Community congers up all kinds of thoughts in one. My thoughts are no doubt quite different from yours when hearing the word, but irregardless of these differences, most of our ideas of community are spawned by memories. For me, the memories go back to my childhood in Africa. There was the
community of believers, and in the midst of a Muslim country that was a small and close knit community indeed. There was also the
community of missionaries. Though we were spread out over a large West African country we were still very close, and the times that marked this relationship were largely the annual conferences held at one of the larger mission stations. Our missionary parents were in meetings all day and we missionary kids (MK's) were held under not-so-close supervision. Not only did we learn new kinds of "sport" but we were able to renew old friendships.
Amy and I have been in a couple of missions conferences lately and they have taken on a different sort of flavor. We are now the adults in the meetings wondering if our three hooligans are behaving themselves. Good missionaries have angels for kids right??? As a former "hooligan" I can tell you that MK's are subject to the same temptations and mischievous behavior as their counterparts.
We most recently took part in meetings held by our mission agency, Faith Baptist Mission. We find we have developed a different and yet similar community with the FBM staff, and some of the senior pastors of our colleagues on the West African field. Relationships were born and some renewed. It was exciting, not only as it pertains to the work on the field but also in a spiritually challenging way.
We have no words to illustrate how much we appreciate those who took care of our kids for us, but let it suffice to say that our time in meetings would not have been possible without them. That is another community that bears recognizing at another time. Thank you for your prayers!
