So, we’ve had the first two weeks of our course at All Nations now, and we’re starting to get a feel for how this year might go.
The thing that’s a little overwhelming for me personally is the sheer amount of opportunities for all kinds of things.
There’s the academic study, the basis of the course. I can see already that we will only scratch the surface of so many fascinating and important subjects. This is part of the aim of the course, to open up our eyes to what a wonderful God we have and a wonderful world and people that he has created. I could easily fill up all my non-lecture time with reading theology books and discussing big, important themes with some of the amazing people studying here.
Another part of the course is personal growth and development. This is about exploring deep issues of identity, passions and purpose, and could well be a life-changing experience. I could easily fill up all my non-lecture time with praying, thinking, journaling, listening to God and exploring my psyche with Farrah or with friends.
The other part of the course is practical work. I’ve been assigned to a church which has a lot of untapped potential in the area of worship, and I’m in the process of defining my objectives for the year in this placement. I could easily fill up all my non-lecture time with meeting people from the church, praying and planning for the worship ministry, leading worship, or working with musicians.
There are also things that don’t directly relate to the course. For the first time in ages, I have real time to spend with my family. I have lunch and dinner with Farrah and Zach every day, and hours of playing time available for building my relationship with Zach. I could easily spend all my non-lecture time with my family, just growing together in love.
There are various things we need to do before leaving for China. We need to get lots of people to partner with us in prayer, because we won’t cope with the move without God’s help. So building these relationships is vital. We also have admin to get done, medical, official, financial, etc. many forms and spreadsheets! Talking about admin, there’s still lots of odds and ends of admin to tie up, silly things like blood donation card mixups, scanning of paperwork, sorting out debit cards… All the stuff that falls to the bottom of the pile.
My prayer for right now is real wisdom and diligence in planning how to use our time. There’s so much we could be doing, so it’s all about setting right priorities and organisation!
I don’t know how interesting this is for people, but there you have it.