An End, A Beginning

This blog has already entered into retirement, but my new blog is up here! Check it out and let me know what you think!

The Plan (as of now)

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." James 4:13-15

If the Lord wills, I will be moving to Mozambique in late August. There are a few reasons why I'm going.

First, I'm viewing this as sort of an internship. I've been saying for a while that I want to be a missionary "when I grow up." (A missionary, as I see it, is someone who introduces people to the good news of the Bible; that they can be saved from the penalty of their sins by submitting to Jesus Christ.) I'm not sure whether I want to be directly teaching or preaching, or if I'm better gifted to help others getting into that position. So I'm going to try a bit of everything and see where my strengths lie. Then I hope to have a better idea of whether I want to go into an MBA program, seminary, language school, or maybe something I haven't even thought about yet.

Secondly, I'm eager to fill what I know to be a very real need. I spent a month working with the Woodrows in the summer of 2001. I was astonished with their boldness to build a hospital and start a church in such a barren place as northern Mozambique. No doubt, Dr. Woodrow could use his surgical skills to make a good sum of money in the States, but he's put all that aside... because in Mozambique people are so curious to know why he'd treat their illnesses at virtually no charge that they're interested to hear about the far greater grace God has shown to us.

Third, I don't want to waste my life. For now, I'm single, debtless, and in good health. And while I am, I might as well use all that stuff for something that matters. Not that God is impressed by bold endeavors alone (1 Sam 15:22)... He delights most in a heart that is humble before Him (Is 66:1-2). So I strive to be someone He can use more and more, and offer everything I have. Since I've got this unquenchable sense of adventure, some construction experience, a bit of accounting background, and an eagerness to learn a new language, Mozambique seems like a great place to use all those skills. So I'm going for it tooth and nail.

Ideally I'll be overseeing the construction of the hospital, running the bookstore that makes Christian literature in Portuguese available, teaching a few Bible studies, and doing a bit of bookkeeping and computer work. I'll be learning Portuguese, and if I have any free time, taking pictures!

Tentatively, I'll be leaving in the end of August assuming I get enough money to buy a plane ticket. I'd really appreciate your prayers on this, and if you'd like to help out financially, email me (floreenme@masters.edu) and I'll explain a couple ways you can do that.

Finally, I'll be updating this thing whenever I'm inspired with something noteworthy to say, and if you want to be emailed whenever I put a new posting up, just let me know!

Introducing My Blog!

Until recently, I didn't know what a blog was either. But this is an example of one... not nearly as distasteful as it first sounded.

I've created this to give people a convenient way to keep up with my adventures leading up to Mozambique. In the days to come I hope to add the exciting stories that I'll invariably have on the other side of the world. And assuming my camera survives the trek to Nampula, I hope to add some photos to show what Africa looks like.

I'm already getting excited to see what God will do in Mozambique, and I look forward to telling you all about it. Stay tuned!