I'm still here! :) I promise, I really will start updating more when I have things to update about. Only 76 days (I think) until I leave for training! I've got a few things to work on before I get there, like a report on the people I'll be working with. I also need to find five churches (in the SBC) to sort of partner with while I'm gone. I'll send them updates, and they'll pray for me and hopefully send people to Skopje to be a part of the work there! I think it's an awesome idea--having people pray for me and getting them more interested and involved in global missions--but I'm having a little trouble coming up with five. I haven't really started on the report yet. And no, I am not procrastinating! I've got another mission trip coming up in June, so most of my focus is on that. When I get back, I'll have about a month before training to get it done. I've continued working on my Macedonian... ha. I probably know about 0.0000001% of the language. But every little bit helps! At least now I can point to things and say what colors they are... and I can name some animals... and use simple greeting phrases (even if I won't know what they're saying back to me). Combine that with excessive hand gestures, and I'm practically fluent! ;)
People keep asking me why I'm doing this. They think it's crazy or stupid, and I understand where they're coming from. I used to think two years was a huge commitment. But it doesn't seem all that long to me now. It's funny how much God can change people's hearts. As recently as a year and a half ago, I thought specifically about being a Journeyman... and how I could never do it. I thought I was too dependant on people around me, and I wouldn't even consider leaving my family for that long. And here I am, 18 months later, so ready to go! I can honestly say that this is what I want to do. I can't picture myself spending the next two years of my life doing anything else. I started praying in college that God would show me what He wanted me to do for this next stage of my life, and that He would give me the desire to do it--and that's exactly what He's done.
A verse that God has used to change my heart (and one that's become a favorite of mine) is Psalm 90:12:
So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.We're going to exist forever, but we only get one life here. Seventy or eighty years doesn't seem all that long in light of eternity. I don't want to waste my short time here. And a life that isn't lived in obedience and service to God, whether as a part of global missions or in the context of everyday life, is exactly that--wasted.
It's really fun talking to the other Journeymen because they feel the same way! That's one of the reasons I'm so excited about training. I felt so close to the people I met at the interview after spending just three days with them. Now, I get to spend eight weeks with the same people, and meet some new ones, too! It's going to be great. Can't. Wait. :)
