Or maybe it’s overweight luggage at the check in counter?
Or tearful goodbyes to family holding your boarding pass in hand?
Well this past year, a missionaries worst nightmare has probably been Covid.
I realized the worldwide pandemic that overshadows 2020 has hit everyone hard. But I think it has hit cross culture workers extra hard. If a missionary is on the field then their ministry as been turned upside down and they have had to reinvent ways to do almost anything. Or they are stuck doing almost nothing. Closed boarders and travel restriction have meant no international trips to reconnect with family or for needed training or visa renewals. And its' also meant no new needed workers coming to the field.
If this past year has found missionaries doing partnership development and trying to get their needed prayer and financial support, Covid has made it hard to meet people and share at churches. Church funding is low and small groups aren’t meeting. People are out of work. Navigating people's varied concerns and opinions makes it tricky to not step on toes and offend.
If missionaries are leaving the field, then proper goodbyes or good closer has been lost. If they are on home assignment, the familiar “home” they were looking forward to has changed. It is new, unfamiliar and hard to figure out. And plans of reconnecting and traveling have diminished greatly, if not altogether become non-existent.
And even for some international colleagues of ours, Covid has kept them from returning to or kept them from leaving their ministry country; stuck somewhere they weren’t planning to be with no role or ministry responsibility, literally homeless and jobless.
For our family, Covid has kept us from seeing our kids who are slowly dispersing to the far off corners of the globe. We still haven't met or held our newest little grandson. A canceled trip last spring, missed graduations and send-offs was a difficult loss to weather. But God’s grace upheld us and He sprinkled small blessings such as family Zoom calls and lots of chats and photos sent back and forth which has sweetened the sorrows.
A unexpected blessing this December was a recent trip to see 2 of our 3 sons over the holidays, one of our sweet daughter-in-laws and one of our adorable grandsons. Managing Covid guidelines and concerns was complicated and stressful, but in the end it was worth all the cost and hassle. And we will treasure those times together and those feelings of being close and connected.
A little stowaway in my backpack was Christmas Bear. Tim's dad sent him to us 25 years ago for our first Christmas in Japan. As we packed for this trip, I popped Christmas Bear in my backpack. He made for a comfy travel pillow. And I wondered if bringing him along might help us connect to our 2 year old grandson who only knew us via video chat.
And indeed, Christmas Bear helped. It was so much fun to get re-aquatinted with our grandson and he affectionately called us “Baba” and “Papi”…and even asked for us by name after we left.
So even though we start the unknowns and restrictions of this year and finish off a cold, bleak January, our hearts are warm and full of thanks to God for the blessings of bear snuggles and Baba kisses.
