My plans seem to have changed quite a bit over the past 2 years. Before I went to Japan I had very little idea of what i would end up doing as a career. Halfway through my year in Japan I found that I kinda enjoyed English teaching, and so i thought it might be cool to do the JET (Japan English Teaching) program for a while. That's a 2 year contract to teach English in one of the various schools placed in various locations. More importantly, I did not want to waste the Japanese language (and perhaps cultural) skills that i gained over the years, and I thought perhaps God wanted me to use that gift and the passion to serve Him by eventually going back to Japan as a missionary. Before i left Japan i told my friends there that i was planning on going back to Japan in about two years so that I could teach English and do ministry. The plan was to finish my law degree, and then perhaps work for a year, and also do a course in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). When i got back to Australia i still had those thoughts, and i had to convince my mum that it would be okay. After the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, my mum fiercely opposed my going back to japan even though my plan was 2 years in the future. Still, she did have some effect on my decision making.
About one or two months after my coming back, i was asked by Kian (senior staffworker for FOCUS at UTS) if I wanted to do a ministry apprenticeship at FOCUS after i graduated. Previously i hadn't really thought about doing that, but when he asked it really got me thinking... Previously the pastor at my church also asked me if i wanted to get into full time ministry eventually and he encouraged me to think about doing that at my church. I was thinking... maybe this is what God actually wanted me to do eventually. I thought and prayed for a while, and eventually I made the decision to take up Kian's offer. So last week I met up with Paul Winch (campus director at UTS Credo) and i signed the contracts for employment. And it looks like i'll be on full-time ministry at FOCUS next year :) I'm really really looking forward to it! But to think that in a few months my plan could change so quickly...
Last week I was thinking and praying about what to do next year. Since i had signed the contracts for full-time employment with FOCUS for the next 2 years, that was set in stone. But then i was also thinking about doing TESOL part time to keep myself busy and to make the most of the time next year. But after lots of praying and consulting, i decided that it would be better to focus on ministry at church and at FOCUS. Next year is going to be an amazing opportunity to serve and to grow, and i just don't want to waste it! In more recent times i've been thinking much more about how i can make my life a pleasing sacrifice to the One who gave up so much for me. It's so easy to just stay in my comfort zone and live as a mediocre Christian, but i no longer want that. God has blessed me with so many good things, and it's Christ's love that compels me to serve. I don't want that love to be wasted.
Just yesterday I met up with a bunch of Japanese friends, including Shige - the KGK (the Christian uni student group in Japan) staffworker who was sent here for Bible college and ministry. I also met the daughter of some missionaries who lived in Japan for many years - the Smiths. I spoke to Naomi (the daughter) and Shige about my plans for the next two years, and my plan to go to Bible college eventually. However, both of them made me think about how i can be serving in Japan. Shige wanted me to go back as a fellow staffworker at KGK, and Naomi already seems to have plans to do something like that, even if it's just short term. The reality is that KGK staffworkers are very scarce, and they really need a lot of help. Perhaps God is telling me that He wants me to help out in the uni ministry there? I mean over the past 5 years i've learnt just how valuable uni ministry really is, and for the next two years I'll be working in uni ministry as well. God has been using all sorts of things to tell me how important it is to have good uni ministries, and my time in Japan taught me just how small the uni Christian groups are in most places. There really is a huge need, and perhaps God is telling me to go and fulfill that need... But in all honesty i'm rather afraid because my Japanese language ability is nowhere near good enough for me to be a staffworker at KGK. But i know that i can study hard to make up for that... There's yet another thing that i need to think and pray about some more. Is this what God wants me to do eventually? Does He want me to go to Japan and work there as a staffworker?
I know that the plans i have made for the future may change because God may have something different in store for me. My plans have changed several times in less than two years, but God's plan is perfect and eternal. I would be a fool to forget that He is the one who is in control! And so I entrust this life to my Lord and Saviour - the One who died for my redemption, and brought me back into His family, giving my life meaning and a purpose - and sending me out to do what He wants me to do.
I pray that God will use me to bring His Gospel to the people all around me, and that I will not disappoint Him.
Where do you want me to go, God?
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