Jonah Sparling ‘28
Spiritual growth is not only found in explicitly mission-oriented travel opportunities. This was the surprising lesson I learned while at the JAF winter seminar in Orvieto, Italy. American culture is focused heavily on efficiency and for this reason, often our lives are heavily segmented. The hit show Severance, where work life and home life are completely separated is an example of this compartmentalization taken to its absolute extreme! Travel fights against this compartmentalization and is beneficial in a multitude of areas such as cultural intelligence and language learning. The purpose of this piece is to shed light on an aspect that often is overlooked: spiritual development.
While the JAF Winter Seminar focuses on Christian themes, most of the spiritual benefit I reaped from this trip was not directly from the class but came from simply being a Christian engaging in an unfamiliar culture. One of the primary factors of my spiritual development was engaging with the Christians in Italy. I learned many lessons from examining how they interacted with their faith. Everyone seemed outwardly pious when in religious contexts, and I loved seeing the connection of their faith to culture and history. Christianity felt more culturally relevant in Italy. When entering the basilicas and other churches, most Italians, even those who seemed to be tourists, would make the sign of the cross when entering and keep a respectful silence while seeing the religious art. The vast majority of Italians consider themselves to be Catholic and have a Catholic heritage. By interacting with local people outside of mass, I saw how cultural Christianity was a widespread phenomenon.
Through my experiences in Orvieto, I also gained insight into the state of the Church in America. The predominately evangelical Christians I have interacted with in America often have a deeper and all-encompassing spirituality, but one easily influenced by politics. It’s important to note that the churches we attended were places of interest for tourists, so some of the lack of
depth might have been from this fact. Whatever the reason, visiting these sites gave me a greater appreciation for the Church in America, where before I had held a much more cynical perspective.
A previous mission trip to Mexico that I took in high school provided different spiritual insights. I was able to see the tremendous benefits of the tight-knit church community the believers formed in the small village town of Cuautotola. Our group was invited to a wedding that took place in the town, and nearly the entire community seemed to be in attendance. I also saw the sad state of interdenominational isolation and animosity in Mexico, which both made me realize the tremendous progress the Church in America has made toward unity and also energized me to keep fighting for the cause of interdenominational unity.
I encourage every reader to partake in a study abroad or mission opportunity, not just for travel or education, but for the spiritual development that can come from these trips. At Gordon, there are a vast array of options for academic travel from programs focusing on peacemaking in the Balkans to working with refugees in Iceland. There is value to be gained from each travel opportunity. While I learned much from my time in Italy, I am sure I will learn new lessons traveling to other cultures in the future. As Proverbs 27:17 states, “Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” In nearly all ecclesial communities around the world, we can learn from their triumphs and pitfalls for the improvement of Christ’s Church.
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