I am on the eve of a 6 month separation from the comfort zone of Southern California.
Tomorrow I will board a plane to Qingdao, China and spend 2 weeks there attempting to bring joy and encouragement into the lives of those living there. I have a feeling that I along with other team members will be greatly challenged and tested, but come out of China refined and humbled. Depending on the one who has sent me needs to be my sole source of comfort.
The next segment of my journey takes me to South Korea where I will be spending a month training to teach in rural elementary schools. Thankfully, the orientation venue is in Suwon, which is my father's hometown :)
From there, the next 5 months will be spent in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do province.
I go to Korea not for my own enjoyment. With the socioeconomic disparity that exists between urban and rural areas, this is an incredible opportunity for me to take time off from school while an undergraduate in order to digest and saturate myself in the harsh reality of the educational polarity that exists. I am humbled and honored to be given access to young students who are waiting to learn.
Going back to UCLA in 2010 will be a bit surreal and perhaps a difficult transition, but the time is now.
The Lord is Sovereign.
