On My Way {Part 6}

Location: Brighton Park - Chicago, IL

I figured I break my blogging absence (while recuperating from my wisdom teeth removal) with another addition to the On My Way series...

I arrived in Texas on June 12th and I was so excited! I couldn't wait to meet the other candidates and see all of the office staff again. It had been a year since I was at the office and I missed everyone during that year. After picking up some other candidates, short-termers and mobilizers we headed back to the office.

First, we had some lunch and I got the opportunity to say hi to everyone from last year. I also got to spend some time getting to know the other candidates and some office staff I hadn't met last year. Then we started the orientation to orientation :) I was practically jumping out of my seat waiting for the opportunity to talk about the teaching opportunity. God was (and still is) teaching me patience. Afterwards, we spent time sharing our testimonies. It was so amazing to hear how God brought all these different people to this place.

Finally After, I got to speak to the woman who sent me the email as well as a couple who is headed to the same school. The more and more I heard about the opportunity the more excited I became. The next day I emailed the principal of the school and got started on the application process.

It was exhausting trying to fill out the application during my free time at orientation. Our days were packed with training, interviews and meeting everyone. However, by God's grace I was able to finish the application during my time in Texas.

Then began the process of checking references, submitting medical forms and HR putting together a final proposal of the principal.

In other words, more waiting...

*This doesn't really have to do with my journey to getting overseas but I did purchase it because I'm going*

A package with my favorite company name on it was waiting for me when I got home from work this morning...

And inside was...

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!! The bookworm inside of me is freaking out. I'm torn between my hard copies and my new toy.

Anyone else have an e-reader? How do you like it?

P.S. 28 days!!!!!!!!!!!

*Anybody interested in receiving my update emails with more specifics about this trip let me know (via comment or email) and I'll put you on my list*

Guarded Personality

Location: Richardson, TX

God has made us all with a personality. Some of us talkative and outgoing. Others are shy and reserved. Many fall somewhere in between. This is a part of being made in God's image; we have emotions and desires. However, the most important aspect of our identity is being in Christ.

Being in Christ means that our sense of individuality, our sense of importance, our sense of security, our sense of significance should all be found in Christ and Christ alone. When we submitted to Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation our identity became completely rooted in Him. It is only by His power that we can do anything and it is in Him that we have communion with the Father.

As a result, there are times when we must guard our personalities in order to honor Christ. This is especially difficult for me because I like to be outgoing, friendly and fun. When interacting with people it's incredibly difficult for me to learn how to take a step back from the situation to listen.

I want to be heard.

I want to be noticed.

I want to be useful.

I want to be appreciated.

However, there are definitely moments I look back on and see warnings where God was trying to tell me to slow down, listen and guard my personality. This is a part of my testimony, demonstrating respect and honor to others. The verse that comes to mind is James 1:19:

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce righteousness of God."(ESV)

The "quick to hear" part is most convicting to me. When someone asks a question I am usually the first to answer instead of listening to others. I pray that God will continue to work in my life so I can be a better listener...

to God
and
to others

Happy Wednesday!

Holy Discontentment

Location: Richardson, TX

Today was quite a taxing day at NPO. I worked out like every morning, ate breakfast and headed to the training center. After that we had an eye-opening time of worship. Instead of singing praise music like the other mornings we spent time reading God's Word out loud, without commentary, without preaching. It was a time of reading, listening and meditating. There are many times I've heard Christians say that worship is supposed to be more than just music and today we lived that out. It was so refreshing. I hope I will be able to practice this form of worship again soon.

After a profound devotion on suffering we spent about an hour getting to know the lovely people who work in the US office. Most people don't realize how much work goes into supporting workers on the field. These are accounts, lawyers, communication specialists and caregivers who have chosen to help workers be successful.

The second session began the hard work. It was our language learning session, this included an overview on the language learning policy and a language learning aptitude test. This test was about 30 min and forced us to demonstrate our ability to learn another language both orally and visually. I am so grateful for my linguistics training, otherwise this test would have been impossible. I'm actually finding myself excited to learn the results to help me become a better language learner.

