About two months ago, shortly after returning from Manila, my fellow interns and I started attending a small group for young adults with a church not far from our community. We strive to partner with local churches in the work we do, so this seemed like a good opportunity to not only connect with a local church body but also befriend people our own age, something that was sparse in our first year.
There are many things I have come to appreciate about this small group. For one, they are a fun group to be with. They laugh a lot, are unafraid of playing ridiculous games, and enjoy spending time together. Two, they are willing to serve. A few of the people we have gotten to know – Fluke, Mink, and Fort – have helped us with the English and guitar classes we started a month ago. Seeing them step up to lead in these classes has been a great encouragement, especially when we have always been told that there is a significant “generation gap” here and young adults are hardly around to benefit the community in any way. Three, they have become friends. Coming out of a season that was incredibly lonely – inevitable to the expat experience at one point or another – it has been refreshing to make new friends and share life together.
This past weekend we went on a two-day, one-night retreat with their church, called Church of Blessings. It was a “family retreat,” so the focus was on being in community together and getting to know each other better. The first day we had a team competition and went to a floating market (vendors sell items out of boats). The next day we went to the beach, swimming, taking silly pictures (like the one above), and hanging out together. It was a refreshing time, short as it was, not only out of the city but also getting to know the church better.
“Community” is one of those buzzwords that gets used a lot, but it’s cliché for a reason. Community is vital to the human experience, in general but especially as an expat. All too often loneliness hits and you think there is no one there for you, but in reality, you actually do have people around you. From the time I have spent in Thailand, I have learned that it takes much more initiative on your part as the foreigner. Still, I have found that if you put yourself out there and choose to enjoy the community you find, it is well worth the risk. I am nowhere near perfect in this area and I have much room for improvement, but I am doing my best to keep moving forward and giving community a shot, even when it is hard.
As community grows and relationships deepen, so do opportunities to share God’s love. It is exciting to see how we have already had some opportunities with those who do not yet know Jesus. Things are moving forward and I am sure there will be many more opportunities to come.