Reflection

Ok so I know I dropped of the planet there for a while. I apologize for that. I've been having some personal stuff I guess you'd say. I know some of you have wondered if there is a girl involved. Well, there is. I messed around and got my heart broken. We are really close friends still now and I think we always will be. I don't regret anything that happened. She's a great girl. 

It's funny how in the training this exact subject came up. We did a skit about a girl falling for a local boy wanting to stay on. I must admit I did the same thing. The training is very good at warning us what to look out for. I knew about it but life has a funny way of happening to you when you least expect it. I've learned a lot from my experience here. I've realized I had kind of given up on the idea of having a family. It was painful but God showed me I really do want this. 

Another thing to be on the lookout for is loneliness. It will happen. It's just part of being in a strange country on your own. But I am so blessed to be here and I thank God everyday for giving me this chance to learn about Him and myself. 

We all have a part to play. I know most of the missions volunteers go to places without all the comforts I have here. I'll be honest, sometimes I feel a little guilty about that. I have a nice thing going here. I really enjoy teaching English at Maranatha. I hope that I have done a good job. I do know that I've made some great friends in the classes and had some really good conversations about God and His plan for us. 

I guess if I had any advice for folks training to go on a mission it would be to listen to the leaders and really take it to heart. Even knowing what to look for won't stop you from having setbacks. Pretty much every situation we covered in my training has come up with me at some point during my time here and knowing that I'm not the first one to go through it helps. There may be times you feel like you're not helping anyone or making a difference. But trust in the Lord that you are where He wants you to be. We can never really know all the people we touch or what they will take away from knowing us. You just have to be open and show people who you really are. I know God uses us more than we can ever actually realize. 

I get impatient like anybody else and I want to know where I'm going. However, I also know God is not on my timetable. I've been reading Donald Miller's latest book To Own A Dragon. I always take something from his books that changes my whole way of thinking. This one is about how God is our Father. He is THE perfect Father I know is always taking care of me. From my daily bread to learning to grow up and be a man myself He is with me guiding me. I don't always get what I want. He gives me what I need. I take much comfort in that.

One of the other things I've learned is to be able to ask for prayer. Before I came here I was always a little uncomfortable and embarrassed about asking people to pray for me. The Good Lord took that away from me right quick and I can't thank Him enough. Knowing that my Church family back home is praying for me gets me through the tough times and helps me enjoy the good times even more. So on that note, pray for me to find my way in this world and find my way to the family I hope to start one day soon. Thank you all so very much. 

Here's a picture I took on a long walk where I figured out a lot of the stuff I've talked about here. It's from a hill top on the edge of town looking back to the Pilsen city center.  For some reason, "He's got the whole world in His hands" comes to my mind. Peace to everyone. 

I've had a few thoughts since I posted this. I highly recommend maintaining a blog if you have access to the internet in your mission. It really helps to write your thoughts out. If you don't have internet definitely keep a journal. Hopefully you'll be lucky and will have people you can talk to nearby. But writing down what you are going through helps to clear your head and reflect on your experience in a way you can learn from them. No matter how much you are helping people where you are you will feel like you are the one being helped. It is such a blessing to be able to come and be a part of what our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing.