“Let not the longing slay
the appetite of our living!�
-Jim Elliot
This unique season of the World Race
has been described by some to be an 11-month waiting game. Now, it is
absolutely and undeniably incredibly more than that, so let me
explain. This trip is an amazing opportunity to catch a glimpse into
an assortment of ministries, to interact and work with people across
countless cultures, occupations, languages, and opinions, to step
outside of your comfort zone and all that is familiar, and to define
your passions, by strengthening the old or discovering new. In the
course of all this, there is the persistent looming question as to
where God is calling you post-World Race. That question alone could
be the bane of all racers, the question we most often simultaneously
dread but can’t resist from asking. The World Race never intends to
be the finish line for God’s work in our lives, but a mere starting
platform from which to launch into a life of radical faith and
devotion to the work of God in the world. In all of that, in some
sense these are an 11-month discernment period of the lifetime to
follow, if that doesn’t make it sound too dramatic.
All that said, this month has seen some
progress in my own discernment process about life after the race, at
least in some areas. Since early on the race, God has done a
consistent work in renewing my eyes to see His ministry back in the
states, particularly among the high school students I had been
working with the last 4 years before the race. He has refined a
passion for arenas of education, and the roles of influence of
teachers. In the last couple months, I’ve applied and been accepted
to the University of Dayton’s Licensure to Masters Education program,
to prepare me to teach high school math. This past week, after a
great session of seeking the Lord and with a new peace and
confidence, I confirmed my enrollment for the fall. Praise God for
direction!
So, to update you where I’m at and
where I’ll be going, I’ll be starting up classes on August 24th
back in Dayton, Ohio, giving me a solid 3 weeks between pulling into
the driveway back home for the first time in 11 months and stepping
into a classroom. I’m actually more excited than anything, and think
it will genuinely be great for me in the long run (whatever that
means). I have an application in at UD for a graduate assistantship
position, and that would still be an amazing door for God to open, so
I would greatly appreciate any prayers you could offer up for that.
There’s still plenty of question marks on the horizon, so also any
general discernment prayers would also be appreciated. Of course, as evidenced by Jim Elliot’s quote up top, let this longing for the fall not obscure the living God still has doing here in Romania and Ukraine. Thank you for
all your support!
“But thanks be to God,
who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us
spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.�
2 Corinthians 2:14
