We all need to be in community with others. We are what are known as social beings. But sometimes community where you feel comfortable and understood is hard to find. Perhaps your life experiences make you feel uncomfortable with the “norm” where you find yourself. Maybe you come from a different cultural background or maybe it is just that you have been on the move and have not sunken down “roots” anywhere. All these reasons have applied to me at one time or another. And I am sure there are more reasons – enough to encompass us all.
Some of the crazy RFIS community I miss this year.
I have found community in a number of different venues. Of course there is the community of those I worship with but for many reasons building deep relationships can be hard – we are not in the US for so much of the time, we don’t share many of the same experiences, or we have different concerns. We have a community based on our common life of faith and that is precious but sometimes it is nice to not have to explain myself or why I feel just a bit “out of it.”
One place I have found community is through the internet and the women I interact with in Velvet Ashes. This is a group of women who share that they serve internationally and have uprooted their lives and put those roots back down in foreign soil. This group is connected via the internet and provides another community where I can be known by others who share some of my story. If you are a women who serves overseas you might want to check them out here.
Ladies from Cameroon in their International Women’s day outfits. I hope to be with them next year.
My relationships with Velvet Ashes doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the fellowship of the community in which we live in Cameroon – I can’t wait to get back to them- but this is a community not based on my physical location and at times that is very nice.
