It has come to an end and what an awesome experience this ministry exchange has been for all. I have learned much from these past five weeks even though I continued to work in the same position in the same office. I used to believe that I would have to leave my job when my colleagues retire because I didn’t feel I could handle the change of working with a new minister. I don’t deal well with change and having someone new come in and change the things that we have done over the last 10 years would be too hard and frustrating for me to cope with. But I have now worked for a different minister, from a different country with different beliefs for five weeks and I have survived. There were many times I had to bite my tongue and not get my back up over our differences. I tried to be open to his ideas and the way he saw things....it was hard. I am surprised at how strong I have become over these last 10 years in my beliefs and how strongly I feel about them. I know what I believe and obviously don’t like it when someone doesn’t agree. I find I am laughing at myself because how can I be open to all people and their faiths when I strongly believe that my beliefs are the “correct” ones. I thought I could accept other people’s beliefs and have even taken part in some of their practices but they have never become my own so does that mean that I really am not as accepting as I had believed myself to be. I guess each person finds their own path that fits them, their lifestyle and their heart and I need to accept that.
My colleagues are very quiet people, who work hard, and keep their private lives private. My exchange “boss” is the most extraverted person I have ever encountered. I learned more about him in the first four hours of meeting him than I have from other colleagues that I have known for many years. He is full of laughter and can tell you story after story about his life, sharing it with all. He sang to us, he talked with us and he laughed....always loudly laughing. He was very open about his thoughts and very opinionated about what he felt was the "true way" of Christianity and yet obviously open to bending his ways to fit ours during his stay.
So we are of the same faith but our beliefs are so very different. We came together as strangers and we parted as friends. Connections have been made and I am sure they will continue on across the ocean. There is still a part of me that wants to get him on the “right path” of Christianity and yet I know in my heart that I won’t say anything. It is not my place to try and "convert" him to my way of thinking. We are travelling towards the same destination, along the same path.....travelling side by side but with some differences and space between us and that is okay.
Tonight I sit in wonder about what life will bring. The people involved in this exchange have had an enriching experience and I don’t feel things will ever be exactly the same. The people who were away have been changed from what they experienced but isn’t that what life is all about, growing and changing. Sharing our experiences with others so that they too can grow and change. All of us, no matter what our faith and beliefs are, are moving towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and of this wondrous world we live in.
So what do I take away from the five week exchange? Thankfulness that the fives weeks were so much fun and so deeply enriching. The knowledge that I can be strong in my beliefs and yet not push them on others, that I can work with others even when we disagree and most of all that life is meant to be lived and you can’t do that without new adventures and change. (and thankfulness that it is over and my "buddies" have returned although they keep threatening to head right back over there.)
