Home Sweet Home
words by Brendan
After a looooong day of travel yesterday, we are home! This may be hard to believe, but sleeping in our own beds last night was even better than sleeping on the airport floor. Look carefully, and you will find six sleeping beauties…
On our trip to Quito with Cumbre Alta two years ago, I came back with lots of new vision for my life and for Anglers FC. In my personal life, I was days away from getting engaged and would be married just six weeks later. Within the Club, we were launching various new programs and entering uncharted waters in many respects. I was full of vision and inspiration after spending time with the Cumbre Alta staff. Things in my heart are a bit different after this trip. Rather than the visionary longing that accompanied me after last trip, I have a feeling of clear contentment. Rather than lots of exciting change, I sense lots of exciting sameness on the horizon.
This trip brought clarity for me. I am not big on the word “calling” used so much in Christianese (the language Christians speak that no else understands). “Calling” brings with it an unrealistic expectation that God will speak clearly about every decision I make, and it carries a sense of permanence I think is rare in career and work. Rather, I like the word “assignment”. I believe God has an assignment for each of us in each season of life. We rarely know how long this assignment will last. This trip helped clarify my assignment in this season of life; it helped validate the work I have done and am doing within Anglers FC. It got me excited not for the next big thing I will do, or build, or create, but for the things Anglers is already doing.
The amazing things about short-term mission trips like this is that each of us was experiencing God speaking and working in our lives. While I was getting a greater sense of clarity in my assignment, Merlinn was having her perspective on her work torn apart. The Lord was doing something different in her. While some of the team members were coming to a greater understanding of the saving grace of the Gospel, others were gaining a greater understanding of their limitations and what it looks like to push through them. On our last night in Quito, we spent time each sharing what God had been teaching us over our time together. Each girl had a unique answer. I love how God can take the same experiences and activities and teach seven different people seven different things. If you get a chance, ask me, Merlinn, or any of the travelers what the Lord was doing in our lives during these last twelve days. You won’t be disappointed.
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