Bad Memories
In addition to all the good memories in the last chapter there may be some bad memories about your short-term missionary service. You may want to forget about some, but events keep occurring to remind you of them. You may feel ashamed of other bad memories but keep reminding yourself about those. The best way to process them and really leave them behind is to recall them, think about them, and place them in the perspective of your whole life story.
Bad Memories in Bible Times
Jonah
Although Jonah had few good memories, he had many bad ones. Here are some of them.
· Caught in a violent storm that threatened to sink the ship (Jonah 1:4-6)
· Thrown overboard by sailors who were trying to save the ship (Jonah 1:7-16)
· Swallowed by a great fish where he remained for three days and nights (Jonah 1:17—2:10)
· Displeased that his compassionate God made his prophecy false (Jonah 3:10—4:2)
· So angry and discouraged that he wanted to die and repeatedly asked God to take his life (Jonah 4:3-9)
Jesus’ Apostles
We do not know what the 12 reported that were bad memories, but we do know that Jesus warned them that some of the following things would occur
Though we do not have records of that occurring during their short-term trip, we certainly do have a record of bad things that happened to Paul.
Paul
Paul and Barnabas talked not only about the good things that had happened but also about the difficult things. Luke also recorded some of these difficult things right along with the good things.
· While they were in Perga (in Pamphylia), John Mark left them to return to his passport country (Acts 13:13) before they moved on to Antioch (in Pisidia). Since they were shorthanded, Paul and Barnabas probably felt overworked and abandoned, and later they had some relationship problems about this. Paul had not yet left this conflict behind.
· Still filled with the Holy Spirit, when they were deported from Antioch (in Pisidia), they shook off the dust from their feet in protest and went on to Iconium (Acts 13:50-52). Paul and Barnabas knew the pain of being rejected by the very people to whom they had come to minister.
· In Iconium they found out about a plot to harm them, so they fled to Lystra (Acts 14:5-6). Paul and Barnabas experienced danger, fear and evacuation.
· In Lystra Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city, and left for dead (Acts 14:19).
You may have been to your “Antiochs,” “Pergas,” “Iconiums,” and “Lystras.” Paul wrote in more detail about these difficult times in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. These are listed below. Check off in the squares how many you have experienced yourself.
q O Worked hard
q O Been in prison
q O Exposed to death
q O Beaten
q O Stoned
q O Shipwrecked
q O Adrift in the sea
q O Constantly on the move
q O In danger from rivers
q O In danger from bandits
q O In danger from his own countrymen
q O In danger from the nationals
q O In danger in the city
q O In danger in the country
q O In danger at sea
q O Labored
q O Toiled
q O Went without sleep
q O Hungry
q O Thirsty
q O Cold
q O Without clothes
q O “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
Sometimes it is difficult to close a chapter and leave such things behind emotionally, but it can be done. Paul had done this by the time he wrote Timothy. Paul wrote about his life, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, and sufferings all in one sentence—good and bad alike. In fact he specifically mentioned the difficulties he endured “in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra” (2 Timothy 3:10-11). He finished by saying, “Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.”
Take time to go back a second time through Paul’s list and check in the circles of those that still bother you. This is a good time to bring closure to them. If you do not do it now, these items may follow you into the next chapter of your life and become stumbling blocks there. Go back to the circles you have checked to consider some of the same questions you did about the good things in the last chapter.
Bad Memories Today
My Story
It did not take long on the field for some events to occur that are really bad memories. The morning of our very first day, someone came running to me saying that Bonnie had been hit in the head by a brick. The way we got bricks up to the second floor where they were needed was to throw them up where another member of the team was waiting to catch them. The person above missed a thrown brick and it came down to strike a glancing blow on Bonnie’s head. It knocked her down, required six stitches to close, and meant that she could not do heavy work. We realized that had the brick been four or five inches to one side, it could have killed her!
In addition to injury, there was illness. Though I was never ill, one young man on our team had intestinal problems and did not tell anyone. By the time we returned to the states he had lost 35 pounds and was so dehydrated that he was hospitalized.
One day while waiting to pay for some merchandise,
Bonnie realized that a man had his hand in her purse trying to steal money. She yelled and jerked the purse away, then the man grabbed some of our merchandise and ran out of the store. The store manager ran out after him.
I felt uneasy in a place where I could not speak the language and could not ask anything or answer when asked something. I felt unsafe, not because something bad had happened, but because I knew I would not be able to cope if something did happen. Bargaining was new to me, and I did not like to do it, afraid I would be cheated or would take advantage of someone.
Missionaries often have travel problems, and our first trip was no exception. We boarded our plane for Brazil, but the plane had mechanical problems. Varig Airlines put us up for the night in a hotel, and flew another plane to Miami. We boarded that one in the morning, but we then sat on the tarmac for three hours while they made repairs on the new plane. Of course, that meant we had missed connections in Sao Paulo.
Your Story
A few pages back you checked off the bad things that were like those that Paul told the Ephesian church in 2 Corinthians 11. Please take time to list below some of the other bad memories during your short-term service.