“Should missionaries rest, take vacations, or just travel to a beautiful place? Or should we stay in the field until burnout?”
One of our new beautiful friends here, Bea, shared this on her Instagram as she has been sharing her experience at the retreat.
Here’s what she concluded:
“You’ve been following my stories, and my spiritual director here spoke specifically about Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus teaches us to rest in Him; the burden is easy, and we are human.
Even though Josh and I are as workaholic as possible, we decided to give ourselves this time off (he’s going on a trip next month, too).”
You may be asking: “Well, I’m not a cross-cultural worker, and even I need this type of trip! Why should I care specifically about cross-cultural workers? What makes them special? What unique burdens do they carry?”
Bea, like many others on this journey, has had to navigate several life-altering transitions within a short time: She became a wife, mom to 5, is learning her fourth language, and moved across the world.
Let that sink in. In my own life, any one of those transitions would take years to adjust to.
And still, she is asking if she is deserving of a few days of rest and connection.
We find that cross-cultural workers are desperate for spaces where they hear things like: Me too. Or…I believe you. Or…what you’re feeling is welcome here.
They have burdens just like the rest of us, but these burdens are amplified as they are uprooted from cultures, communities, and places that are familiar. They are learning a new language, making new friends, balancing ministry workloads…all while also going through the things we all go through as part of the human experience. And as ministry leaders, there is the temptation to hide how hard things can be.
They are resilient and held by the Lord and grateful for their calling…but they are also human. There is such beauty in their stories: the hard and the good. The joyful and the heartbreaking.
Our team here is so grateful for the immense privilege to create spaces of rest and belonging this week. Thanks for joining us in the journey.