SMF -> MSP -> CDG -> OTP
While every trip to Romania is unique in what God has planned, there are certain aspects that remain very similar each time:
Check bags, Security line, airplane food, Security line, locate
Departure Board, find next gate, find food, find bathroom, find
bathroom without long line, ‘what time is it?’, Security line, sort of
sleep on plane, Passport control, jet lag, crazy baggage claim,
jet lag.
Once our team is collected at the airport, the van is loaded, and off we go to H2H’s comfortable team house in Pipera, just outside of Bucharest. A wise admonition is given to all incoming team members: no matter how tired you are, keep yourself awake until 10:00 pm; this is the first step in acclimating to the new time zone and conquering jet lag. (…a goal that is a lot easier to do when you arrive in the late afternoon or early evening, and can be significantly more challenging if you arrive earlier in the day!)
The twenty minute drive to Pipera is usually the introduction to Romania (and Romanian driving!) for many team members. Along the divided highway you will see commercial buildings, tall business buildings with Romanian Company names on them, new construction, the U.S. Embassy, a beautiful park, small markets, a McDonald’s, schools, childcare facilities, and neighborhoods with gated homes. Always a study in contrasts, it’s not unusual to see a horse trotting down the street pulling a cart of hay, only to then see it passed by a BMW or Mercedes.
This past summer, however, about a quarter mile from the team house’s street (so close, and yet so far…), we encountered something new— a blockade in the road. In front of us is a large yellow sign with a black arrow pointing to the left, and the word “Ocolire.”
As Steven (P.) has aptly said, “Possibly the most dreaded sign in Romania!”
“Ocolire” - translation: Detour.
From there, we obediently turn left and make the first of fifty (ok, I might be exaggerating a little…) 90-degree turns that take us on a route like a giant Etch-A-Sketch out, away, over the river (yes, really), and around. Who knew there were two full soccer fields with stands northeast of the team house?
The Lord placed this “Detour” prominently in our path this trip—anytime we went anywhere, we had to take a Detour route. We did not have a choice - the Detours were there. But being well-trained H2H team members (Flexible, Adaptable, Teachable), we didn’t let a few detours get in the way of the purpose of our trip or the sharing in fun summer camps with the kids. Even with the extra detours, our two weeks of ministry flew by much too quickly.
de·tour
ˈdēto͝or/
noun
noun: detour; plural noun: detours
1.
a long or roundabout route taken to avoid something or to visit somewhere along the way.
“A long or roundabout route taken to avoid something… or to visit somewhere along the way.”
There are many reasons to participate in a short-term mission trip:
- to serve the poor
- to tell the lost about Jesus,
- to minister to orphans,
- to dig a well,
- to build a church or school.
I’m going to go out on a limb, here, and guess that on the list of reasons to go on a short-term mission, no one has ever included “Detour”.
It’s easy for us to instantly connect “detour” to a negative experience. A “detour” usually interrupts our schedule unexpectedly and adds costly minutes to our “important” schedules by impeding our plans.
However, any short-term mission can be categorized as a “detour,” and in choosing to go on a short-term mission, you have signed up (willingly volunteered!) for a “detour.” Yes, by definition, on a mission trip you will no doubt physically visit “somewhere” new outside our country. But, every short-term mission also includes this detour: a change of course from your normal routine to the new and unknown rhythms of a different culture. It is also a change of course from your normal routine to the new and unknown rhythms of spiritual challenges and growth that the Lord has planned—not only for the targeted culture and mission, but for you.
As Paul David Tripp states so well:
“In grace, He leads you where you didn’t plan to go in order to produce in you what you couldn’t achieve on your own. In these moments, He works to alter the values of your heart so that you let go of your little kingdom of one and give of yourself to His Kingdom of glory and grace.”
I challenge you - let the Lord place a short-term mission "Detour" in your path this summer!
