Some friends of mine just got back from Africa last night. I went with a few people to greet them at the airport in New Orleans. One particular friend of mine struggled with being home. She had grown close to the students she had served with, and it was hard to say goodbye to them. Though she had just met them only two weeks ago, she felt like she was parting ways with friends she’s known her whole life.
I understood her struggles. I’ve been there before. I went to Alaska last summer for a few weeks and spent a lot of time around a group of college students from Texas. It was the same situation. I was only around them for about 3 weeks, but when they were leaving, I felt like I was saying goodbye to friends I’ve known my whole life.
It’s always been interesting to me how God brings people together like that. Its interesting how God can take people who have never met each other and in a few short weeks turn into them something that more closely resembles a family then a friendship. Service to Him is what binds us together, and I think that’s what the church is all about.
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The feeling you get when you come from a mission trip like Africa, or Alaska, where you spend a lot of time with and a grow close to a group of people like that, is hard to explain. I think it’s something you only understand when you actually go through something like it. So many students come back from trips like that changed, and the people they left behind when they went simply don’t understand. I explained this to my friend, and she knew exactly what I was talking about.
If someone close to you is on a mission trip or has recently returned from one, I can assure you that things are going to be different. Give them time and space to cope with the return. It takes awhile, and can be frustrating, especially when you don’t understand, but have patience and be sensitive. God brought them through a major experience like that for their own growth, and its up to you to give them that space and time they need to work through that for themselves.
They’ll appreciate it. I promise.
