Susan LaffertyIt hit me in a different way that day.
The gathering of family and friends to commission this latest group of sent ones. Newly trained. Now on their way. To places all over the globe.
It hit me when I saw the expressions. On parents’ faces.
Pride. Joy. Grief. And for some—uncertainty. Perhaps, even anger.
The time had come. For releasing their kids and grandkids. To travel across oceans and borders. Into a new and different life of serving in another culture.
In my tropical childhood, I climbed the front-yard tree. Higher. For solitude. Rest. To simply be. Sitting on knobby branches amid green leaves, pink blossoms.
“I think this is why I’m here.”
We heard it more than once in Karachi. From expatriates on short assignments. With various companies. Consulates. Schools.
They heard about the international church meeting in our house. And came on Fridays for worship. Cross-cultural living in this “hardship assignment” made them stop and consider what’s crucial. In light of eternity.
Myrna* was one of those. The religious environment in Pakistan made her more aware of spiritual things.
When asked about her faith, Myrna replied, “I’ve always been a Christian.”
