Phew...
Time is flying! Faster than I ever imagined it would. Here I sit, now a COLLEGE GRADUATE, with a bachelor's degree in Social Work... I feel like just yesterday I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed little 8 year old going to Calvin College for a siblings weekend with my then RA brother Ryan! Playing Starfox 64 til late at night, (probably really was about 10pm) and watching Toy Story for the first time. Those were the days! A much simpler and slower time...
*Blink*
Some 10 plus years later, and I have now come to the conclusion of college, facing the reality of "real life" just around the corner. With this passage of time comes the re-evaluation of values, priorities, and direction. This re-evaluation is spurred on by resounding questions of; who am I, who have I been created to be, what should I do and how should I live? These questions are both broad, and focused, frightening and exciting. They are issues that seemingly every college grad is confronted with upon exiting the four (hopefully just four) formative years of university. It is an exciting new frontier as we have our first crack at life outside of an educational institution. This has inspired within myself several different reactions and emotions ranging from total freakout, to great excitement, from great sadness to total bliss. It is almost as if one must go though a mourning process as we bid farewell to the old realities of college and explore one totally new.
There were several staple moments, that through God's guidance and provision, He directed my path for the future. In my sophomore year I
was afforded the opportunity to study abroad in South Africa. In my time there
I was given the chance to plug in and invest in a local community of
Mpophomeni. Mpophomeni was a township of 30,000 native black South Africans
with diverse cultural backgrounds. While there I had a chance to see the beauty
of joining a community as first and foremost a learner. This trip was followed
by another two-month stint in the summer of 2011. In my cumulative 6 months in
South Africa, I came to realize that as rewarding and fruitful as the time had
felt, I was only beginning to scratch the surface in my understanding of the
Zulu culture. Without a deep and comprehensive understanding of the Zulu
paradigm, the effectiveness of my community development and incarnational
ministry left more to be desired. It was then that I believe God revealed a piece of His plan
and desires for my life. He made it nearly impossible for me to avoid the
question of why it is so difficult for me to live with that kind of
intentionality in my home culture in the United States. The exciting part though, is that in the last few months one thing has become progressively more clear.
With God's help, I am ready.
Ready as I will ever be for what awaits in the great unknown of seeking that life in the U.S. That's the reassuring thing about this journey as we stay dusty following the Rabbi. There is no place I could go where He has not walked before.
This knowledge brings shalom.
Shalom (שָׁלוֹם): a Hebrew word meaning peace, but shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.
That is why I am ecstatic to share an amazing opportunity that God has provided for me for this upcoming year. Shalom is all I have felt about the opportunity to move into a living and learning community in the Eucalyptus neighborhood of Bellflower, California with the Community Fellows Community and Leadership Development Program. Myself and two others will be immersing ourselves in life in this neighborhood as we learn to love our neighbors and the city well. It is a seemingly vague and difficult role to define, but I look forward to stepping boldly with the Holy Spirit's help into the unknown. I am more excited than ever to share the joys and tears, successes and failures, confident steps and the stumbles with these individuals as we learn along the way. Relying on God, each other and all of you whom support us will be integral the refining of our hearts in this process, and will be the only way that God's glory will be exposed in our lives, and this city. I invite you to proactively journey along and share your wisdom, prayers and encouragement, because it will no doubt be needed!
The adventure begins June 1st, and you are invited to come along.
Now all there is left to do is JUMP into the beautiful unknown of God's gracious plan. Here we go!
