Re-entry. Returning May 26. Intermissionary

I guess its official now, seeing as I’ve received my departure notice. May 26th I will leave the Africa Mercy and return to Scotland. 2 years with Mercy Ships feels like a moment. 2 years, and here I am, on the brink of packing up life here and attempting to….. attempting to what exactly. I’m not sure. Attempting to leave a life I love, attempting to consider what life in Scotland will look like, attempting to understand how cold I will feel, attempting to understand what it will be like to be able to communicate with my patients in English. Attempting to understand what free healthcare is like again. Attempting to understand that things do not cost a few Guinea Francs on the street. Attempting to be separated from friends and colleagues who are family. I really don’t know what I’m attempting actually.

“The assumption that global workers are ‘just relieved to be home,’ is overly-simplistic & alienating. Many are ill-equipped, depressed, floundering & lonely, with nobody around who really gets why. They’ve left people, cultures & work they love & some quietly wonder if they’ve left their identity behind as well” Erin Kirk – Intermissionary President & Founder

Intermissionary is an organisation that supports missionaries and global workers. They are particularly focused on those who ‘return home’ after their time working overseas. They return incredibly uncertain of their role and why they have left the work they love. Unable to see ‘home’ in the same way anymore. Many times missionaries are supported with great fanfare before they set off, but then after a period of time they return home. Feeling completely alone and lost at sea. Unsure of who they are anymore, and how life in the ‘west’ can really feel enough anymore.

Starting tomorrow, I will follow the 28 Day re-entry plan which has incredibly just been launched by Intermissionary, and is perfectly timed to co-inside with me returning to Scotland. I will aim to be honest, and try to lean on their prompting questions to explain a little of the life I live here, and how it has changed me. How it has affected me. How in 2 years, well, alot changes really.