Shaking hands and kissing babies

Since SG and I have been over here, it seems like we've been doing a whole heck of a lot of shaking hands and kissing babies.  Mostly this is one particular baby, Mr. S, who is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen in my life. 

In the days before we departed for foreign shores, the friends kept asking me if I was nervous.  You'll find as you get to know me that it may seem as though I have no fears.  This is an illusion.  It's not that I have none, just that they are not readily seen.  I wasn't nervous about the travel - we'd only be going through English speaking countries.  I wasn't nervous about customs - I'd just done that adventure in June.  I wasn't nervous about being thousands of miles from home - I did that for college. 

I was nervous about being liked.  (Great fear of LMS's.)  Youth leaders have to be liked to be successful, right?  They have to have cool hair, great jewelry, just the right amount of pointed questions without being nosy.  I'VE NEVER BEEN A YOUTH LEADER!  So I don't have practice in knowing when to rock the trucker hat and when to leave it next to my sticker-studded guitar case (that I don't have).  What if they think I'm weird?  What if they think I'm bad at putting eyeliner on my upper eyelid?  What if they think my shoes are outdated?  Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear.  

Truth is, I could what if all day long, and you could all tell me wonderful, affirming things about my shoes and eyeliner application tactics.  In the end, the important thing is how I'm pressing on toward the goal.  Am I speaking truth in a way that is accessible to youth in this culture?  Am I living truth in a way that they can see and apply?  Am I doing the best with what I've been given to do what I've been called to do?  Sure, we're doing a lot of shaking hands and trying to make good first impressions.  That's fine.  It's just a part of going to a new place and meeting new people.  

In the end, though, the important thing is not how did students see me.  The important thing is, how did students see Jesus Christ because of me.  

Chase truth, relentlessly, patiently, hopefully.

Little Miss Sunshine 

In other news, an old man from Liverpool called me "pet" today.  Definitely a highlight.