Disrupted Tides

by Sam and Summer

We currently live just a short drive from the ocean. One of the most fascinating aspects of life by the ocean is observing the tides. The high tide comes about every 12 hours and completely covers the marsh. It’s such a regular occurrence, you can almost set your watch by it. In a way, this regular rhythm of the ocean is comforting because locals know what to expect and when to expect it. But sometimes the tide is disrupted. Tidal disruptions can occur when “celestial gravity or terrestrial forces override normal tidal cycles, causing extreme flooding or environmental changes.”

The life of a cross-cultural worker can be as regular as the tide. You know what to expect and when to expect it. You have your routines, and you can pretty well predict what will occur if x happens. But what happens when “Celestial gravity” or “terrestrial forces” override the normal tide, and the Lord calls you to a place you didn’t expect—and frankly, you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself? Life can seem like the disrupted tide. You suddenly don’t know what to expect. You feel off-kilter. Perhaps your faith wavers. Perhaps the disruption comes with a lot of pain and puts you in a place of vulnerability or danger; a place where faith is thrust from the realm of theory and crashes into real life.

Sam and I served as cross-cultural workers from 2016-2018 in Perú and from 2020-2022 in Japan. We returned to the U.S. in 2022 after a joyful disruption of “celestial gravity” and have been waiting for the opportunity to return to Japan ever since. We thought, after a season of pain, waiting, and uncertainty of nearly 4 years, that we finally had the open door through which Jesus was beckoning us to return to Japan. However, after seeking wisdom from the Lord and asking our church family to pray, we came to understand that this is not the opportunity we thought or hoped it would be.

We are disappointed. We don’t have a clear picture of what the Lord has for us in the future. It’s a bit frustrating, and life in the U.S. right now is difficult. It’s still a hard season of life. And that’s okay. What we do have is a clear picture of our Father’s heart. His heart is for His own glory. His heart is for the nations. His heart is for us. We serve at His pleasure, not our own. We are part of His plan. That isn’t to say that He’s going to neglect our greatest good in this hard season; quite the opposite actually. It’s because His heart is for us that He has brought us into this difficult season, to bring about the fruit of His will.

Are you in a place of uncertainty where the Lord is leading you? Are you in a place of painful waiting? Are you called to the nations, but you do not yet have clarity on the Lord’s plan for your life? Let me encourage you. Embrace the disrupted tide. The Lord will not waste your pain or your life. If He has you waiting, be faithful in waiting. If He has you in a place of uncertainty, let it be an opportunity to grow and exercise your faith in a faithful God. Does He have you in a place that you would not have chosen for yourself? Ask Him to show you how to be faithful where He has placed you. If you are a supporter of cross-cultural workers, this message is for you, too.

Pray for cross-cultural workers. More often than not, CCWs face a barrage of disrupted tides: culture shock, culture stress, language learning, raising children in a new context, facing dangers largely unknown to you, and generally bringing the gospel to the very gates of hell so that Christ may bring his people home. In the midst of these disrupted tides, we stand firm because we are held fast by the nail-scarred hands of our mighty Savior.

In seasons of disrupted tides, cross-cultural workers are not meant to stand alone. At Anglican Frontier Missions, we are committed to seeing our workers sustained not only in seasons of clarity and fruitfulness, but also in seasons of waiting, uncertainty, and redirection.

When you give to AFM, you step directly into these moments. Your generosity provides the stability that allows missionaries to remain faithful when the path forward isn’t clear. It fuels ongoing discernment, supports families in difficult seasons, and ensures that the call to the unreached does not fade in the midst of disruption.

The reality is that many of the most significant moments in mission work happen in the “in-between”—in the disrupted tides where God is shaping hearts, refining callings, and preparing the way forward. Your partnership makes it possible for cross-cultural workers to stay present in those moments rather than stepping away from them.

Through your prayer and financial support, you are helping send and sustain workers among the least reached—standing with them not only in the going, but in the waiting, trusting, and persevering.

Together, we hold fast—confident that even in disrupted tides, God is faithfully drawing people from every nation to Himself.