Missionary service is nothing like I have ever experienced, living day to day by the very words I struggle with on a daily basis:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34).
Deep in my core, I’m a planner… I’m a strategist… I’m a doer… and variables like heat, humidity, and jet-lag throw a monkey wrench into that mix. Then I’m left only with enough energy to sit under a fan or directly across from the air conditioning unit, holding a bottle of water, as I fight heavy eyelids.
Practicing Flexibility
Every morning, I receive an email entitled, “Prayer for Today.” It comes all the way from San Diego, from my friend and mentor, Joyce Tepfer. She knows me well, so her daily prayer for me is a perfect fit to my circumstances. Today, for example, she’s praying for “Flexibility when things don’t go as planned.”
Flexibility is taking a new meaning. It’s not the result of premeditation and execution, like when I lift my leg behind my back and hold the stretch for 20 seconds… so I can hike injury free. Flexibility here in Guam, at least for me, is about moment by moment decisions — to pay attention to others… to listen to their stories… to sit quietly and wait for them to say, “Ready to go?” In short, it’s not about me, my sinus infection, my freezy hair, my agenda…
Making New Friends
New friends at PIU is the fruit in my basket today… and it is lovely.
These are some of the students I have met — my brothers and sisters in Christ in the Micronesia region. Their world is radically different from mine. They walk slower… they don’t interrupt conversations to tell you about their American dream… many of them don’t even make eye contact out of respect for you…
These students haven’t had easy lives, but they love being part of PIU. I envy their contentment. And I love hearing the stories that trickle out of them — slowly — when I’m not in a hurry. And just for that, I’m grateful for the heat, the humidity, and the jet-lag that have slowed me down for such a worthy occasion. I think I can call the monkey wrench a Divine Appointment.
“I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12)
I hope to introduce you to some of my new special friends in upcoming posts.
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