What are my expectations of
this mission trip…hmm, good question. I really want to go into it open-minded,
because I don’t want to place any limitations on what God can do in and through
me on the trip. A quote from a favorite book of mine, The Shack, I believe sums up my perspective well:
“I am a verb. I am that I am. I will be who I will be. I am
a verb! I am alive, dynamic, ever active, and moving. I am a being verb…And as
my very essence is a verb, I am more attuned to verbs than nouns…let’s use your
two words: responsibility and expectation. Before your words became nouns, they
were first my words, nouns with movement and experience buried inside of them;
the ability to respond and expectancy…I give you an ability to respond and your
response is to be free to love and serve in every situation, and therefore each
moment is different and unique and wonderful. Because I am your ability to
respond, I have to be present in you. If I simply gave you a responsibility, I
would not have to be with you at all. It would now be a task to perform, an
obligation to be met, something to fail…if you and I are friends, there is an
expectancy that exists within our relationship…That expectancy has no concrete
definition; it is alive and dynamic and everything that emerges from our being
together is a unique gift shared by no one else…”
This quote comes from when
God is having a discussion with the main character of the story, Mack, about
expectations versus expectancy and response versus responsibility in their relationship. I want to
simply trust God and live in expectancy to see and know Him in unprecedented
ways this coming year. However, as a starting point, I will list the top ten
things that I expect in the coming year (though these are listed in no
particular order of importance):
- I expect to dig into Scripture with fellow
believers, sharing thoughts and being influenced by the thoughts of other
solid believers during my time on the field. - I expect to miss my family and friends at home a
lot but also to find and develop lifelong relationships with brothers and
sisters in Christ who, at this point, I have yet to meet. - I expect to see the Lord move and work in ways I
have never witnessed. - I expect to learn new dances unique to the
cultures we visit and get to dance with the people in the countries we
visit…maybe even learn a few new sports, too. - I expect to learn to live on and be satisfied
with only what I need. - I expect to grow in intimacy with the Lord.
- I expect to have my taste buds rocked by trying a
whole new variety of foods! - I expect to become bolder in sharing the Gospel.
- I expect to gain vision and direction for the
rest of my life. - I expect to expect the unexpected.
