A New Jersey Success Story
I went to Tattered Cover a couple of days ago to buy my first book about Bangkok. Since it looks more and more likely that things are falling into place for my spring time departure, I figured it would be a good idea to study up on the region a bit (I wont actually believe it until I'm sitting on the aircraft). Overall, even though I'll be teaching little kids "English," which probably means I'll mostly just be babysitting and reviewing colors and numbers (a huge diversion from my last teaching position which involved teaching college professors and aeronautical engineering majors about Bernoulli's Principle and how to recover a stalled aircraft), I feel like it will be wise of me to understand what I can about the history of the region, current politics, and culture. I'm sure any one of my friends currently serving overseas could claim that you really cant prepare for those things adequately from a book, you just have to live it, but I still want to know what I can. If anything, at least Bangkok has an interesting culture.
Anyways, my point is not to brag about my knowledge about the physics of flight. It's more to point out that when I was at the bookstore, despite my best intentions to learn and to grow in my understanding of something that is foreign to me, I still battled the urge to purchase the "How to make the best of your Thai beach vacation" guide book. The pictures of ocean-side cliffs and sea kayaking over pristine blue water was almost too much to pass up. I do intend on doing some traveling while in Thailand of course, but that's not the focus and point of the trip. That's actually why I've never really been drawn to 2-3 week mission trips. I'd take an opportunity if it came up for cheap, but really it just seems like an extended vacation.
How do I blend my desire to follow God into unknown territories and live impactfully for Him with the desire to lay out on a remote island? I definitely know that God intends on us doing both during this lifetime, but I don't know if it's something that I'll truly understand until I'm living amidst it. Or maybe I'll never really get it(?), but I sure am getting excited to give it a try.
Anyways, my point is not to brag about my knowledge about the physics of flight. It's more to point out that when I was at the bookstore, despite my best intentions to learn and to grow in my understanding of something that is foreign to me, I still battled the urge to purchase the "How to make the best of your Thai beach vacation" guide book. The pictures of ocean-side cliffs and sea kayaking over pristine blue water was almost too much to pass up. I do intend on doing some traveling while in Thailand of course, but that's not the focus and point of the trip. That's actually why I've never really been drawn to 2-3 week mission trips. I'd take an opportunity if it came up for cheap, but really it just seems like an extended vacation.
How do I blend my desire to follow God into unknown territories and live impactfully for Him with the desire to lay out on a remote island? I definitely know that God intends on us doing both during this lifetime, but I don't know if it's something that I'll truly understand until I'm living amidst it. Or maybe I'll never really get it(?), but I sure am getting excited to give it a try.
posted by carlymarie | 9:49 PM
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