Small Sacrifices

With my Ethiopian roommate at the training

This past week I was feeling very homesick, like I’ve never felt before. I’m in the middle of a six-week CHE training far away from home. I’ve done a lot of traveling to strange places as a young adult, far from home and with unfamiliar people for multiple months, but this feeling of homesickness has been new for me. I guess in the past, most of this time has been in new exciting experiences that balance out the drag of missing people, whom I’m confident I’ll catch up with again easily enough. But now with my own small children, it feels like I’m missing so much of their lives. And after spending almost every day for 14 years with someone, it’s strange to be disconnected from her everyday life. I know we’ll be fine when we reunite, but it feels a lot harder to miss those things right now. 

Enjoying the pool without me!

This separation and these feelings have made me a little more aware of sacrifices we make as a family. But also, what we’re talking about in this CHE training reminds me of all the little sacrifices “normal” people make for their churches. It’s so apparent that in order to really invest in a community, CHE workers or anyone has to be ready to make the sacrifices of what’s convenient to them in order to do things that bring others together. Often times we minimize the sacrifices that Sunday School teachers and committee members and deacons and community center volunteers make, as if they are expected, compulsory, or aren’t really big things. These are the things big or small that can add up to make an impact in a church, a community, or a child’s life. These are the things so many people are doing in their churches that also work together to support our family so we can be making other sacrifices in a far off place.

So I guess the moral of the story is, do not be discouraged. Be encouraged to make those sacrifices that add up to something big. Don’t minimize what you’re called to do, but see it as a part of the huge things that God is doing. Many times it feels like culture is so hard to change for the better. But after being in Kenya and Rwanda, I can see that in many African countries they are now reaping the benefits of other generations of committed church members, volunteers, teachers, and even institutions! In contrast to a generation or so ago, you can see how today’s youth are positioned so well to lead productive and Jesus-connected lives here.

-- El Padre