As I approach graduation I cannot help but reflect on my time at LMU- the education, the leadership opportunities, and the friends that turned into family (to name a few). I am truly honored to call myself a Lion.
Now enough of the sappy stuff…
I am absolutely terrified of graduating. Yes, I know what I am doing. Yes, I am traveling to 11 different countries. And yes, I am lucky to have a plan (read: God’s plan). But no, I am not going on a vacation.
I’m going on a mission. Here’s the difference:
I am not going to relax. I am going to work- in Red Light Districts, orphanages, and construction sites, all of which are in some of the poorest regions in the world.
I am not going to get away. I am going to share God’s love with those in desperate need of hope- the sick, the addicted, but also the happy.
I am not going to relieve my stress. I will be spending my nights in a sleeping bag- I won’t have my stuffed monkey to comfort me when I am sad- the packing list doesn’t exactly say 5-7 shirts and a stuffed animal (you laugh, but George is the best).
I am not going to avoid my career. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I can’t wait to work. I want to enter the workforce and make a difference as a positive light. But God told me to “go,” so I am.
I am not going to spend money. Rumor has it I’ll be living on $5 a day- an average coffee fix. While those around me are attempting to make money, I am attempting to fundraise it. And as the most prideful person I can think of, it pains me to ask others for help (see: I want to enter the workforce).
And I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Eating weird things, screaming when I see a giant spider, and fighting off who knows what diseases is something I can prepare for. Well, maybe. But I can’t prepare for the brokenness. All I know is that I will turn towards God more than I ever have, because it is in the world’s brokenness we truly see His work.
I am not going to escape the real world. I am going to see it.
I am not going to for myself. I am going because God asked.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8
