“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
Looking back over the semester, I do not even begin to know where to start. Do I start in Beijing, the logical place, where it all began? In Japan, where I fell in love with the people? In New Zealand, where I was surrounded by some of God’s most glorious creation? Or in Australia, where I was surrounded by the familiar and unfamiliar simultaneously?
In each place, I struggled to find God there, and in each place, there He was, right there with me. It didn't matter that I had left the Bible belt and was in atheist nations or nations that strayed from their Christian heritage, God was right there, with me and with everyone there. He was with the beggars on each corner in Sydney. He was whispering to the heart of Michelle, a film producer who we met at the English Party in Beijing, who has been searching for God in different churches in China and around the world. He was with Kana and Ayaka, some of the very few Christians at IC, and with Aya and Kumi, who I was blessed to read from His word with twice a week. He is everywhere, and I got to see Him in just a little bit of that everywhere. As I travelled and met people I realized that God made us as relational creatures, to be in relationship with Him and in relationship with other humans and Christians. The places where we met and interacted with other people were the most meaningful: Gary’s church in Beijing, Xi’an Polytechnic, IC, Rotorua church of Christ, and the church of Christ in Gosford.
In Sydney I started reading through Corinthians, and as I came to the famous love passage, God showed it to me with new eyes. God is love, and He is in us. Love is patient, and love is kind. Each morning I said a part of this verse and thought about how I could apply it that day, whether with someone who was on my nerves or a person on the street I saw in passing. LOVE is patient, and LOVE is kind. God in me allows me to be patient, God in me allows me to be kind, etc. As much as I learned on the whole trip about different cultures and different peoples and history and art, I honestly believe this to be one of the most important things I learned.
In Japan I decided to become an English major. I don’t know what that means for my life or my career, but I felt God calling me in that direction. Perhaps He will send me back to Japan or China with it, or perhaps He will send me somewhere closer to home. Wherever I end up, I know He is with me and He through me can show love to the world.
Going on the Pacific Rim study abroad program was one of the best decisions in my life. The people I met on the program and in the group will forever be some of the most special people in my life, and for that I am truly grateful. This trip has been a blessing and will continue to bless my life through its impact on my life and my walk with God.
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