T-minus 48 hours
It's about midnight on Sunday, and I just finished writing the July devotionals for the Thai church service. In almost exactly 48 hours, our plane will be taking off to go back to America. The last few weeks have been a great experience for Melissa and Me. We have both learned a lot about our gifts for ministry, and a lot about being married. I think both of us would say that leaving after six weeks is a bittersweet experience. It seems like we are leaving just when we are starting to get the hang of things: learning which bus to take, how to order food, figuring out the city a bit. On the other hand, life is waiting to sweep us away as soon as we return. I have class on Thursday (I will miss the first day on the airplane), Melissa has to work on Friday, my family is coming to visit this week, and I've yet to prepare for the trip to South Africa I'm leading in August. Nevertheless, when we get back, there are many things we will miss about Thailand. As it is whenever we work alongside fellow laborers in Christ, we have developed some great friendships. In fact, I am surprised by how close Melissa and I have grown to the team in such a short stay. Since we can't communicate in Thai, most of or ministry has been serving the long-term staff, but in whatever work we may have done, they have also served us a great deal through their encouragement, advice, and example to us. I think when I reflect on the trip, that will be what I cherish the most.
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There is a one-week team from Pittsburgh visiting this week. We are actually leaving in the middle of their trip. While we are still here though, we are trying to help out in whatever way we can. On Saturday, Melissa and I led them on a two hour prayer walk around the city and shared some of the history we had learned while writing our research papers. Talking with some of the men, I found out their pastor, who's also here, is a Gordon-Conwell grad from three years ago. I spoke with him a little bit about how he discerned his call to Pittsburgh, and it was nice to get his perspective on things. He moved to Pittsburgh so his wife could finish her degree. While she was studying, he found a temporary job as a youth pastor, and pretty soon the senior pastor retired and the church chose him as the new leader. It wasn't exactly a word from above as he finished his final classes in Boston, but God clearly brought him where he was supposed to be. I am not sure what the future has in store for us. I have definitely enjoyed being with the people here, but I haven't gotten that sense that this is 'where I'm supposed to be.' We will keep praying through it and talking about it as the decision time draws near over the coming months, but I'm not worried about it. God knows the plan, I will keep walking the path and looking out for that next step. 