It didn't take long for me to hear the term "Christian Bubble" in my first year of college at Point Loma Nazarene University. I remember thinking I didn't like the way it sounded, even though I didn't fully understand what it meant at that time. Now that I have moved away from Point Loma, San Diego, and all of my closest friends I can feel that I have left the bubble.
Like many of my fellow expat missionaries I wasn't sure what to expect from LCC International University before I moved here. It seemed like a great school, with a mission I could support, and some kind of Christian basis, so what did I have to worry about (other than the cross-cultural move)?
Finding out that less than half of the LCC student body identifies themselves as Christians was a hard pill to swallow. Something I didn't expect, and to be honest wasn't prepared for.
Going to a Christian college of 2,400 students, who for the most part all had similar faith values as I was one of the best experiences of my life. I truly believe that my comfortable Christian college experience set the firm foundation that I continue to build my faith on today. Continuing to live in close proximity to my school, church, and all of the friends I had made in the past 4 years felt like a lovely extension of college. Then everything changed.
God put a call on my heart that sounded extreme to my friends and family back home. It took some people a while to get used to the choice to move to Lithuania and work at a different college than the one that had supported me and taught me how to be a daughter of Christ for the past 5 years. Although I am someone who likes change I could never have prepared myself for the radical changes I was about to experience.
I won't share any personal student stories on this platform, but after a month or two of taking time to figure out the LCC culture I had many questions for myself. What kind of Christian am I? How do I disciple to my students without offending them, or shoving Jesus down their throats? How will they know I am a Christian if I can't talk about it all the time? Where is an English speaking church? How do I back up the morals I am trying to teach my residents without scripture? If I do not talk about God all the time does that make me a bad Christian?
Some of these might seem silly but I had just come from a community where anyone would be willing to share their testimony with you at anytime, to a place where some people aren't even sure what the word testimony means. But by the grace of God we were created as humans that can grow, learn, and adapt.
For the past 8 months I have learned to appreciate a new way of living for Christ. A way that I personally feel is more in line with my calling as a Christ follower. A friend helped me with her reflections over a Skype call one day. She was telling me how lucky I was to be in an environment where I get the chance to interact with non-Christians and people who are unsure about their faith because that is where the Holy Spirit is at work! She still lives in San Diego in our safe and beautiful community and said she longs for the opportunities I have daily. THAT was the encouragement, and perspective I needed.
I have learned how to shine Christ's light through my actions and not my words. Sometimes that means planning events that don't necessarily look Christian from the outside, but are inclusive to all students on campus and teach overarching morals of love and acceptance. I have learned to be an active listener and going beyond expectations for my students. This means showing them care that can sometimes be confusing to them. When my students ask me, "Why are you doing this for me?" or "Why are you interested in how my day was?" That is when I know I am getting through, that is when I have earned the opportunity to share a bit of my faith with them. Trust must be earned, leading people to Jesus is not something that can be done overnight.
This is not always an easy journey. Honestly I often miss my comfortable, joyful, Christian community where all I have to work on is trying to improve myself. Things get messy when you step outside of the bubble, and not everyone is going to agree with you or see your point of view. All the challenges of living a real, and authentic life with others are made worth it when you see someone start to understand, and ask you to tell them more...
Encourage your fellow Christian brothers and sisters today. We all have a big task to do here on earth, and it's all too easy to stay within the comfortable bubble sometimes.
Abandoned amphitheater in Klaipeda
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