Sweet! Looks like this blog idea is going to work out. Basically if anyone doesn't know, I'm heading off to Panama at the end of July for a five month session with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) an international missions organization. I'll be spending three months in Panama at a Discipleship Training School (DTS). Rumor has it, it's located on the side of a mountain in the middle of the rainforest (yes!!!). I'm not exactly sure what this portion of the trip will look like, but I'm thinking it may be sort of reminiscent of a bible camp, only for three months instead of a week.
After these initial months, I'll be heading out for the missions portion. If I was unsure about what the DTS segment will look like, I'm completely clueless about this part. We'll be heading to destinations unkown, doing activities unknown--it will all be figured out during the DTS. They say the most common destinations for this particular DTS are either Central America or Eastern Asia. I'd be pretty cool with either one. As far as what we'll be doing, I've heard of doing anything from skits for kids camps, straight-up witnessing on the streets, or construction projects. I think it'd be sweet to build a well, but I'm just throwing that out there.
As far as why I'm going, I'll be honest. I didn't ever get this inner voice that told me to drop out of college for a semester and pursue missions work. In my past I've struggled with pinpointing the "voice of God." Many times the things that I've heard referred to as God's Voice leave me even more confused and empty feeling than before I listened to them, and I think this inner-voice thing is or at least can be one of those things. Perhaps a better approach to seeking God's will is doing what we think seems the best and letting the all-powerful God sort things out. We do believe he's all powerful, right? Regardless, I imagine the most important thing is that you're working from an honest heart.
That being said, the reasons behind my going are pretty rational. I don't have a major or career in mind, and I think that getting away from college will be good in my decision-making process.
I have taken five years of Spanish but have never had the opportunity to unleash my speaking skills (or lack of them) on a natural speaker. The DTS is taught in both Spanish and English so this will be perfect for me.
I want to travel, and I figure better now while I can still be a whimsical dreamer than later when I'm tied down with job and family (maybe).
At any rate, I've got me my ticket and am going to Panama. Basically, this blog will be an oppotunity for me to spill my guts about how the trip is going so anyone who dares can pick them back up and examine them. Yep, I'm getting pretty excited. My return flight comes in on December 13, 2009; so I guess we'll see what type of person steps off that plane. Hopefully, an improved pilgrim.
