“I am a confusion of cultures. Uniquely me. I think this is good because I can understand the traveler, sojourner, foreigner, the homesickness that comes. I think this is also bad because I cannot be understood by the ordinary, mono-cultured person. They know not the real meaning of homesickness that hits me now and then. Sometimes I despair of understanding them. I am an island and a United Nations. Who can recognize either in me but God?” – Alex Graham

The life of an MK is full of hellos and goodbyes. That’s what my Mom always says. It’s our life and we get used to it, but that doesn’t make it any easier. There are many hard parts about leaving the country you love; saying goodbye to friends, to the places you grew up, and to the language. Contrary to popular belief, one of the hardest parts is not leaving your home, it’s creating a new life for yourself.

Leaving Colombia as a teenager to return to America was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I always knew it was coming. I always knew that when it was time for me to go to college, I would leave the only place that ever felt like home and start a new life. It always felt so far away. Yet, everything must happen eventually. So, more than a year ago (much earlier than I had previously anticipated) we packed our bags and moved to the U.S.

I’ll soon be starting college where I will be studying Missions, just like my parents, which means I will have a lot more goodbyes in my future. Including saying goodbye to my parents when they go back to Colombia in September, a few weeks after I start college. That will probably be one of the hardest things I’ll ever do. It’s even harder to think of when I realize they’ll be 2,500 miles away, but the cool thing to think about is that I have an amazing God who loves me more than anyone else in this world does and who says He will never leave me nor forsake me. He will always be there, even in the hard times, and being a missionary means there will be lots of hard times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Being an MK is hard, but there are so many rewards that come from it. The one thing I always try to remember is that whenever there’s a goodbye, there’ll be a hello.

Joy Hudgins, MK from Colombia