stop this train

"Don't stop this train,
Don't for a minute change the place you’re in..."

Strange place in life. I still have to remind myself I'm almost 22. I'm getting older, getting married, and soon getting a degree in Cultural Communication (though not soon enough). I'll never stop this train, the movement of time as I advance into another season of life. I definitely don't want to stop it. I'm just reminiscent of the changes in my life when I reached adulthood and now as I rest comfortably in it. Life is good...

"Once in a while, it'll feel like it should..."

Life definitely is GOOD. I can't imagine being anymore confident in what is happening in my life at this moment. Though I have no idea what will be going on this time next year, I can rest assured that I am completely protected by the Lord’s will in my life, for I am certain I am living out his will. The past year has changed everything about the way I look at the world. And I can believe that five years from now, everything I see will take on a different shade, or maybe even change color. I feel so at peace about being in the dark. Strange statement, but I am so excited for the unexpected because I know that whatever happens God will be the one leading me through it.

When I started studying intercultural communications I was thrown for a big loop. Life in the Western world suddenly opened up and I was gazing at everything with a global perspective. That perspective carried over into my personal life, and as questions started to fill my mind I was sent into a strange and lovely place of discovery. There were so many things that I came to learn and am still learning that have changed so much about how I look at missions and Christianity. If I had any doubt I was studying the wrong thing in school, God has eased all those doubts and in turn put a feeling of peace in my heart.

I've come to understand the value of culture and Christianity in every country around the world. You cannot remove a person form their culture, though you may be able to offer Christianity, the customs and traditions that have been instilled in them cannot be removed all together.

There is a wonderful movie I recommend to anyone interested in missions abroad, or even at home. It is called "The End of the Spear." The story in itself is life changing, and based on real events, but I won't describe that here. What stood out to me was the way in which culture and Jesus were able to coincide. A young girl from this tribe tries to get her people to understand the concept of Jesus. SO she takes the "god" they have all grown up with and describes him as a god who has a son. A son who died for the world and their sins. As time goes on they understand the difference between their "god" and God, but it is the way that she understood her people enough to know that they needed that sense of their own culture to understand the message she wanted to give them.

Missions are not just a two-week stay somewhere. Missionary work is a life calling on each and every one of us. Even if your mission work is in the States, or in the Amazon, or somewhere in Switzerland. Missions is just God's call on us to share his Son with the world. But as I get older and the world changes I realize that my own understandings of the world must deepen. If I wish to go out and spread the good news, I must understand the people that live in the places I go out into. And it is this understanding that gives me the peace that God put me in that field of study for a very important reason. It is the vision of teaching others - fellow missionaries, students, businessman - about the cultures they are stepping into, that has made me see that God has placed that very special call on my life.

I have been a missionary since I was fifteen, and one day I will be a missionary in another country. When? I don't know for sure. I do know that God has given me that desire, and I know that in his own time he will open the right doors, so long as I am seeking his will I will know when to step forward. And I know, that he has given me an amazing man to reassure me of that purpose and to give me companionship as we travel across the world. I will never stop this train, or wish to change the place I am in. I am uncertain, but at peace. I am clueless, but I have faith. And I certainly am not an expert, but God is training me and he has given me the ultimate confidence in his will for that area of my life.

Go out into the world. Even if it is the downtown area of the city you live. Even if it is giving that homeless man a Bible and a word of hope. Even if it is merely serving that cup of coffee with a smile. Even if it is driving patiently on overcrowded Bear Valley. Spread the good news, and that message of Jesus to every person. And if you can, reach into the parts of them that matter- their traditions, their culture, their hearts.

Blessings!

P.S. I highly recommend the song "Stop This Train" with much credit given to John Mayer for his help on establishing this long entry of thoughts:)

Blessings again!