A Family Once Unknown

It's amazing how one common goal can unite strangers.

When I first got together with my STM (Short Term's Mission) team, I considered them all strangers. Sure, we had grown up in the same church for years, but I rarely communicated with them. I was always in my own group, and they in theirs. So you can guess that when we got together for the first time to meet, I felt relatively shy amongst them.

Anyways, for the past few months, we've been meeting and sharing our spiritual growth, preparing the lessons, and organizing various fundraisers. Even though we had been meeting together for quite some time now, I still felt relatively uncomfortable around them.

That all changed last Sunday.

On Sunday, we held our fundraising dinner at Burnaby Alliance Church. We had been preparing for weeks, organizing guests, food, games, decor, and other important aspects. However, no one could expect just how much effort and time was needed until that actual day.

The day was extremely long. In just a few short hours, we had to put together an evening for over 100 people. It was crazy! We rushed to get organized by preparing the tables, the lighting, the games, the presentations, the organized help... etc. It was a tiring experience.

However, the one thing that amazed me was how quickly we banded together. Everybody worked together to get things done. Nobody argued or had anything negative to say. It was amazing how smoothly it went.

What's more, we became family.

Our team had never done anything together like this since we've started meeting. Putting together an evening dinner in such a short amount of time made us become one. We were united in our goal. We shared in laughter, in struggle, and in pleasure the entire night. We had, at times, some downs, yet though all the toils and troubles, and in my moments of stress, many of my team members unknowingly did something to help me feel better. A smile, a pat on the back, a shared joke, a word of encouragement; these are things that strangers don't usually do for each other.

For some reason after the dinner, I finally felt like these people, who had once been strangers to me, were my family. I began to see various individuals, not as "that person", but as someone who understands me and has the same goals as I. All the uncomfortable feelings were gone. They were my brothers and sisters in Christ. Our blood, tears, and sweat had been spilled.

Altogether, this summer has been extremely stressful, with my last semester of university, working 3-4 days a week, and on top of all that, the mission's trip itself. All that being said, I have come to realize one thing this week: not only do I have Christ as my rock, I have this team as well.

I am so happy to be working with this group of individuals. I couldn't ask for anybody better. They are, without a doubt, a family once unknown.