tales from the far east

I cant believe I’m back in America! Ive been back for about a week now, and even though I was getting homesick towards the end of my trip, I really wish I was back in East Asia right now. I got back Friday evening, and the whole weekend I was so jetlagged, emotional and depressed (ranging from mild do extremely).

Thank you for your prayers, the trip was amazing! There were some things I had to adjust to (namely, the lack of Western toilets) but I am so thankful to have been able to see another side of the world. It is so humbling to see just how much I have in America that I take for granted – simple things like being able to brush my teeth with clean tap water, eating a burger anytime I wanted, having 24/7 access to air conditioning...I spent the majority of my time in a city in the south (anonymously called B-town). Everyone was so hospitable over there and even though I didn’t speak the language, they were still so friendly and open to communicating, even if it was by hand gestures and pointing!

[Background: B-town is in the process of receiving a lot of funding from the government to build up the city and increase tourism. It is slated to become a much bigger tourist attraction in the next 10 years, hence they need better English speakers. This is the first local contract for an English training in this city (even though they need English speakers, they are hesitant because they are afraid once employees are able to speak English, they will leave for bigger cities), but at the end of our training, they made it clear that there will be more training opportunities in the future! Yippee! I am actually going to be continuing working with my hosts in B-town to put together a  standard English training manual and lessons so they can have more of these throughout the year!]

In B-town, we conducted an English training (almost like a workshop) for some employees of a major bank – teaching things like basic English, banking terms, numbers, dates, as well as practice correct pronunciation (such as the difference between l and r, v and f, etc). We taught through interactive role plays, taught and sang songs, played ice breakers, and even had a final exam! We had small groups as well as big group time; and fortunately, I had an opportunity to get to know my students beyond teacher/student role. They were mostly in my age group, and very friendly!! I plan on keeping in touch with them (as long as they are receptive to that also!). We also spent time at Firefly, and English speaking coffee shop where we were able to meet and talk with more of the community. I was able to hang out and talk with a relatively broad range of people – from high schoolers to middle agers. There were also some new Christians that are employees of Firefly – it was such a blessing to be able to meet them and talk to them about their new and exciting faith! I only wish I could be there longer – you can’t do a whole lot in such a short time period!

Let me preface by saying – prior to leaving, I had very high and extremely unrealistic expectations of what I would achieve over there. Head knowledge was that I was only there for a very short time, and the most I could ask for was to build relationships, have a glimpse of what life was like outside of my own privileged life, and see if serving long-term was something God had in store for me, somewhere down the line. My heart however, wanted more. I talk a lot about humility, but honestly, I wanted to do things that were big and grand and gave me glory. I wanted to do things that caused people to say "wow! she's awesome!" When I agreed to go on this trip, part of the draw for me was that I really felt like I needed to go here - a red zone country - to humble myself and learn to be willing to go where God wanted me, even if it wasn't exciting. The last thing I needed (though what I really really wanted) was to go somewhere like a medical mission or build water wells for orphans because then I would rely on the immediate results to give me a temporary spiritual high (I'm not saying this is true for everyone, just something that applies to me personally). I focus so much on what I can achieve that sometimes, I take God out of the equation. Its almost like, if I can see the immediate results of my work, I stop depending on God, and start depending on myself more.

Anyways, even though I knew there would be a HUGE language barrier and where I was going was very restricted, I wanted to see so many things happen in the 2 short weeks that I was there. Naturally, when people weren't lining up to hear about Jesus, I became very discouraged and I questioned why I was there, what on earth I am doing, and asking God why I couldn’t be more effective. There were times when I wished I was in a bigger city, where its more open (the government is more restrictive on minority groups) or that I was on on another type of trip or even back home. It was a huge emotional roller coaster, but I guess thats how I learn best! I really felt like through this trip, God has shown me that all I'm doing is taking a small step of faith, and that there will be many more steps to come. I'm still learning Its an ongoing struggle, but I always need to remind myself that its not about what I can do, but its what God chooses to do through me, and through each of us. I’ve realized, slowly and painfully, that even though I want to do things that are great and glorifying to me, God has different plans. I wanted to be the one to water the plant and see the flower bloom, but God sent me overseas to prepare the soil and support the gardener. Work that I considered unimportant and boring, but of course, necessary for the harvest.

I went on this trip because I wanted to be a blessing to others, and honestly, I have no idea how effective I was, and I will probably never know. But that’s ok, because I feel like everyone I met in B-Town has been a HUGE blessing to me, just being over there has opened my eyes a lot, and even though it breaks my heart to see so much beauty, and so few people who appreciate the Creator of all that beauty, its also encouraging to know that things will not always be this way. There is hope, and its only (a bunch of) little steps away! The long-term m-people that I worked with in B-town have dedicated their lives to serving God overseas, and being able to work with them has been an amazing experience! I don't know what my future will look like, but I hope, one day, at the end of it all, I will be able to say that I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.

Thank you! thank you! thank you! everyone for your support! I could not have done it without everyone's support! I am so thankful for the opportunity to see the beauty of the country, to meet the wonderful people of B-town and to be able to serve in an environment that is completely new and challenging to me! Hopefully there will be a few more English words spoken in B-town now :)

For those who are interested, you can read the recap of my trip below!!