Never Completely Home...

Dear 2014 Perú Mission Trip Team:

Last Friday, July 25, 2014, I was on a flight from Minneapolis to Charlotte, my thirteenth (13th) airplane ride since June 29, 2014! During the flight, I had an opportunity to catch up on some of the mail that had found its way to my home during our time together in Perú.

One of the letters I received was from Nancy Dimmock, a Presbyterian Church (USA) mission worker who has recently returned with her family from the mission field after many, many years of dedicated and faithful service on the African continent. The Dimmock family is the most inspiring family I have ever met.

In her letter, Nancy shared her thoughts about the most recent (albeit short) chapter in her life in Zambia and saying “farewell to deep friendships, a continent, a way of life, home.” Nancy also shared the following quote that someone had sent her. The quote is attributed to Miriam Adeney.

“You will never be completely home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”

I couldn't help but think about not being completely home from Perú. We shared some very special moments during our time there: the love, fellowship and food shared in the kitchen and around the table of the Bellido family; the warm and enthusiastic welcome we received from the congregations of the churches we visited; and the food, friendship and music shared in the home of the Montes family.

Ms. Adeney’s quote rings so true for me.

Thank you for your participation in and contributions to the trip and the personal sacrifices that you and your families made to enable you to love and know people in Perú. I hope the trip was both meaningful and inspiring. Please know that each of you is loved by so many of the people we encountered there.

I quote MJ Shetron’s recent and insightful statement, “God was showing off when he created Perú.”

Indeed He was.

Randy