The attendees departed yesterday. A lot happened in our three days with them. So many stories. Not a few tears. Hundreds of bits that feel almost too much to hold. 

How do we begin to make sense of all we’ve seen and heard? 

Today we started by sharing what was unexpected. “I was surprised by how touched the attendees were by the simple ministry of thoughtful questions,” one volunteer observed. “So many of them labor under heavy misconceptions. That because they are called to serve cross-culturally, they’re super-spiritual and have wonderful home lives, and only read global worker biographies. But for most of them, the on-the-ground reality is that life is hard.”

We saw that, on the one hand, these global workers are women just like us: sincere believers who nonetheless struggle with doubt. They’ve no desire to be placed on any kind of pedestal and understand they are just as flawed, just as in need of the Savior as we are. 

On the other hand, many of their struggles are exceptional. Earlier this week, Sarah, our keynote speaker, reminded us that suffering is a repeated theme in the Bible, as well as in our lives. And that living in a culture that’s not your passport country offers an increased opportunity for unique suffering. 

We pondered this as common themes emerged among the stories we received—isolation, spiritual warfare, the weariness of being spread too thin. 

But we also celebrated the many ways we saw God’s hand at work—many of these women recognizing how God has positioned them “for such a time as this.” 

As for us, we are more able to see our unique role as both a receptacle of stories and a conduit of compassion. “My empathy tank is filled to the brim,” said one volunteer. “There’s a certain heaviness to that, but I have to remember that it’s not mine to keep carrying. It’s the Lord’s. I don’t have the strength to carry it, but He does.”

What remains for us to do is to continue to pay attention, and pray.