Homesickness

Tinku Thompson Personal, Health and Ministry Updates

Mar 11, 2024

Hello Friends and Family,

green ceramic mug on wooden desk — Photo by David Mao on Unsplash

I completed a busy month with travel and experiences that will remain in my memory for a long time. It all started with a weeklong stay in the New Delhi area. There was a three-day public convention, and preaching in Hindi was a joy. There was a family seminar during the day. I got an opportunity to take an ordination class in a Bible College and then was the guest for a Bible College graduation. I was able to participate in a three-day pastors conference for hundreds of pastors who are from some of the most challenging places. My favorite time was when they shared their testimony and experiences.

I had the privilege to speak many times to them, and my favorite session was “Persecution and Reward.” I was talking to people who carry physical marks on their bodies for their faith. There was a pastor whose left ear was cut off by people who opposed his faith. It was a special occasion to spend time with them. I also had the privilege of being a guest at our organization's main Bible College graduation. It was the 70th graduation service of Sharon Bible College in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India.

We also visited Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and Kathmandu, Nepal. It was a blessed time meeting many people. All together, it was a blessed time in many ways. The biggest challenge was the weather. I went from a cold place to a sweltering place to a cold region. Finally, back to a scorching place and then to a cold place. I felt I could have planned that better.

While in a hot place, I took many sessions during the day for almost six hours. It was scorching hot, and I got exhausted. The night after having dinner, I slept with the AC on without realizing it. I woke up in the middle of the night shivering, making me sick and tired. I did not miss any meetings but felt down and pulled myself.

The excitement for serving others was there, but the body pulled me in a different direction. That is the time when you are hit with “Homesickness.”

Homesickness, also known as "nostalgia," is a feeling of longing, sadness, or distress experienced when one is away from home or familiar surroundings, if it is felt more when one feels sick or helpless.

Symptoms of homesickness can vary from person to person but may include:

Longing for familiar people, places, and routines.
Feelings of sadness, melancholy, or nostalgia.
Difficulty concentrating or focusing on tasks.
Loss of appetite or changes in eating habits.
Trouble sleeping or disruptions in sleep patterns.
Irritability or mood swings.
Physical symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches.

The feeling of tiredness and sickness brought a longing to be back home. The ministry times were exciting, but deep inside, there was this longing to be back. It made me realize how we all feel homesick at times when we are in this world. Just like the places I was visiting were not my home, this world is not my home. As Jim Reeves wrote -

This world is not my home
I'm just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me
From heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home
In this world anymore

The best accommodations and stay can still make us homesick. There is always this feeling that you must leave the place in a few days. If you are going to stay at a place for one week, you tend to bring out most of the things from your suitcase. If you stay at a place for just one night, you bring out what you need for that night, knowing that you have to pack everything the next day and go and, in many cases, never return to that place again.

From a biblical point of view, we are strangers and foreigners in this world. We do not have a permanent residence. We are staying for a short time and will move on soon. We should not give up but focus on what is ahead.

¹⁶Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. ¹⁸So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. ( 2 Cor. 4:16-18, CSB)

✍️Quotes of this edition

“Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you.” - Timothy Keller

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty. - Peter Marshall

When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him. - Elisabeth Elliot

📔My Health/Personal Update

Thank you for your continued prayers for my complete recovery. Things are progressing in the right direction, but I am still on some medication. The doctor wants a few things to stabilize before taking off some medications. Things are progressing, even with some challenges here and there.

I plan to travel more this month and in the coming months, including internationally.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who has not given up but continues to pray for me.