There are times that this experience does not feel real. There are times when everything seems to just be going along and nothing is going to change.
Then things will happen in your life to make you realize that things are always changing and maybe those changes are ok. This can be scary to say the least but also exciting and confusing.
I have recently faced a couple of these experiences, where the reality of what I am doing, made itself very clear. The reality that where I am now is not where I will stay and things will change... they will change in a very big way. I like to think of these experiences as Landmarks that help us to know and mark the way we are going. Often these Landmarks go unnoticed and ignored for the most part. Then there are those landmarks that are so big they can't be ignored or overlooked. I have had a couple of these types of Landmarks recently.
Then things will happen in your life to make you realize that things are always changing and maybe those changes are ok. This can be scary to say the least but also exciting and confusing.
I have recently faced a couple of these experiences, where the reality of what I am doing, made itself very clear. The reality that where I am now is not where I will stay and things will change... they will change in a very big way. I like to think of these experiences as Landmarks that help us to know and mark the way we are going. Often these Landmarks go unnoticed and ignored for the most part. Then there are those landmarks that are so big they can't be ignored or overlooked. I have had a couple of these types of Landmarks recently.
LANDMARK #1My vision trip to ChiangMai, Thailand. I did not know you could fall in love with a people and a country that you had never even seen before but that is what has happened to me. Before I ever arrived I knew that Thailand was going to be the place for me. Yet there is always that fear that you have raised your expectations too high and will be disappointed or that you won't fit in.
The moment I landed in ChiangMai, I knew I had nothing to fear about not liking it. There was still the fear that they would not like me but I had this feeling of contentment as soon as I got there, that I had not expected.
To be honest, when I first landed in Bangkok I was just tired and stressed. I had three hours to get through customs, get a visa, find my bags, go through immigration and then check back in and find the gate for my flight to ChiangMai. Picture long lines, grumpy customers agents and a language I do not know. Yet when it finally got to be my turn, and thanks to a couple of very nice people I met in the Hong Kong airport that let me go in front of them, I got through immigration quickly. The agent did not even ask me anything. He looked through my papers and then stamped the visa in my passport, stapled the exit documents into the passport and waved me through. Then my luggage came really fast on the belt, again thanks to the nice lady that watched my bags while I tried to find a cart to use. Then off I went to try to find someone, hopefully an English speaker, to point me toward the departure area.
I even got to see someone really important in the departures area... I have no idea who it was but they were surrounded by guys wearing dark glasses and guns. It was very cool. Back through security and I found my gate. I then slept through the snack on the plane and landed in my future home.
ChiangMai is a "modern" city in the middle of rice fields and villages. It is really quite an interesting view from the air. As soon as you leave the city you are headed into fields and villages and the whole view of things changes. In the city it is more modern and almost western...yet not really that western but they try. Then you leave and everything is old school.
Ok so that is enough stories for now...need to save some for the future bogs.
It is hard to ignore your future when you are seeing it first hand and standing in the middle of a dorm of kids asking when you are coming.
LANDMARK #2As of today it is 1 year till I need to have all my clearances in order to be approved to attend the Orientation Course in July 2013. This is held in Singapore and from there you head to your respective country of service to begin language study. These clearances include: medical, psychological, prayer and financial support.
Talk about a Landmark...365 Days till I get approval to go to Asia. The list of things to do for that to happen is now glaring me in the face and I am excited to see what God will do.
If I am being very honest though, I am terrified. There is so much to do and I already feel overwhelmed and exhausted. I struggle with feelings of discouragement and fear. It would be so easy to stay right here and continue in the Serve Asia department. The thought of leaving my family and a job that I actually enjoy, to go half way around the world, is really hard.
Yet I know that God does not ask us to take the easy road or to do what is simple. He calls us instead to trust in Him and allow Him to guide our steps. We are not to look in the short term but look to Him for the long haul.
When I attended the conference in Singapore...after I was in ChiangMai, someone used a saying that I thought was really good. They said that God is the Great Mobalizer and He is the Wonderful Candidate Coordinator. I was at a Mobalization and Coordinator's Consultation. LOL. I have thought a lot about that quote since the conference and here is my addition to it.
God is the Great Mobalizer, He is the Wonderful Candidate Coordinator but God is not a Short Term Missions Coordinator. He does not call us to serve Him in the short term only. He does not ask us to only give Him 2 weeks one year. He asks for our lives. We are to serve Him always.
So I will follow God's direction. Please pray with me and for me as I know I am facing times of stress and strain. Please pray that I will ever be in God's perfect will.
