After the internship, I spent one more week at Wycliffe to attend a week-long linguistics course. TOTAL It Up! stands for Taste Of Translation And Linguistics. We had to learn a foreign language from a native speaker who does not speak English except for the first day. At the end of the week, we had to put up a skit in that language. My group (four of us) learned Thai, and this is the outcome of one-week of language learning:
So, as I was sourcing for stories for my supervisor, I came upon this story.
It was freaky, because I felt like I could almost superimpose myself on the story and make it mine.
I am not sure if I have shared about EnterMission with you all. But anyway, EnterMission is Wycliffe's weekly chapel service. On Wednesday mornings from 9 to 10am in the morning, the entire office shuts down and everyone (or most people) gather together for a time of worship and sharing. Usually Wycliffe missionaries who have served abroad will share their testimonies. Today's EnterMission was run entirely by the Orlando Summer Interns. We did everything from door-greeting to worship-leading to sharing.
Kurt was the one in charge of organizing and putting together everything for this EnterMission. I was a door greeter and a mic runner for the guest introduction time. After worship, they also showed the video that we made, A Day in the Life of An Intern. Then for sharing, we each went up and shared for two minutes about what we've learned from through our OSI experience and also to appreciate those who have helped us along the way.
It was a good time for reflecting on our two and a half months here, and to realise just how many relationships we've built along the way. And also to understand that so many people have worked to make it possible for the 12 of us to be here this summer.
As Karen Snyder, Wycliffe's internship coordinator, closed with a word of prayer, some emotions were stirred up within the room.
Proofreading A Thousand Trails started off as a pretty mundane task. Imagine reading the personal journal of a person whom you don't even know... But as I read along, I was drawn into Uncle Cam's (term of endearment for William Cameron Townsend, founder of Wycliffe) life stories. I was vicariously living his adventures through the book.
His story did not present itself to be very appealing at first. It seemed to be the typical missionary story that involves natives, jungles, and insects. But as he reveals more of his feelings and emotions in his journals and in his letters home, it struck me that this is not just a fictional adventure. It's the experience of one man who strives to live out God's will for his life. And that's not easy.
I wonder how many times I've read stories like Uncle Cam's, seeking to be awed and inspired by someone else's story. Then I close the book and put it down with a feeling of wonder and amazement.
Yet I've never stepped into the story myself. I was contented to be a reader, but not a character. Because it's too risky and uncertain to be a character in a book that's not written by me. But as Uncle Cam's story shows, God's an amazing storyteller. His stories are perfect. It also has a "happily-ever-after ending" (in God's definition, of course). And sometimes, our God also has quite a sense of humour, as shown in the following excerpt from A Thousand Trails:
"I am just the happiest fellow on earth. My love for Elvira grows greater every day, and hers for me. I didn't know I was capable of such great love... With a special romantic flair, William Cameron Townsend proposed to Elvira Malmstrom on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1919. Unknown to Cam at the time, only a few days earlier, Elvira had received a letter of proposal from his good friend Robbie. But three days later Elvira made her choice and wrote Cam's parents."
No worries. Things worked out for Uncle Cam and Elvira, and they were happily married on the following July 9.
I know that I can have a perfect story for my life as well, if only I am willing to be a character in the story that God is writing.
