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To be entirely honest, the realization that I will be in Ivankiv, Ukraine for the entire summer hasn’t quite sunk in yet. When we had our prayer time on the 14th I stared down the little star in Eastern Europe that represented our teams location and was trying to force myself to understand the distance, the time, the cultural difference. It didn’t really work. Being told many times not to approach this summer with expectations on the significance of “my” role or how difficult/easy it will be, I really only have one emotion right now. I am excited. I am excited to see God’s work this summer as he draws children to himself. I am excited to see missionaries passionately trust in God as they work and give wholeheartedly of themselves. I am excited to see the selfless love of Christ flowing out of my teammates. I am excited to see kids receive that love and be healed (even if only a bit) as they are drenched in and refreshed by it. I am so excited at the idea that just one other priceless human being might get to experience God and be forever transformed by Him. Will this summer throw me some hurdles that trip me up and knock me down? I’m actually laughing thinking about how quickly that is probably going to happen. However, I know God is greater. My prayer for this summer is that the people we interact with in Ukraine would come to know and believe in the unconditional love God has for them, and that His love would align them completely with the way of the cross. I pray that everything we do be centered around Jesus and glorifying him. I pray we live out each day aligned with the thoughts, feelings and purposes of God’s heart. I pray that this summer wouldn’t be about helping others to relieve our own guilt, but out of compassion and love for our brothers and sisters. That. Would. Be. Awesome.
As for me personally, I know Aslan is definitely on the move and that this summer will bring me some clarity in regards to God’s purpose for my life. Perhaps He will call me to join him in foreign missions or maybe even just teach me a bit more about saying “here I am, send me,” and really meaning it.

Embarking on this missional, Tanzanian adventure will be like opening a multi-layered present. At the moment, I am only unwrapping the first layer of the internship experience. The rest is really a surprise. I am unpacking cultural treasures through research and networking with my host family while giggling at my own attempts to pronounce Swahili words that kindergardeners could say in their sleep. I am gradually untying the big red bow that is the fundraising process by pushing through the joys of handling legal regulations, money, tickets, and presentations. My impatient self would like nothing more than to teleport to Mwanza this instant, but my logical self would not want to miss this packaged, pre-intern stage for the world. This State-side preparation has revealed a flip side of missions I did not experience growing up on the mission field. Through this layer of training, I have gained a new level of respect for the behind-the-scenes work needed to send an equipped individual abroad.

As for hopes and guesses of the contents in God’s summer surprise? I have no earthly clue. I could be in a house baking cookies or in a hut slicing potatoes. I might be coaching second grade soccer or dancing with the Sukuma people. God’s surprise is not limited to any shape, size, or style and that is the beauty of His gift to me this summer. Through this mysterious, awaiting African adventure God has been weaning me of my securities. Instead of always needing to be active, “productive,” and in charge, I have been forced to give up control and become at peace with being clueless, dependent, and quiet. Maybe my summer surprise will simply be the joy of unwrapping His layers, but none the less, my Father knows exactly what He’s giving me.

Exactly one month from tomorrow, I will be in the DFW airport ready to embark on my journey across the pacific. If you’ve never been out of the country, that would seem like a pretty big deal, and it is. But if you’re like me, a missionary kid who grew up traveling back and forth across the pacific several times, I guess the only thing that would not be “the same old thing” is whatever they serve us to eat on the plane. But sometimes, even that is still the same (don’t get me wrong…I love plane food! breakfast especially…i’m just weird like that. haha! ). I hope this does not come across as a prideful “been there done that” thing because that is the least of my intentions. That’s just the reality of how it is in my case. To be honest though, sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on the thrill of going to a foreign land and being able to experience a different culture. I’ve gone through this phase of being all excited when I tell people that I’m going to be a missions intern with the WWW program this summer, but when they ask me where I’m going it’s like I’m almost ashamed to tell them that I’m going…well, home. It’s not that I am not excited about going home, because I really am and I can’t wait, especially since it’s almost been a whole year. I just felt like most people’s automatic assumption is that doing mission work at home doesn’t count, if I can put it that way. It’s like it ain’t (yes, I intentionally used “ain’t”) the real deal unless you go to a place you’ve never been, experience culture shock, battle the roller coaster of emotions that come with the anxiety of traveling that far away for the first time…and I could go on.  Maybe I’m over generalizing, but tell me I’m wrong. Tell me there’s no truth to what I’m saying. Even though I don’t agree with it, I let it get the most of me. Satan was playing the mind meddling game again. But then it hit me…”just going home”…”missing out on the thrill”…wait a second now…what am I really in this for? The adventure? being able to prove to people that i’m brave enough to take risks and step out of my comfort zone? is that what World Wide Witness is all about? I am not proud to admit that I have easily accommodated those thoughts. But as time went by…preparing for the trip, writing my fundraising letters, reading the assigned books for the class, listening to Gary and Larry (I’m always amused by how their names rhyme :]), practicing spiritual disciplines…after all of that, God has really spoken to my heart and convicted me of my true purpose in this. He changed it from “I’m just going home” (said in a shameful whisper) to “I’m going home!” (said with confidence and passion)…If I could pretend to be God, this is what I hear him saying to me:

“My child, I have planted a seed of compassion in you for your own people. Do you think that growing up in a missionary family in a foreign land has no purpose in your life? You know the language, you know the culture, you know Me. Use what I have blessed you with to bring them all home. Cebu may seem like home to you, but remember where your home really is – it’s here with me. Share the good news to these people that I have given you a heart for and just love them as I love you.”

This summer, I am going as servant of the Lord into a broken world – to a nation in need of the gospel…to people who hunger and thirst for the love of God. Adventure or no adventure…in or out of my comfort zone…here or there…it doesn’t matter. “Go and make disciples of all people in the world…” It’s not about me. Never has and never will be.

So let me try this again…

This summer…I’m going home.

Let’s bring them all home.

For the summer, I really hope just to grow in my own relationship with God, but to do it while focused on those around me. I want to learn to see God in ways that i haven’t here in the states and to be pushed out of my comfort zone. I’m nervous about going to another country and getting thrown into a new culture, but it’s a good nervous that i wouldn’t exchange for anything. I know that God will work wonders and i can’t WAIT to get to where i’m going. It will be a hard, but really life-changing and wonderful experience.

The program so far has been a great benefit in helping my fellow teammates and I am beginning to understand and interpret the significance of what will begin to take place this summer, but also the amount that we will have to rely on the grace of God and one another to help live out the gospel of Christ with our brothers and sisters in Dano. I have had the good fortune of meeting two of the families on our team and they are godly men and women with whom I am so honored to have the opportunity to work with. This will certainly be a summer to remember.

Throughout the summer I will probably be posting my thoughts on my actual blog: http://sethero27.blogspot.com but I do look forward to seeing what everyone else has to say throughout the summer. Blessings to you!

I am looking forward to having the opportunity to just share God’s love this summer.  I am so excited to be able to work with the orphans and children and be a positive Christian role model through my interactions with others.  I am going for Jesus and this in itself is my mission.  I can’t wait to see how God touches the lives of the people we come in contact with and how they touch our lives as well.  Although all of the preperation can become extremely overwhelming and stressful, I am trusting God to work through it all.