ICS Trip

It's Tuesday, September 11. I leave for my internship on October 17. One month and six days. Yikes! Time has been flying by. It is weird to think there are just a few short weeks left to prepare.

One part of me feels completely ready to take it on. I feel like I am ready mentally to be gone for nine weeks. Another part of me feels completely not ready. I feel like there is still so much I need to do before I leave, both related and unrelated to the trip. I don't feel ready administratively, emotionally, spiritually, or physically. I won't start going into all that. There's no need to stress myself out even more.

I am so excited to see how God is going to use me, mold me, shape me, break me, and build me. This trip will stretch me like no other. But I want to use this time as a learning experience for me in many ways. I want God to teach me many things.

I am so excited to go to Asia and learn about the Japanese, Thai, and Malay cultures. I don't have a lot of experience at all with Asian cultures, so I am looking forward to soaking it all up. I know it will be a struggle and at times I will want "normalcy" again. But through those struggles as well as the joys, I will learn to appreciate and respect the cultural differences.

I think one of the most challenging moments of the trip will be re-entry. After experiencing five different cultures, returning back to the US will be a hard adjustment. 1) The culture is very different here in the US from other parts of the world. 2) Though I'll be back among family and friends, they won't fully understand what I experienced or what it's like to return home after such an experience. They may want to try to understand, but ultimately won't simply because they weren't there. And that's not their fault. 3) I will need to remember that people don't want to hear every detail of the trip, nor would they care. They may only want a five minute or even an hour-long summary. I will need to remember to keep things brief. 4) It will take me awhile, perhaps months, to fully recover from the trip. I'll need to be patient with myself but also learn how to properly handle all the thoughts and emotions in a healthy manner.

I believe this internship will give me a small glimpse of what it might take to make it in Peru long term. I'll be in Thailand for a month. I'll develop a daily routine, engage in the culture, try (some) new foods, interact with the people, and begin to learn the language. I will need to do all those things in Peru as well. When in Peru, I'll learn to adapt to the culture, adopting certain aspects of their "round culture" into my "square culture," rounding out my corners and straight edges. I am looking forward to that. I will grow and change so much. I want to be used by God to do great things. Though there are so many unknowns in my future right now, I do know that God's not in the dark. He has it all figured out. I just need to cast all my anxieties on God and allow Him to guide me one step at a time. I need to learn to be content with knowing I won't always know the future, but I have a God who does. And that will bring me peace.