Altered Boy (by Jimmy Buffett)

Here I sit in the dark with my friends and their families. It’s an interesting dynamic in one sense. The sense of community here is an aspect of this culture in which America could learn quite a bit. It seems most everywhere I go I see neighborhoods, villages, and islands where everyone knows each other and depends upon one another. Back in America it’s hard to make new friends, find love, or feel safe in most communities. It’s been years since I’ve lived anywhere where I knew my next door neighbor at all, let alone have I been friends with or even interacted with any of them on a regular basis. But here, community is everything … and it’s contagious! The three guys that run this company were best friends back in college … and each of their wives where in that same circle of friends. It was a small community in which they all got married and moved to the far side of the world together. Right now one family is back in the states (leaving me in a house all by myself) and half of another family is back there too. That leaves one full family, one father/husband that’s here alone, and one bachelor (me). So, here I sit in the dark during one of many power outages with a family that is mostly blood but entirely connected at the heart as we celebrate the birthday of the father/husband formerly mentioned. It is most certainly a birthday to remember.
Since I last wrote in here, quite a bit has happened in my life. The most significant experience was having Steve, my best friend, come spend a week and a half here with me. God has continuously shown me how loving and creative He is. Steve was exactly what I needed in the middle of a personal season of discouragement. Admittedly, I expected the mere presence of Steve to be enough to bring me out of my funk and give me the encouragement and energy to carry on. Seeing him as he pulled up to the jetty on the boat was a memory that I will cherish and carry with me for the rest of my life, and the high that hit me at that moment continued for at least a few days … but Steve wasn’t what my life was lacking. What God did, however, was use Steve as a tool, the only tool that would really work for me during my discouragement, to lead me back to leaning upon the Lord. There was no one else on this planet with whom I could have shared what I was going through and have pray for me like Steve. It took his understanding of who I am and how I deal with things as well as his heart, friendship, and voice of prayer to call upon the Holy Spirit to descend upon me to renew my strength. And it has taken the realization of his continued prayers for me, along with the prayers of so many others, to give my heart a renewed strength, peace, and focus. I still struggle to experience the joy I first felt upon my arrival here, but I once again have the patience, peace, and endurance that comes from the Lord on a daily basis that allows me to carry on.
There have been a total of nine different islands that have been visited throughout this “summer” … some of them I have visited more than once, only one of the nine did I not get to experience. Having visited eight islands with nine different groups, I’ve come to understand how crucial rest is within ministry. At one point I was determined to attend every island, but during my nearly week-long “vacation” in Singapore with two different groups that were en route back to the states, I realized that I needed to take a break and miss out on one of the island stays. Part of me regrets this decision, but I know it was a gift from God to give me the rest I needed. I have become known here as the professional napper. There have been times at Base Camp where I’ve taken naps that have lasted four hours or longer. Just last night I slept until noon. My body is wiped out and I’m not shy to sleep every chance I can get! Still, it saddens my heart to realize that there is only one group left and two more islands left to visit. The greatest encouragement is that the two islands consist of an island I’ve already visited and has been my absolute favorite island (seriously, I could live there … these people are some of the greatest people I’ve met throughout my world travels!) and the other island hasn’t been visited by this organization since they were forced to flee in the middle of the night for their own safety several years ago. God has been doing some great work in both these islands and I’m incredibly blessed to be able to be a part of this next group. I’m stoked!!! But then, it’s over.
I have a couple different times where I’ll be back between travels where I may be able to attend a follow-up visit, and I plan on coming back for about two weeks after I finish up in Australia and New Zealand. The funny thing is, my biggest concern at this point is money. I have a connection here with this country, the people, the organization with which I’ve been working, and the team with whom I’ve been living that would make it easy to stay. If it weren’t for the fact that I have no way to make money while I’m here, I dare say I wouldn’t leave. But, it seems to me that God is calling me back to the states. Maybe it’s to raise money to come back. Maybe it’s to realize that God is calling me to something more than just staying in one place. Maybe it’s to find a partner with whom I can travel and serve. Whatever the reason, I’m heading back to the states the beginning of November. In some ways it feels like my seven and a half months is coming to a close … in another sense it feels like my adventure is about to begin, going to at least three new countries and serving at a totally different capacity through networking and promoting. The question remains where I will live, how I’ll make money, what will happen to me relationally, and where God is going to take my life in general. I suppose that’s just a part of the adventurous journey of life though. I still have three months to wait and see where the Lord will take my life upon my return. I’ll let you know what happens as soon as I know anything!