The Journey Begins . . . (Lori)

A journey begins with a single step—or in this case, a single prayer.

January was Michigan-blah, and I was feeling antsy. Something was missing but I was clueless as to what that might be. I’ve often made the mistake of trying to muddle through life on my own (you think I’d know better by now), but this time I wisely consulted God in prayer. My prayer was literally this: “I want my world opened up.” Even as I uttered the words, I had no idea what I meant by that. I wasn’t hankering to travel, and I am pretty content in my own little corner of the world.

Several days later, unaware of my prayer, my husband mentioned a volunteering opportunity that he had just read about: in connection with a local Christian college and seminary, a church was looking for volunteers for their ESL program. The idea was to tutor international college students, their wives, or interested community members so that they would become more comfortable using English to fit into their new communities.

     

Naturally, I had to question God’s nudging (I’m nothing if not predictable!). Me?! An ESL tutor?! I’ve always lacked confidence in my ability to teach anyone ANYthing, let alone something as crucial as language! (The only non-English I know are a few vaguely-remembered French phrases from high school, only useful if I want to find my way to a museum in France—not likely to be helpful in an ESL tutoring setting!)

           
With much trepidation and shaking knees, I heeded God’s answer to my prayer, and met Hanna, a beautiful young woman from South Korea. She and her husband, Hyunkwan, had moved to the U.S. three weeks earlier (less than a month after getting married—talk about adjustments!) so that he can attend seminary. Within a few minutes of stilted conversation, I knew that God had blessed me with Hanna’s presence in my life.

          
In the few months since Hanna and I first met, a wonderful thing has happened—my world has opened up! It has opened all the way to South Korea, a place I’m learning to know and appreciate through Hanna’s eyes. My relationship with Hanna has opened my own eyes to the myriad of ways that our cultures may differ but the people—their feelings, their joys, their insecurities—are all the same, because God made us all in His image.

           

Thank you, God, for my HUGE new world—and for always answering my prayers in far greater ways than I could have imagined. I look forward to this journey!