Jet Lag And The Extra Mile

Day one of mission trips are always so weird. There is this pervasive feeling of complete lost-ness. Airport customs procedures, even at their best, are stressful. You have no feel for the time or place, you're attempting to acclimate to new food and languages (or in our case, accents/vocab) and you're meeting new people who are forming their first impressions of you. Of course, this is all happening while you desperately attempt to fight off jet lag. In case you've never experienced this wonderful side-effect of modern travel, it basically feels like a mad scientist has given a highly-caffeinated, under-slept toddler full control of your body, but not your brain. You find your thoughts are able to process at normal speed, but your speech and actions go between moments of hyper-active behavior and complete meltdown.

And these changes occur instantly. Without warning. To nine people. At different times.

Yeah.

Plus you're still getting to know your hosts and they're getting to know you. In the background of all this is the truth that this relationship (at least in its present form) will only last a week or two. Your group and its experience, so on the forefront of your mind, to you will be no more than a memory the moment you return home, and to your hosts is merely a drop in the bucket to a ministry that sees scores of people just like you come and go on a weekly basis.

And yet, through all that, the first day or two here at Murlough House has been pretty good. On the way from Dublin airport, we were able to stop at Monasterboice, an early Christian settlement dating back to the 5th century. Aside from the cemetery, the ruins of the two churches and the tower, this site also includes a few of the most important (and complete) of Ireland's many stone crosses. I had to restrain myself from simply taking pictures the entire time; i definitely want to remember this site, but I also wanted to truly see it, to take it in. I could have stayed there all day - looking, reading, thinking, praying - but alas, we needed to continue our trip into Northern Ireland. So we piled back into the van and sped off down the narrow, winding Irish back-highways. Our primary contact and host, Richie, drives, or rather flies, this wide vehicle down the road like he could do it blindfolded (which he probably was) with someone chasing him (which he probably did). I believe the term he used for his driving was 'slinging' the van down the road.

So that evening we did a little more sightseeing in the nearby bay-town of Newcastle, plus we took a tour of the actual house (built in the mid-1800s) and the grounds, which are part of a state 'trust' (state park). Today, i went for a run in the chilly, beautiful Irish dawn, with the green fields and mountains on my left and the sea on my right. Later, we settled in and spent a few hours chatting with a group of elderly people who have lunch here every so often, then, while everyone else either took a nap or played a game, Richie took me, the only 25+ year old who can drive a stick, for a quick UK/big van driving test to see if I was fit to transport us when he couldn't. I'm proud to say I passed and only got confused with the drive-on-the-left thing a couple times, mostly when turning right (which all of a sudden is much more dangerous than it is back home!).

The only other thing we've experienced is the hour we spent listening to John Moxen, the founder of Murlough House's ministry, share his testimony. John is a wee, 77 year old man with a great sense of humor and surprisingly spry step. When I say he's a 'wee' man, I mean I can see over him. The guy literally chooses his seat based upon which one allows his feet to touch the floor. Anyway, his life is a tale of unflagging commitment to God's Word (which, as he says, "is not black ink on white pages, but the living Jesus") and a willingness for God to move and act, even if he feels he is neither worthy or clever (as a dyslexic, he didn't learn how to read till 27). Aside from his quote about the Word, the other memorable thing he said almost right out of the gate, was that God allows life to be hard, not beacause it's fun for Him but because "He wants to see if you've got any second mile in you." "Most people" says John, "aren't willing to go the second mile. They quit as soon as it gets tough." Then he proceeded to tell his life-story; one that has been full of second miles.

I think of John and I look at my life. How often have I quit too soon and stunted the work God had for me simply because I went into this thing thinking it would only be one-mile jogs followed by recupperating rests? How often do I find my testimony full of 'what-ifs' and wasted potential because I was ill-prepared for the 'dark night', for mile #2, for doubts, fears and unmet expectations? I refuse to allow that to become my testimony. Ministry will be tough and it will include many unsavory moments, but I want to be a man that savors it anyway. A man who pushes through the hills rather than walks up (or off) them. My story will look different than John's, but I refuse to let this wee man outmatch me in devotion and endurance! I am grateful to have the opportunity to meet him and Richie and the rest of the Murlough House staff, and am excited for the upcoming week of service and new experiences. Let the miles come!

Thanks for reading and I'll be sure to post some of Mikala's thoughts in a couple days.

Blessings,

Josh