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As you prepare for your trip you begin to wonder
about the place, the people, the experiences that lie ahead. There is no
crystal ball to reveal all the events facing you. But there is a way of
seeing the future, as if you were looking at one of those large convex
mirrors posted near curves on the road or in hallways of hospitals. With the
help of this kind of mirror you can see what approaches you from around the
corner. You can anticipate an encounter and prepare yourself for some of the
things that may concern you most.
Sneak Previews
As you make your packing list for the trip, you can also accumulate a
list of questions and expectations. Along with walking shoes and rain gear,
you can take along first impressions of what you are about to encounter. As
you shop for film to take photos of your trip, you can take time to hunt for
information that can shape your expectations.
If you are traveling with a group, your group
leader may supply some information. Try as best you can to become familiar
with the locale you are visiting. Take note of the climate and terrain, and
the languages spoken. Listen to music from the region . Scan the news for
current events in the country. Learn about the economy of the country and
the daily work of the people you will visit. Find out if they live in tents
or on boats, in houses on stilts or ones made of scavenged wood or tin.
Let the information sit with you awhile so
that questions begin to stir in you. Whetting your curiosity ahead of time
will prepare you to ask better questions and pinpoint what you want to see
once you are on your trip. If this is not your first trip, your past
experiences can shape what you hope to learn or experience this time.
Whether you call it a mission trip, a
companion synod visit, or a study tour, there is something at the heart of
this journey that is more relational than an ordinary tourist jaunt. Shape
your anticipated questions so that they will build, enhance, or clarify the
relationship. And be prepared to answer your hosts’ questions of you. What a
shame it would be if you left your visit with an album full of photos and a
journal full of stories, but no one you met knew the names of your children
or the work you do each day.
Getting the Feeling
Seeing what is coming is not an emotionally neutral experience. You are
not writing a term paper; you are preparing for an encounter. Along with the
questions that occur, feelings stir in you. You’re longing to meet these
people you’ve held in your prayers. You are apprehensive about climbing
those breathtaking hills. You’re a little nauseous to think of eating
chicken feet. Imagining the music you will hear excites you. Thinking about
traveling in a politically unstable country makes you fearful.
The feelings, like the information, are not
the experience. They shape you for the encounter, but may be changed in the
encounter. The feelings assist you in your preparation. They help form the
questions you will ask, the interactions you will pursue. Dealing with your
feelings is part of helpful preparation. Another, connected thought: What
you cannot see are the feelings of the people you will visit have, feelings
about you, your country, your visit.
Worth the Wait
No matter how complete your information or how defined your emotions,
there will still be surprises. You may know the language, but you do not
know the words your host will say to you. You may see pictures of the
village, but you cannot anticipate the sounds and smells of that village as
it rises to a new day. The thought of soldiers on the street corner makes
your heart race; but you have yet to learn how that reality affects the
emotions of those you will visit.
The information and feelings that you gather
as you prepare will reveal a bit of the future. But the flesh and blood
encounter with what you see coming toward you is where new relationships
will be born. |
