missionary life isn't always rosy

I went to a Wycliffe coffee and dessert night on Friday.  It was really great to meet other people who are interested in being bible translators themselves or supporting that work in another way.

But what struck me most was the candid sharing from a couple who are serving the Lord in Cameroon on a Bible translation project.  They are here on furlough after having been over there for 3 years.  It's been a tough slog for them.  They are still in the language learning phase, which is proving frustratingly difficult.  The guy was finding it a particular challenge to his pride.  For most of his life he has been well-educated and well thought of, but now he's at the bottom of the pile so to speak, and can't communicate very deeply with people.  As I think about myself, I think I would struggle with that too.  Another thing which I hadn't thought of stemming from that communication problem is loneliness.  Thankfully as a married couple they have each other, but there is a single girl working about 5 hours away who must get incredibly lonely if she can't communicate well with people there or have another person speaking her native language.

The lady shared how she's been struggling with contentment.  She fully believes in living like the people they're ministering to, but is struggling to live that out.  For her, the biggest struggle is the food.  They have a lady who cooks food for them (it seems like they've been kind of adopted into a family area there, and the head woman is responsible for cooking for everyone in that area).  But C doesn't like the food.  And she hates the monotony of the same food all the time.

I think sometimes I romanticise the idea of mission work overseas, so it was refreshing and sobering to hear them speak about their real life experiences. Through it all God has been sustaining them; teaching them persevere and grow in contentment.