As I write, Laura and I are beginning a trip to Hong Kong, someplace near there, and Maryland, near Washington, DC. This should be both a fun and a challenging trip, not just because of the countries and time zones, but also because it gives us chances to spend time in three worlds we love.
We'll begin by spending time with workers we love who are committed to caring for people from very different worlds. Leaving Taiwan after 14 years was a big transition, but our new role in global care allows us to intentionally seek out international workers and initiate relationships and conversations. We all need encouragement and companions in our journeys. We were having one of these conversations yesterday with coworkers passing through Colorado from Taiwan and one of them said, "If only you could tell the stories. People have no idea what you do." This is definitely tempting, but over time we keep coming back to, "Each of us has the right to tell our own stories!" Or not. Still, in these conversations with coworkers we get to hear pieces, chapters, or choruses from some of the most wonderful and challenging stories, and to walk alongside in the story for a little while. Thank you for the part you play in allowing us to do this.
March 12-16 we'll be at a consultation on Counseling in the Chinese World (CCW). Perhaps you've heard someone say, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Without knowing much about fishing, I'm guessing everyone who fishes has some things they know, some hunches they follow, and some preferences about how to fish. So probably you don't teach fishing so much as you share stories, hunches, and preferences with each other, whether you're just starting to fish or have been doing it your whole life. That's why we call CCW a consultation! My role this year will be challenging, as I've been asked to lead several sessions looking at core values in marriage and family relationships. At the end of the day, my hope is that we will have shared stories, hunches, and preferences openly, humbly, and respectfully with each other in a way that enriches all of us.
On the other side of the world, as this consultation winds down, a conference will begin in Maryland (3/17-25). In recent years these two events have often been back to back, and as a result we've missed this annual conference. So this year, we're going straight from one to the other! With one stop en route, we plan to fly straight from one to the other, because we love this world too! Like most everyone, we're always balancing at least five commitments: our source community, our sending community, our host community, our team, and our community of care. It's just that in international ministry, these five can diverge a lot more than is comfortable or convenient! To put it another way, by definition we're almost always neglecting one or more of these communities when we focus on another. I see this tension is one of the great stressors for international workers.
So that's our triple-header of a trip March 4-26. Please keep us in your hearts, that we might stay healthy, replenished, and deeply present in these three worlds we love.
If not from the far side, definitely headed there or back again, with love, Steve and Laura
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