Seven Hours Before Take Off!

Well the time has come for me to stop talking about it and for this thing to become reality. I just finished installing Skype for my mom now we can talk as much as we want to :) Good news is Oklahoma Christian has just issued me a new Apple MacBook so she can see me due to the built-in camera, but the bad news is she doesn't have a camera so I can't see her. But anyway, I'm just blessed to have the communication I do have. It makes me wonder how missionaries did it many years ago. How could they go that long without even talking to their families?

I'm so anxious right now that it's 10:51 and I can't even sleep! Well I think I better use this time to pray about the next four months, so until next time, keep me in your prayers that I have a safe flight and that this trip to Seoul will not only be a learning experience for me, but it will also be an avenue to win souls to Christ.

Some quick thank you's to some wonderful people in my life....

My mom, Pamela Jones
My mentor, Benny Walls
Brian Plumb
Ben Glover
Oakcrest Youth Group (you guys are awesome)
Spencer Youth Group (I can't wait to see you guys again)
Danny and Cindy Minor
John Osborne
Don Kinder
Ronda Everson
Don and Marcia Drew
Nia Kimble
Emroy Jones
Daniel Randolph

You guys have encouraged/helped me more than you will ever know, and I think it's only right that you know that I appreciate it!

Complacency

Man, there’s so much I have to do before leaving. I had to cancel my auto insurance last week and just yesterday I had to call and put my cell phone on a cheaper plan since I won’t be using it while I’m gone. I even had to make sure the couple of monthly bills I have are put on an automatic payment plan since I won’t be here to pay them manually like usual. It takes a lot of work tying loose ends. No matter how much packing and preparation I do I never feel like I'm finished. It makes me think that if preparing to leave the country is this stressful that leaving this world would probably give me a nervous breakdown.
Is it even possible for a person be prepared to leave this world? I mean after everything on my “to do” list is done, I still won’t feel “ready” to go. There will always be something in the back of my mind telling me there’s more to do. That’s why it’s hard for me to understand people who seem like they get complacent with life. It’s like they don’t realize there was a reason for God blessing them with more time. Someone once told me that it’s easy to have purpose and dreams when you’re a young radical college student, but once you get older the daily grind of things just makes life more routine. I pray that my life never gets that way. I pray that my reality never gets so far from my dreams that I settle for mediocre living.

No English On Sunday Morning

Wow! Time is winding down. Tomorrow will be my last Sunday in America for nearly four months. To a person who has never spent a long period of time in a non-English speaking country, this doesn’t sound like a big deal. Oh, but it is. In 2006 I spent two months in Asia. That trip showed me how detrimental that amount of time can be without a worship service in your own language. My spiritual food was not being spoon fed to me like I was used to. Back in America I was more of a spiritual consumer rather than a spiritual producer. I would go to church, get my dosage of the Word, and then pretty much be done with God till the next appointed time.
So taking all that in consideration, I’m going to enjoy my last Sunday in America, but I’m also going to make some serious changes to my spiritual diet this time around. I’m going to take my spirituality into my own hands. I will read my bible regularly and pray constantly. I’m going to make sure this trip is an opportunity for God to get closer versus it been an opportunity for Satan to push Him further away.