God has a sense of humor. I like that in a guy. I really do. I feel that this may be a theme for the coming year. In one version of my life, this is the
month I was going to be spending in Mexico with the July World Race Squad. But like I said, God has a sense of
humor. I am not headed south to
Mexico, but north, or rather, northwest.
For the past month and a half, I
have been in Georgia, immersed in the beauty and love of the amazing family at
Adventures in Missions and all things World Race. I adore this family because I can be me, and they love me
just as I am. I don’t feel like I
am ‘performing’ or doing things just to meet their expectations. It has been very liberating. It is has also been a great learning
experience as I watch things happen on the field, and how people in the office
react. For the next two weeks
though, I am out of the office, and on the field. I have to take all I have learned recently and apply
it. Like the fledgling eagle, I am
being pushed out of the nest, and forced to fly on my own.
This morning saw me awake at
4:45am. For those of you who may
not know me well, this is not a usual occurrence, unless I am going to bed
REALLY late. But I had good reason
to get up early this morning. It
is now just past 7:30am, and I am sitting in the Atlanta Airport waiting to
board a plane to Denver. After
Denver, I’ll fly on to Billings, Montana.
Yes, Montana, the namesake of one of my absolute favorite John Denver
songs.
I am the Project Leader for a Short
Term Mission trip in Heart Butte, Montana on a Blackfoot Indian
Reservation. I have 11 high school
students, 4 chaperones, and 1 cook in my charge.
We are going to spend the week of
running a Vacation Bible School for the children of this small residential
village about an hour away from Glacier National Park. From what I understand, there is next
to nothing ‘commercial’ in the village.
I have heard a rumor that there may be dial-up internet access at the
pastor’s home, but other than that, the closest wi-fi hotspot is the RadioShack
parking lot 25 miles away. I’m
going to feel right at home because there is also very limited cell service in
the village. I’ve been told that
if I choose to hike the ‘Heart’, the butte for which the town is named, I can
probably get a reasonably clear signal.
I am excited for so many things on
this trip, one of which is working with teenagers. I know there are tons of people out there who love little
kids. God is challenging me in
learning to appreciate the little ones.
But there is something great about teenagers, about watching young men
and women grow into who they are.
A part of me is terrified
though. What if I screw something
up? What if I don’t explain an
activity the right way and it goes all wrong? What happens if I make some massive cultural faux pas? What happens if I don’t have answers to
how the kids are interpreting scripture?
Half of these kids have been to Albania on a Mission trip; can I meet
their expectations here? These and
a thousand other questions are running through my head, driving me half
crazy. I don’t have the
answers. I have to rely on the
Lord to lead me. This is going to
be a challenge for me, to check in with God at every turn. I am so used to relying on myself and
what I know. This is me, learning
to trust God that He won’t let me screw up too badly. And that if He does, there will be some lesson it in that
will serve me well during the next year.
