I once worked with a group of college students who told me if I were a gardening tool, I’d be pruning shears. I thought it was pretty odd, but they explained that I love to see people learn and grow, which are the results of a quality pruning. That is, after all, why I studied and worked in higher education. I’m committed to being a life long learner myself, so I’ll briefly share what I’m intentionally learning about each country before I leave to serve in September, what God is making me learn, what I anticipate learning on the trip, and how I hope to help others learn. As one of my supporters, please help challenge me to learn these things, and suggest other items to add to the lists!
What I’m Intentionally Learning
Our squad will travel to Guatemala, Albania, Romania, Turkey, Jordan, and South Asia. I know very little about some of those places, so I’m starting a field notes booklet to write out what I’m learning about each place. Here’s what I am trying to learn about each place:
- Current events within the country
- What plants are forageable (identifying and eating God’s provision is a lot of fun)
- Weather
- Norms of respect (eating, clothing, greeting)
- Key phrases in local language (already been brushing up on Spanish for the past 3 weeks!)
What should I add to the list??
What do you know about any of these countries that may be helpful for me of my squadmates to know?
What God Has Me Learning
“You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.” Matt 6:24b-25a
Thankfully I learned from a young age not to worry about money and to trust in God’s provision. A lot of people say that raising support is an exercise of trust, and that has been true for me as well, despite my upbringing. Weeks ago I missed my deadline to have 25% of my financial support raised, and at the time of writing this I still only have 13% fully accounted for. That could be discouraging, but I’ve been taking pauses to cast aside my anxieties and recognize that God has already provided, I just need to be patient.
What I Anticipate Learning
“Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.” Deuteronomy 8:5. In this passage God is comparing his peoples’ time in the wilderness to 
discipline. That time away from an established home or the Promised Land makes them more obedient and hardy, just as discipline does. I think I need that for myself. It’s uncomfortable to admit, but God has called me out to a year of missions for my sake more than for the sake of the people I’ll serve. I still need some deep healing and daily accountability that will help me turn my focus outward rather than permit me to retreat into my imagination and the abstract. A year of service will remind me of the joys of staying present and enjoying the world and people around me.
I’m sure there are many things I’ll learn while serving abroad. What do you suspect one of them will be?
How I’ll Help Others Learn
A friend and colleague once told me, “Shua, I don’t know how many times a student has said to me, ‘I was talking to Shua…’ and then they proceed to tell me something they learned about themselves.” I hope to continue to help others learn about themselves. It’s pretty cool that after years of working with college students, I’ll serving with a group of people in a similar age demographic. Hopefully I’ll help them learn about leveraging their privilege responsibly as I learn to better examine and leverage mine.
What else do you think I’ll help others learn?
The entirety of this blog and its contents were written and published without any AI assistance.
