CLEVELAND, Tenn. — We learn to fight through the tough things of this life, we see the color in people’s hearts, we learn what’s wrong with this world and we look and think about ways to fix it. We learn that we can’t completely fit in because we are not like most kids, and then we embrace that difference, we learn to live with it and then come to a conclusion that we are that difference.
Life is not easy for the missionary kid; we move, we lose and we start again. We leave our friends and family, we learn the rough side of this world, we see things regular kids do not see, we feel things regular people don’t feel and most of all; we will never completely fit in. We learn to help ourselves and sometimes forget we need help from the outside as well. Maybe we feel like that some days, but on the other side, we learn to enjoy and take every moment as unique. We see the world and its beauties, we gain wisdom and learn to trust God, and he reveals himself to us and teaches us how to trust him.
We are blessed; we learn to fight through the tough things of this life, we see the color in people’s hearts, we learn what’s wrong with this world and we look and think about ways to fix it. We learn that we cant completely fit in because we are not like most kids, and then we embrace that difference, we learn to live with it and love it and then come to a conclusion that we are that difference. There’s always the chance that the hearts of the people we meet along the way are gray and without color, even though there’s always a chance of people making us feel different and telling us how we don’t fit in and involuntarily, they blur our eyes and we forget about our purpose and value. But even though all of those things eventually happen, we look back and see change, and then we look forward and suddenly expect greatness.
We look back at those tough moments in our lives and just can’t describe how God has always been there for us, how even though those storms seemed never-ending, He opened the clouds and gave us light again. He didn’t let go when we were certain we were about to. We felt His warmth when everything around us was cold. Then we look to our present and even though it might seem horrible and without a way out, we know someone is looking out for us, and that that someone will bring back the light again. Suddenly we feel peace and tranquility, we feel that nothing is wrong, we know that everything is going to be okay. There is a back door to our problem and our guide will help us find it.
Being in constant movement is not easy; we see even the truest of friendships die and we are forced to start new ones, we leave our friends and when we come back they are not the same. Then when we finally settle down we love, but at the same time hate, having missionary friends; we love having them because they understand what we go through, they know our situation and they sympathize with us. But as we grow accustomed to them we hate having them because we know that soon they are going to leave and we will be strangers again. But now I understand the great beauty of them, we learn to enjoy every moment together because it might be the last one, we don’t take them for granted because on a level we depend on them, they become our brothers and sisters and also a rock where we can lay down our heads and just let go of the craziness of the world around us.
What if everybody was like that? What if everybody was able to experience the world and start over again? What if friends were friends and they counted each moment as their last so there wouldn’t be any regrets?
Fernando Ramirez, is a missionary kid and son of David Ramirez, field director to South America.
© 2009 Church of God World Missions