It's Go Time!

Dear Friends and Family,

I leave for San Francisco airport in a couple hours to snooze a bit in the airport and catch a very early morning flight to New York, where I will meet up with David Scudder. We'll be flying out to South Africa together, meeting the rest of the team there, and beginning our work. Of course, it would be a mistake to think that the Kingdom work begins there, when it's started here all along. We've each been individually preparing arts and crafts material as well as trying our hand at basic Xhosa phrases. I'll admit that I haven't committed most of them to memory, so I'm sure I'll learn a good deal more when I'm in South Africa.

Am I excited to be going? Sure, but I'm certainly apprehensive as well, as I feel ill-prepared in many ways.

The past couple weeks, in addition to preparing for South Africa, I've been trying to get into the groove of full-time work and the life of a post-graduate. For those of you who have been on that path, you know what it's like--and for those who are looking forward to it, well, let's just say that there is much to learn. It's like being a freshman in college all over again. Granted, the first day's excitement takes me back to the first day of school, but the excitement wears off when the rubber meets the road, as I try very, very, very hard to put on the best act I've done so far--and play the part of an adult. The responsibilities are many, the expectations burdensome, and the confusion is endless--not to mention they never had a "New Adult Orientation" for me. ;-)

When my family moved to Taiwan, the transition from American culture to Chinese culture was rough; but the transition from high school to Stanford was even more turbulent. And I suspect that this transition won't be any easier, given that I've grown too comfortable with academia and I have a distinct dislike of dealing with the sundry minutiae of life. (Just because I'm an engineer doesn't mean I like details :-D). Not to mention that I still don't know what I want to do (when I grow up ;-) ). But I try and recall those who have come before me into adulthood and their silent rites of passage--unnoticed, unwritten; and those that struggled to gain a foothold or waited the proverbial forty years to fulfill their dreams. Some have slogged it out with sheer willpower, others with brainpower and hard work; still maybe more "got lucky" and managed to meet the right people. God has been faithful with each one of them--from my parents, to my parents' friends, to my friends' parents--and, while I continue to play the actor, wondering if enough acting will make it reality, I am wholly convinced that God remains faithful as He says in His word.

So when people ask me if I'm ready for South Africa, I'd have to say, "Sure, but only because God is faithful." I'm utterly ill-prepared, swamped by the thoughts of growing up, sometimes haunted by missteps I've made along the way, and definitely in the wrong frame of mind to be of use to any earthly king. But I'm not the king and I don't call the shots, so I'm going. God is stretching my faith and challenging my life--and it's not as easy as it seems on TV ;-). Growing up and missions isn't something I can handle on my own; it must be done with the support of community. And I would not be going to South Africa without your support (likewise, I doubt I'd grow up without your support ;-) ). I know you're cheering me on; we are in this journey together.

If you have some time this week, please pray for the following.

(1) My friend David Scudder will be leading the team when we're in South Africa. Pray for his discernment in sticky situations, wisdom with leadership, and eloquence with the good news.

(2) The team is flying in to South Africa on different days. Please pray for the safety of our travels; I often take long, international flights for granted, but our safety is the mercy of God.

(3) It's winter in South Africa (for those that are curious, Wikipedia has a nice article about seasons), and I'm not sure how California weather has spoiled us. Pray for our physical health and that, whether sick or healthy, the Gospel could be shown through us.

(4) Since we're in a different culture and learning a different language, pray for humility and persistence in learning the culture and language.

(5) As I've mentioned, I'm extremely distracted with the usual post-graduation thoughts and the "what am I doing with my life" phase. Pray for trust in God's sovereign hand and hardship to stretch my understanding of Him.

(6) And, lastly, pray that the team would have fun! Too often we think of missions as a "duty" that we forget that there is joy involved as well; I'm far too guilty of this myself. ;)

I hope that each of you are doing well, whether on the East Coast, the West Coast, the deep South, the Midwest, Canada, Taiwan, or maybe China. This mission is truly a global endeavor. Send me an email update, I'd love to hear from you individually.

Finally, our team has set up a blog at http://sajourneys.blogspot.com/. Depending on our Internet access, we may update it with pictures. ;)

For the Kingdom,
Eric Chu.