A healer to the afflicted

So I guess you could say that i had my mid-mission crisis this week. Something that I have learned is that a mission is not a "time-out" from life. Because we are in a new place with new people doing new things it almost feels like a time-out from life but it is a part of it. We cannot disconnect the two worlds and really our two selves as missionaries. I can't just put things off until later or create a barrier between experiences. I am working on meshing it all together. 

Sure, this past week was hard. Honestly, I think a big part of it was having a lot pent up. I try to be positive, not complain but recently I haven't been dealing with my struggles and challenges, it's been more of an ignoring game. It hasn't been too healthy but at times it seems hard to figure out how to deal with things when access to my favorite sources of unwinding are absent. I can't just go on a run whenever and alone, I can't blast those songs in the car, and the hardest things is that I can't talk and seek counsel from those I am used to turning to in the same way. I am learning how to deal with things and figure out how not to make mission life a "time-out" despite the differences from normal life. I have been blessed this week so much. Yesterday I was feeling on top of the world, was reminded of all the people in my life I love and who love me back, the experiences I have been a part of came back to my mind, and I felt good. 

It's funny because after coming out of hard times I feel sheepish, kind of lame. I can get a little frustrated for myself and wish my moods were more consistent. The truth is that Christ is the healer of the sick not the perfect. The weaknesses, frustrations, overwhelming worries, unsettling stresses all come in life but that is why Christ suffered for these pains so He would understand what we are going through so He could help us according to our needs. Whether that means placing a needed friend beside us, prompting us to read something that will help us find an answer or guidance, or simply filling our hearts with peace and light. 

My mission is still going, there is still work for me to do. Polish is so much fun, I am starting to truly understand people and I am loving it. I played the piano in church yesterday - yes Mom you will be happy to hear that. It's said that many musical people are sent to Poland because the background helps with the difficulty of the language, it seemed pretty false as I showed up without much musicality but I think that in reverse Polish has actually helped my piano playing - my mind working hard to do a lot at once as well as my confidence to just go for it. Poland is beautiful and so is life. Don't bottle things in, deal with them relying on those sources of strength around you and then feel the empowering, rebuilding strength that gets you back on the path.

z wyrazem szczerości,
Starszy Kimball