After the test I was completely exhausted and I still had my doctrinal interview after lunch. I had a great lunch with some fellow trainees and staff members. I spent the time between lunch and my interview praying and surrendering the interview to the Lord. He blessed me in the interview allowing me to speak clearly and efficiently to my interviewer. I also had time to ask questions and get some more resources for the future.

Then many of the trainees were finished for the afternoon and we were invited to a session at a different orientation. We talked about the positive and negative aspects of coming back from overseas. It was encouraging to hear other people's experiences. It was during this session when one of the staff members spoke about something incredibly profound: Holy Discontentment.

This may seem like an oxymoron to people who understand the command to count our blessings and be content. However, this staff member commented on how many of the trainees said the most difficult part of reentering the US was the discontentment with the US culture. She said it was this discontentment with the US culture God was using to call us overseas. God put this passion for a different culture than our own in us in order to give us a sense of urgency to serve cross-culturally.

This reminded me of Philippians 1:20-26 when Paul talks about being torn between heaven and earth. His desire was to be with Christ but he knew he had a responsibility to serve on earth. Paul submitted to God's calling in His life. While many of us trainees are as torn as Paul, there are still aspects of living in the US that we will miss. It is ultimately about submitting to a calling from God to work where He has yet to be preached.

It also reminded me of many of the Psalms where David poured out his emotions, good or bad. There were times when he was angry with God and didn't understand God's plan. That didn't stop him from walking with God, rather it spurred him on to have a deeper walk with God.

I want to study this topic further and learn what the Bible has to say about it. However, I have the weekend off :) I'll be relaxing, recharging and probably not blogging.

'Til Monday,

NPO Day 2 & 3

Location: Richardson, TX

Texas is amazing! I am learning so much about God's passion for the nations and how Christar is pursing the same passion. I've been sitting in on seminars about Christar's values and mission, the importance of doctrine, doctrinal issues on the field and church planting essentials. In the afternoons I've been having interviews/meetings with different people and departments. Tomorrow is my doctrinal interview, prayers appreciated!

We had the opportunity last night to have dessert at the house of U.S./International Director of Christar and hear his wife's testimony. It was great to hear how God worked in her life and get to know them better. I also got to spend some time outside of training with the other candidates and Blaze participants. 

All the while, I've been embarking on a journey through an open door God has provided. There is a need for an ESL teacher in the Arabian Peninsula! I'm still in the process of applying and so I don't have many details to share. What I can say is I'm so excited to see how God is going to use this experience for His glory. I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I go through this process. I will continue to update everyone as I get more details :)

Here are some pictures I took yesterday and today (I promise I'll take more soon):

The pool at the hotel with the spitting dolphins

My news devotional 

 The training center door

 My roommate getting ready to sign in for breakfast

Some of my fellow candidates and a mobilizer

Happy Thursday!

NPO Day 1

Location: Richardson, TX

I'M HERE!!!!!!!! 2 flights later, I've made it to Texas and I'm so excited :) These next 10 days are going to be incredible and I've already met some amazing people who are on fire for the Lord.

After being picked up from the airport and driven back to the training center we were greeted by a whole host of friendly faces. I got to see a bunch of people from last summer and felt like I was coming back home. We had a delicious lunch and then spent the afternoon listening to announcements and everyone's testimony.

It was so amazing to hear about how God brought all these incredibly different people to Texas for orientation. Couples, singles, students, we're all here to bring glory to God.

God is good.

Then we got settled into our hotel room and hung out for a bit. My roommate is awesome! We have the same amount of hair products, we like the same music and we're both a little crazy. I know God brought us together to encourage each other and begin a life-long friendship.

I can't wait to see what happens these next 10 days. My schedule is pretty full but I'm still going to try to blog as regularly as I can. I don't have any pictures yet because it's been such a busy day but I promise to have some soon :)

Good night,