[cue dramatic announcer voice]
'one 30-something american missionary...grueling months-on-end in one of the planet's coldest capitals. with only her faith and calling to keep her going...can.she.survive?!
survivor [wo]man...premiers october/november...ish.'
physical challenges would include things like:
'tour de grocery shopping' : sub-zero temperatures...a minimum of three stores [and one market]...will she locate and purchase at least 60% of the items on her list?
'course mapping through coal-smog' : frozen eyelashes and unending layers inhibiting mobility...visibility reduced to a shocking five-feet...icy death traps in place...can she navigate the city with all her limbs still intact?
'cabin-fever resistance training' : watch as we test the limits of a mother's sanity by locking her in a small apartment...with two children...and a cat...for longer than any human should have to endure. can she keep the creativity flowing? or will her children wind up spending far too many hours in front of the tv? tune in to find out.
'linguistic circumnavigation' : nearly six years immersed in the language...could.this.be the year she doesn't confuse the word for paper with the word for snow?
the producers throw curves like extreme lack of daylight and a sun that doesn't come up enough to crest the buildings, shamans who beat drums [seemingly] endlessly from the apartment upstairs, asthma.colds.flus and unidentifiable stomach bugs, the one-step forward 18,345 steps backward nature of ministry on our field, aaand of course the occasional rude comment or pick-pocket attempt from passers-by...all in an effort to send me over the edge...
the finale [airing april/may...ish] shows a [more than] slightly tattered me. face dirty.cheeks chapped. smiling weakly and dragging myself across the finish-line of spring. giving that final interview between gulps from my water bottle [or more appropriately...ginormous mug of hot tea].
ok...so maybe i'm being slightly dramatic...
but not really...
yes...i realize i live in mongolia. we were intentional on our first visit...the dead of winter to gain a frame of reference for the mind-numbing cold. i guess i just had expectations: the first winter or two would be hard but it would get easier with each passing year.
reality has proven much the opposite.
i remember with clarity my thoughts after that first winter: 'that was nothing!'
my thoughts during this one?: [censored in order to salvage any small amount of respect the reader might still hold for the writer]
and yes...as missionaries, we understand: the steepness and harshness of the terrain doesn't make it any less God's path. [all my missionary peeps say 'hollaaa'!]
so why do i share all this?
because i think sometimes our perception of the battles missionaries face can be less than complete [if not slightly impersonal]. we picture them.positioned on the front lines.directly in front of hell's gates.charging the enemy in an all-out spiritual war [and truly.we are there].
but what i want others to understand is this: our lives feel a lot less like a war really...and more like a million little battles. [most of which aren't even all that 'spiritual']
battles that are taking place, not in a far off war zone, but much closer-to-home than we ever thought they would: in our hearts.minds.spirits as we face every day...as we find strength in the Caller and do our best to...survive.
and maybe, in my being [possibly a little too] transparent. the prayers sent up for us [the prayers for which we are so unspeakably grateful, on which hangs the success and renewal of 'survivor [wo]man' for another season] will broaden in their scope...to encompass the battles that make up the war.
and maybe sometimes when you pray for us...your mind's eye won't see us so much like this:
as like this:
