By Janee Angel, CBF field personnel
The 17th century poet, John Donne, first said “no man is an island.” He was speaking about how we are all interconnected as people with God. And we are all connected as God’s people with each other too.
A life as a minister outside your country or culture of origin can often make you feel like you are living on an island. You feel like a stranger to your “other” or “new” surroundings and then you can even feel like a stranger when you go back to visit “your” country after years of being away. The world changes so quickly and you can feel lost in a swirl of rapidly moving and shifting language, culture and priorities all around you. This is my experience for the last 21 years.
I am from a small town of a certain region in my own country with its own cultural nuances. And I moved to a small country with three official languages. I have lived in the main and very international cities of the two most used languages where I learned to speak both French and Dutch. And for the whole of the 21 years, I have worked inside that country with another language group that is made up of countless cultures depending on which North African or Middle Eastern country or even religious background people are from. For the last two years, I have been struggling to try and learn one of the dialects of the main language from this area, Arabic.
With all the moving parts around us, it is a present temptation to feel like I am living on an island– and that is where relationship with Encourager Churches becomes like a lifeline. To know that you are seen, appreciated and encouraged as you live a life of faith with your family that crosses so many different lines the world has drawn is a breath of fresh air. It makes us feel connected to a body of people who stand and cheer you on, partner in finances to enable God’s work, make sure your kids have enough Lucky Charms and Goldfish and even cross the waters to walk where you walk and love the people that you love.
The relationship with Encourager Churches takes people like me off the island and brings us back to community and fellowship and partnership. It reminds me that I don’t have to carry everything alone. We bear burdens together and pray for each other. Having the opportunity at 2025 General Assembly to see the faces of some who have encouraged me most, I am thankful for all the laughter, hugs and snacks that makes us know that we are not alone.