Home Alone
The Hungary Team has gone through a lot of changes in the past several months. Some team members have left, either for home assignment or for good. Other team members are now spending more time in language school, while others are leaning into their full job description and have traveled out of the country more. No matter what way you look at it, the field has gone through some form of transformation. While those on home assignment, at language school, and traveling abroad will return and new missionaries will join us, the field is a little bit different because of this time now.
In this season, when I wake up in the morning, my apartment is empty. When I come home in the evening, my apartment remains the same. This is different from when I first arrived in Hungary. The apartment was already home to three women when I was added to the mix. The general feeling in the house was a positive one. We would watch movies together, and eat around the same time, while still respecting one another’s personal space. Three of the four of us worked at our ministry center and English clubs, while the other went to work at school. It was a comfortable life. When one of us moved out, I was worried about what would happen to our rhythm of life. However, things still carried on normally. The apartment still felt full. We enjoyed meals together, watching TV, and all started attending the same church. Since then, there have been brief stretches of time where I have only lived with one other person. These were blessed times of leaning into those relationships, getting to know one another more, and learning how best to support each other.
And now, I live alone while I wait for a team member to return from home assignment.
“Still, in the quiet mornings at home, I am reminded to lean into the relationships I have here and now. Lean into getting to know the team more. Take the opportunities to care for them.”
Similarly, the team feels different with so many people away from Hungary. When I lead a prayer meeting, I’m waiting for everyone else to show up, before I remember that this handful of people is all we have. My discipleship group feels incomplete. The team meetings are not the same without everyone around the table. While some of the team is at language school, there are mornings when I may be the only person in the office. Life on the team looks different. When someone needs a ride to or from the doctor, there are only a couple of us who can fulfill that need. When I need an extra pair of hands at English club, there are only a select few who can step up. And thankfully, the team here has stepped up, time and time again.
Still, in the quiet mornings at home, I am reminded to lean into the relationships I have here and now. Lean into getting to know the team more. Take the opportunities to care for them. At home, I have been encouraged greatly as I lean into my relationship with Jesus more and more. He has met me in the silence and solitude that is a byproduct of living alone. He has blessed the moments of prayer and questioning as well as the joyous praise that this season is creating. Just as the team has changed, I am transforming as well. And as the team waits for others to come to the field or return to the region, I praise God that He is transforming each of us. May this team be one that is always changing as the Lord leads. May we be ready when they return to us so that we will keep transforming into the men and women of Christ that we are called to be.
