Time...

from Laura

So during the past two weeks in New York, I experienced one of those strange moments in life when time slows down.  Life has been extraordinarily full recently, and much of June flew by.  Going up to Houghton, though, slowed us down.  We had plenty to do and learn, and spent a number of hours every day in sessions getting our heads and hearts stuffed.  But there was also a lot of time around the edges, and that was where life stretched out. There was plenty of time to sit with new friends and talk over dinner about the stories of God's work in our lives, taking us overseas. There was time to play euchre or ultimate frisbee, or to watch pieces of World Cup games. There was time to make phone calls and really talk with people back home, without feeling rushed. There was time to journal about what we were learning. There were hours spent with family on the weekends, as we traveled around. The slow feel of each day was a huge blessing, especially because of the time we had to build new friendships and to treasure 'old' ones.

A rainbow over the falls at Letchworth State Park, near Houghton

Time has sped back up again. Since getting back home on Saturday night, we haven't really stopped moving, and it feels like it. If we get to leave when we are hoping to leave, we will fly out less than two weeks from today! There are (approximately) a billion things to do between now and then, and I'm definitely feeling the pressure and the temptation to be consumed with stress. However, the perspective that I gained from the slowdown was that each day has a use, in God's view. He's in the busy times as well as the slow ones. So I'm working on taking deep breaths and, minute by minute, turning the worries and lists and tasks over to God. We'll be moving fast and doing a lot over the next weeks, but I want to keep that perspective of resting in God's presence. I want to keep the perspective of valuing each minute with friends and family. I know I will be re-adjusting my perspective multiple times a day, though prayer (and deep breaths), to keep that peace and God's view on my time. So if you think of me, pray for my perspective on TIME-- chances are, I'll be praying for it then too!

Training at Houghton College, New York - PFO

from Seth

Birds singing, trees swaying in the breeze, bright sunlight shining over everything ... such is my experience at the present moment. I am sitting in my dorm room, on a Saturday afternoon of our training conference (Pre-field Orientation, or PFO for short) here at Houghton College in western New York. If you want to find out what sort of place Houghton is, you could probably get a good idea by looking it up on Google Maps. It is about half an hour away from everything, and about an hour or so away from Buffalo, which is the nearest sizable city, so we are really out in the middle of nature for the most part. Presently, Laura and I are winding down and taking a little bit of time to catch up on some things that have been waiting for me to do them (such as making a blog post about our training experience so far).

We have been here since last Saturday, and have spent this first week "drinking from a fire hose" of information. We have had about seven to eight hours of intense information and training every day since Monday morning, and we are feeling a little bit overwhelmed with information, but all of it has been very practical and useful to us as we prepare to go teach overseas. We will continue the intense information overload on Monday morning, and will finish up with our training next Friday.

But not everything here involves working and studying and learning. There are also social times to be shared with fellow trainees, and we have developed good relationships with some of them, relationships that we expect will last long after this training conference is over. I am including a couple of pictures of some of those people below (one of them was taken yesterday evening during an excursion to a nearby state park).

 A group of us learned how to make Arabic Tea, a very popular social event in Africa

Us along with several of the other people with whom we are starting to develop good friendships. (That is indeed a waterfall behind us, just in case you were wondering)

Overall, our experience here has been excellent up to this point, and we hope it continues to be so through the end of next week. 

The Best-Laid Plans...

from Laura

“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city…’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow!” James 5:13-14

Currently, one of my most important possessions is my calendar. I carry it almost everywhere, and we consult it regularly—generally with an eye to adding something else in. With only a few weeks left in the U.S (and much to do), the calendar has begun to feel like a jigsaw puzzle—with no nice picture on the box top!

Those who know me know that I am a planner. I like to know what’s coming up, and I’m not a huge fan of last-minute changes. By mid-day on Monday, I usually have in mind what I’ll do with Tuesday evening’s free time. I have, over time, learned to be more flexible, at least some of the time, but I still really like my plans.

What I have been learning over the past few weeks is to hold ‘my’ plans more and more loosely. Many of our recent plans have remained unpredictable up to the moment of the event. Things that were ‘completely set’ have ended up completely changed. My task has been to see these changes in a positive light.

Making plans IS important. It’s hard to meet up with people if you don’t pick a time for it! But if my days actually belong to God, which they do, then there is no plan-change that He will not use. If the things I am doing with my time honor Him, then switching the order of activities is neither here nor there, ultimately. I’m finding it challenging to balance this perspective with the need to have good priorities and make good choices with our time. We still need plans, but I must hold them with open hands, be willing to let go of them peacefully, and be ready to drop them entirely for the sake of something more important.

(Seth and niece, catching tadpoles)

I know that as a missionary in the field I will need to be flexible. I know that if our goal in Manila is to build relationships, I will need to put people above my calendar. I know that when my priority is people, plans will change mid-stream because life is unpredictable. So I am grateful for these lessons now, in a less stressful time. I am praying that I will learn the balancing lessons and then apply the lessons consistently—now and as we go—so that my attitude truly will honor God and show love to His people.