Tonight, however, my thoughts are taking me somewhere I have never been. Serbia. When I was in high school, if you would have asked me where I dreamed of visiting, I would have said France. In fact, I took French as a foreign language in high school, and did quite well. After untold years of not using it, I remember very little, but at the time, I would dream of visiting Paris and experiencing the French culture - even if I only knew how to find the restroom and the bus stop :).
In college, if you had asked, I would have told you I dreamed of going to England. I had the world's most awesome British literature teacher in college. He had been to all of the places we read about and could take us there through his own personal stories. I could get lost in a countryside I had never seen - and language would not even be a barrier. I would still love to see them at some point, but that isn't exactly where my heart is leading me right now.
Serbia. Until recently, if you had asked me to rank all the places in the world I would like to visit, Serbia would not have made the top 10...or 20...or 30. In fact, it would probably ranked somewhere well below the jungles of Africa and only slightly higher than Iraq. To me, Serbia was a scary place. It was war-torn and dangerous. Did I mention war-torn?
Fast forward to a few months ago. I happened to sit in on a missions team meeting for our church. They were discussing the various mission opportunities that would be available in 2010. They were also tossing around numbers on scale of 1-10 as to the (for lack of a better word) intensity of the trips. Mozambique - camping in tents in the wilderness and visiting unreached African tribes ranked a 10. Helping with an Easter egg hunt in New York ranked around a 1. And then, someone mentioned that Serbia was a 3. A 3? That's crazy! Serbia was at least a 9 in my book. War-torn. Dangerous. Scary. There was no way they would convince me that Serbia was a 3!
Later I learned that one of the trips would involve English camps. I was so excited. I am not a doctor or nurse, and I doubt I would be much help on a construction site, but English I do. I have a degree in it. I speak it. This was a trip where I could truly use my talents. I couldn't wait to find out which trip it was. Any guesses? ... Serbia. And, who is the leader of the trip to Serbia? The world's best boss - my boss, Eric.
God has taken away every reason I can think of for not following His call to Serbia. My every instinct is to panic whenever I think about it, but God has given my heart and mind a peace that is beyond all human reason. This is so far outside of my comfort zone that I can't even see it from here, but I know at this point that if I don't go, I will regret it for the rest of my life.
So, that is the plan. God willing, in July, I will board a plane to one of the scariest places I can think of in the world. A place where I have no knowledge of the language. A definite 9 for me on a scale of 1-10, and I will be trusting God to use me in a mighty way through the gifts and talents He has given me. It still amazes me.
By the way...did I mention that one of the mission trips offered is to France. But my heart...is in Serbia.
Although I have removed all prior comments, good and bad from this post, I would like those who wrote them to know that I have saved them elsewhere. It was never my intent to malign anyone, and many of you right. I am ignorant of Serbia, it's culture, and much of its past. I have been a victim of media propaganda about Serbia just as you have apparently been the victim of media propaganda about the US. It is my guess that neither of us live in a perfect country. I am anxiously anticipating my trip to Serbia because I want to learn. I am aware that there is a big world out there that I know very little about, and I know that it filled with people who are just like me. They have families, and jobs, and customs and religion. And, while I do take offense at the personal attacks, I own my ignorance. Hence the point of the post. My God is teaching me to look beyond myself. If you have read my other posts, you will know that I am anxiously anticipating my trip. Not anxious as in afraid, but anxious in looking forward to all that I will see and learn. And maybe, when I return, I will be able to share with others what I have learned and break down some of the "ignorant American" stereotypes that you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteYour post was a little bit provocative and Serbs are maybe even a bit too sensitive, especially in the view of all bad things that happened in recent past and general tiredness of many stereotypes served about us. That said, I do believe that many comments were hotheaded and not thought through. You clearly are not an "ignorant American" and you surely will be welcomed in Serbia. People like you who are generally interested to learn and who are willing to admit that they were wrong are welcomed guests everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWish you all the best :)
Btw. Serbs generally do not dislike Americans as people, quite the opposite.