (a very muddy one, but the autumn colours more than made up for that). Now it's back at the desk with work to be done, though soon it will be time to join with all my Wycliffe colleagues for the Wycliffe International Day of Prayer. At this time we will be remembering the work of Wycliffe worldwide, as will people all over the world.

As I think about this, I am reminded of my friends and colleagues in Tanzania and how differently their days pass by compared to mine here. I often pause to reflect on what they might be doing, and can't quite get my head round the things they are facing day by day (as the rains begin in a hot Mbeya), while I sit and plan my lessons (in a central heated library in a cold Horsleys Green)!

My friends, Matt & Liz Wisbey, have just written an interesting reflection on some of the different ways we spend our time compared to our Tanzanian friends, which you will find an interesting read, as well as a report on an event coming up here at The Wycliffe Centre that you might be interested in attending. So do take a look at their blog.

Teaching and learning

I’m back at the head quarters of Wycliffe Bible Translators UK. Last time I was here for any length of time I was a student, learning all about ‘Scripture Use’ to prepare me to go and serve in Tanzania. Now, four years later, I am here as the teacher! I didn’t feel that just two and a half years of working in Mbeya qualified me for this role, but I was assured that my recent experiences were valuable and so I agreed to teach as an assistant to a more experienced lady.
So, here I am, and I feel that I am learning as much as I am teaching! As I plan and prepare lessons, I remember the things I once learned and find myself trying to apply them to my situation in Tanzania and wondering how they should look in practice. That’s not to say that when I went to Tanzania I completely disregarded all I had learnt! However, when I did my training I didn’t have concrete situations in my mind to apply my learning to and once I was in Tanzania it was hard to think of how all those things I’d learn in the abstract now applied in reality. Now, revisiting those studies, with Mbeya in mind and with some distance between myself and the work (which allows for a little more objectivity!) I am wondering where I need to relearn and be re-envisioned for the work of Scripture Use in Mbeya. I still have so much to learn and am more and more aware of how all our endeavours will come to nothing unless God is at work.
We are teaching a really interesting mix of students (two Finns, one Russian and one Hungarian) who will all be going to very different places, so it’s a challenge to make the teaching relevant to them all. I love to teach and I’m enjoying being able to do that in my mother tongue rather than Swahili, but as none of the students speak English as their first language, I still have to be careful that what I say is understandable!
Between teaching and pondering on what I am learning, I seem to be constantly on the move. I have been here for four weeks and every weekend has seen me attending a different church and often being in a different place. I’ve been back to All Nations (where I was at Bible College) and Oxford (where I was at university) and have had the privilege of exploring a new part of the country by taking a weekend trip to Sheffield with friends. It’s a fun, busy and tiring schedule to keep up, so please pray that I can sleep properly at nights in order to make the most of what each day has to bring.

Chatsworth House, nr Sheffield & loving an English autumn!