Mixed emotions as teams come home
BMS Action Teams are back after six months’ overseas – with a UK tour next on their radar.
It’s a time of transition again for 34 gap year students returning home this week after six months of overseas mission.
But the BMS experience doesn’t finish there for them: the nine Action Teams will be hitting the road again next month on a two-month tour around the UK.
Three teams have been in Brazil (one in Maranhão; two in São Paulo), with three more in India (two in Kolkata; one in Delhi) and one each in Nepal, South Africa and Thailand.
Between them, the teams have been involved a range of activities, including pre-school work, English teaching, evangelism, youth camps, women’s empowerment, working with disabled children, and building and clean water projects.
“We’ve had some wonderful times as a team and will look back with delight on memories of our adventure in Kolkata. We have made some friends for life and will greatly miss the people and the projects we have worked alongside.” Kolkata 1 team
Overwhelming
Becky Hembery (left), BMS Mission Teams Organiser, who experienced Action Teams herself eight years ago, says, “It’s definitely a time of mixed emotions. There’s a sense of excitement at coming home but also a sense that they’re going to miss the people they’ve met.
“Some have loved what they’ve been doing and want to stay; for others it’s definitely time to come home. They’ll be very tired too! I remember coming into the UK airport and being overwhelmed, while part of my heart was back in the other country.”
There will be mixed emotions for Action Teams overseas supervisors too. “Having an Action Team can be hard work,” explains Becky, “but they will also miss the young people, because they’ve been able to set things up or do work that they then have to take back or find someone to do”.
“We have seen parts of our lives transformed, our opinions challenged and hearts changed during the last few months. We feel spiritually empowered to return to the UK and continue telling people about Jesus on tour and in our future lives.” Brazil Maranhão team
Reconnecting
After some time at home, teams will gather again at BMS’ International Mission Centre (IMC) on 5 April for a period of debriefing and to prepare for their UK tour.
It’s an important time, says Becky. “We’ll spend three or four days talking about those mixed emotions. Some things fade or wear off, but we’ll look at what they want to remember and what lessons to hold onto.”
“It has been an amazing experience and God has taught me so much about himself through the people here and I know this is going to be one of the defining experiences of my life. I am really excited about tour. I think that going to lots of different churches will be a great opportunity to… put into application what I've learnt overseas.” Jon Owen, São Paulo 1 team
Tour planning comes next, including some time back reconnecting with the training churches they were with last September.
“Tour is crammed! Travelling and living with people you don’t always know is tiring; they’re doing that for eight weeks.”
Becky adds, “Every day is something different – be it talking at a school assembly, addressing an elderly group or leading a church service. Seeing different groups of people keeps the teams enthusiastic and individuals being able to share experiences with their own church is really exciting.”
Pray for each the teams as they return and adapt again to UK life, and especially for energy and freshness as they go on tour. May their words impact many people in this country and help those whom they meet gain a better understanding of Christian mission in different cultures.
It’s still not too late for you, or someone aged 18-23 that you know, to apply for the 2011/12 Action Teams programme.
The deadline for applications is 6 April and the late contact day is 12 April.
23/03/2011
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