My spirit is taking a little trip. Will it be an odyssey? I hope so, though I hope not as long as Homer's...
Monday night I leave for Amman, Jordan, where I will be working with veterinary students at the Humane Center for Animal Welfare and the veterinary school north of Amman in Irbid. And, while I desperately NEED to be getting things done here like emailing forms, filing taxes and packing, I can't stop my mind from wandering...
Six years ago, I went on the first of four mission trips to the Dominican Republic. That trip unsettled my spirit and it has yet to recover. Bible School is not my cup of tea in this country, but I decided to go and try it in another. Guess what? It still isn't my cup of tea, but the experience of intentionally focusing on people and being with them where they are changed me. I came home from that trip wanting to change everything I do. Thanks to all of you who are with me as I go down one rabbit hole after another. First, I wanted a Masters in Public Health (maybe I still do...), then I wanted to be an RN and so on. In there somewhere Mom died and I started going to therapy which is undoubtedly the BEST decision I've ever made (after marrying John, of course).
I had already been on two mission trips by the time I met my therapist. I know she secretly rolls her eyes when I say I want to sell everything, pack up my family and move to a Costa Rican rain forest to be a missionary. The problem with that is that I never feel like I know enough about the Bible or church to actually do it. One day she introduced me to the four-year program called Education for Ministry (EfM). The first two years are spent studying the Old and New Testaments. Currently I'm in the third year and studying the history of Christianity. Last year we talked about the idea of vocation. I was struck by the realization that, at the moment, I don't feel that my job and vocation are aligned. This is why my spirit has been struggling for so long. I just want to help people who truly need help. I don't want a price tag attached. And, because of my deep belief that the human-animal bond is one that should be protected, I do struggle at work sometimes.
Enter CVM (Christian Veterinary Mission). I know people who have gone on trips with them and loved it and I visited their website after that first mission trip. The very idea of veterinary mission makes me happy, but the on-paper descriptions of personal belief make me uncomfortable. If nothing else, EfM has made me somewhat more skeptical about blanket statements and until now I have been unwilling to take a step with them.
The attractiveness of this trip lies in the fact that it's in Jordan, a Muslim country. Proselytizing is against the law. I cannot use the words crusade, evangalism or missionary. Whew! I don't currently use them, so that's a relief. I can go and be a veterinarian and if someone asks me about what I believe, I can share it. The true gift of being on a mission trip is that you can be 100% focused on the trip and not have to juggle the distractions of everyday life.
I hope to be checking in here while I'm gone. It'll be an amazing trip. Thanks for all your support.
