Hello future Goers!
After returning home from two years in East Asia, I've been asked to recap some of my lessons and experiences for those who are considering signing for a two-year placement with GoCorps.
I've personally greatly enjoyed my relationship with GoCorps throughout my term. Your sending organization will be a great source of training and support for you when you Go, but they will also by necessity be somewhat more broadly focused in their training, most of them receiving prospective missionaries from all walks of life. The beauty of GoCorps is that they're so tailored specifically for you in the place you're at- a student freshly emerged from college and looking to serve with your degree. You'll recieve extremely valuable and tailored training during GoWeek, and meet people there- both fellow Goers and Coaches- who you'll find yourself connecting with right away. I still keep in touch with quite a few of my fellow Goers from GoWeek, and it was very valuable to be able to communicate with others who were doing something so similar to what I was doing while on the field!
Before you deploy, you'll recieve a lot of training, both from GoCorps and your sending organization on the basics of culture shock and spiritual warfare on the field. Based on my own experience, I will affirm the value of that training. My further advice as a Goer would also be that, even as you're aware of those issues, don't forget about the smaller and more ordinary things that might distract you. Sometimes we like to think that because we're going overseas as a missionary, everything will be different-- we'll communicate flawlessly with our peers and be perfectly united toward one vision with no quarreling; we'll love our roommates perfectly, we'll never miss our daily quiet time in devotion, our prayer life will be top notch- and so on. The reality is, doing all of those things well will still require the discipline and grace that they do in the States. I will personally attest that in the busy-ness of missionary life and cultural engagement, it's extremely easy to forget about your basic spiritual disciplines!
My other word for future Goers is to enjoy this time! It will be harder than you think it will be, but it will be good. You'll be amazed at the ways in which God will work in you and through you. You'll be amazed at the ways you will grow. You'll have experiences in your culture and context that will open your eyes to Gospel truths in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Two years is a big commitment, and God won't waste a second of it.
Go out and reach the nations!
-Christopher