I started my church mission in Spain 19 years ago. We just concluded a ten-day spring break tour of where I served, including some places I did not get to see as a missionary (Gibraltar and Alhambra). A few take-aways (photos are coming soon):
Memory creates weird psychological problems. For example, despite deliberate effort, I could not remove my hope of seeing people I knew almost 20 years ago as they were 20 years ago. That they had aged was unbelievably shocking to me. Also, memories of streets and places had been mashed up like some Facebook celebrity couples meme. I was surprised to learn (by getting lost) that things that I remembered as one place are really in different parts of the city.
Spain meant more to me than I meant to Spain. I sort of already knew this but had never spent much time with the idea. There were a few church members in Malaga who invited me to dinner at their home every week for months. I love these people. They do not know who I am. One person kind of recognized my face but mostly I was just an American tourist until I insisted I had served with them. They fed the missionaries, not a missionary. I temporarily played the role of a character they love dearly. Then I passed the role on to another. They sincerely love the characters, but hardly know the actors.
Spain felt like home. I was never in one location longer than seven months, yet I was surprised at the deep familiarity I felt. It felt as much like home as when I return to Idaho Falls. I love Spain.
Having a sense of mission is a great feeling. However, Spain is not my mission anymore. I spoke with the current missionaries. Great young people. I hugged them all and told them I loved them. They were confused, since I was so excited to see them that the hugging and loving took place before any kind of introduction. Being with them for a few moments brought back the old missionary zeal. I wanted to put on the name tag again and go out teaching. But it's not my mission anymore. They have the keys. I thanked them for carrying on the work and returned to my mission: with my family in Frankfurt.
