Encouragement in Rejection
By: Missionary Team
The Gift of Being Uncomfortable
Sometimes, the best thing you can be is uncomfortable. Before I get sued, please note that there are times when it is healthy and necessary to leave an uncomfortable situation. Now that my rear is covered, let’s talk about healthy “uncomfortably”. In my senior year of high school, I took a senior project class called Studio 57 from a man called, Mr. Trop. Studio 57 was a class that offered students a chance to take a little bit of everything they learned in high school and put it into one large project. Trop loved his students so much, but he enjoyed making all of us so uncomfortable. A large part of Studio 57 was the IDEO design thinking process. It consisted of five main steps: empathize, define, ideate (generate ideas), prototype, and test. To adequately accomplish the first step, we had to “self-empathize”, which is learning more about why you do what you do, and how that can help you to help others. Mr. Trop made it his unspoken goal to make every student cry because he knew that if you cried, he had made it deep enough to start revealing the things that really make you tick. He ended up getting about thirty of the forty-five (ish) students in this class to cry, myself included. Every time a student cried, he or she was built up. So many of the projects at the end of the year were phenomenal. At least one student started a small business, another ended up going to the United States Military Academy West Point, and I prepped for going to volunteer in Argentina in the summer after graduation, just to name a few successes.
It was easily the hardest class I have ever taken, and it taught me a lot about the English language, people, and presenting. Although I grew a lot in my ability to write, present, and speak in general, the most valuable lesson I learned in Studio 57 was that I cannot give up and every burden comes with a blessing. Ultimately, my time in Argentina kind of sucked. I had a hard time communicating with my host mom, especially when she made it clear that she would not take me to Mass. After trying to communicate with the program coordinators that I needed to attend Mass, I was brushed off. No one else on the team was Catholic or even Protestant, so I was the only person with any desire to attend church on Sunday. I stuck it out and came home having only attended Mass on my first and last Sunday there. I hadn’t seen the blessing from the burden yet, but it was coming. Later that summer, I was helping with the music ministry for a retreat in my hometown, and a Dominican priest was leading that retreat. My Dad saw this man, and he got so excited. Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to the first Dominican priest I had ever met. My time in Argentina came up in conversation. Having heard my sob story (I can be a bit melodramatic), he said, “Based on that experience, you might enjoy being a missionary with Hard as Nails. It’s a Catholic organization based in New York.” I realize only now that I basically ignored the man, but it turned out that this was the blessing from my burden. Almost two years later, I finally applied to be a missionary with Hard as Nails Ministries. I have only just begun with this ministry, and I am beyond excited to see where the Lord takes me this year.
This blessing has only started revealing itself, but I am already seeing the fruits of it. One activity we do is to go to the mall and encourage strangers. Many people do not have anyone encouraging them in their day-to-day life, so we strive to offer that to everyone we encounter. During my first time doing this, several women rejected our encouragement. More often than not, it was out of sheer disbelief. They didn’t believe they were worth encouraging. It definitely hurt to be rejected, but it is also something I can use to encourage myself. I see now more clearly the need for our mission and vision each time we get rejected that way. We, as a missionary team, are growing together in a love of rejection and failure for the sake of the Glory of God and our own growth as missionaries. We are starting to see God working in the hearts of those suffering that we meet every day.I would encourage you, my dear reader, to step out today into something unknown. Even if it is awful at first, give it a chance to find that “payoff”. I ended up becoming a missionary because over two years ago an old man (Mr. Trop) challenged me and made me uncomfortable, and I am still becoming a better person for it. I have high hopes for you. Love others, and strive for Christ. Both will make you uncomfortable at times, but wait for the payoff -hopefully it will include Heaven.
