Hey future goers!
Well, my two year commitment is complete, and boy am I ready to be done!... Just kidding of course :) It's unbelievable that two years has come and gone already. My time overseas has truly been the most personally impactful, and outwardly fruitful season of my life. I'd love to share some takeaways from the experience, foresight I wish I could've had going into my stint, and hopefully provide some encouragement to future goers. I'll try to limit myself, especially on the takeaways, because The Lord keeps showing me more things He has taught me!
"Takeaways":
Being happy in Christ is the priority--I remember spending lots of time building into myself through prayer, meditation on the Word, and study of theology before leaving, thinking my time overseas would be all about pouring myself out, leaving no time to pursue personal needs. I came to realize that I need to constantly be filled with Jesus in order to be able to constantly live as the disciple He calls us to be.
Poverty takes many hidden shapes--before spending lots of time with refugees, the primary lens through which I saw poverty was a material poverty lens. I came to understand that poverty truly does have a manifold of faces, including relationship, communication, and most importantly, spiritual poverty. That means addressing poverty doesn't just mean providing someone with food and shelter, but accomplishing less visible things, like empowering people to take ownership of their situation, spending time with people who have no community, teaching someone a language, and of course, bringing the good news that Jesus is at the heart of the solution to all the challenges they are facing.
God cares for the oppressed--so much of scripture speaks of God's care for those in need. I had a solid head understanding of this concept before my time overseas, but have since gained a much deeper experiential understanding of this, as I've seen Christ's sufficiency manifested in the lives of brothers and sisters who have so little. James 3:5 sums it up well-- "has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom...?"
God uses the simple presence of His people in dark places--time and time again I was presented with incredible opportunities for fruitful labor that I did not pursue, simply because I was living in a place of great need and opportunity. For example, one of my refugee brothers came to me asking for assistance in communicating the scriptures to one of his friends, who ended up becoming a powerful witness for Jesus. Because of this experience, I will always evaluate my motives for being where I am in relation to the fruit born by being present in places if tremendous need.
My future is in His hands--I went into this two year commitment fearfully praying that God would increase my passion for the nations and give me a heart of surrender with my future plans. While fears still remain, He clearly responded, and now I not only have a deeper sense of surrendering my future, but no career is more exciting than being a minister of the gospel wherever I am.
"Things I wish I would've known":
Knowing the language is key--I didn't realize what an asset the native language is, nor what a challenge it would be to acquire it. If you have to learn a new language, be patient, be content with your position as a learner, and be excited about the fruit it will bear.
The experience may not be as romantic as expected--while romanticized views of the field are great for getting us to the field, I found that life as an overseas worker wasn't all that much different than my previous life. I still had the same needs, and wasn't preaching the gospel 24/7 to everyone I met. Don't feel disillusioned if you don't see as much fruit, or have as radical an experience as you may hear about in worker biographies or elsewhere (though that certainly may happen!).
Spending time with people is accomplishment--I came to realize that many times simply being present with people is the biggest way to address their needs. I like to see visible achievement and tasks completed, but found that by simply being with people, I was truly addressing relational needs and being a witness of Christ's care.
The past couple years have not only been tremendously growth inspiring and fruitful in bringing life to the oppressed, but also some of the most fun and exciting years of my life. If you have fears or reservations about going, as I did, know that The Lord understands those, and He's faithful to remove them and replace them with a deeper trust in Him over time. Be encouraged that He has some amazing plans set for your future, and be looking forward to an incredible experience wherever you go!
Much love in Him,
Thomas