would.”
Jane chewed on her
bottom lip. “It’s nothing really. I am keeping an open mind and trying to
listen to God’s will.”
“But you got
disappointing news inside?” Isaac leaned away from Jane so he could make better
eye contact.
“Yeah, kind of.”
“What kind of
news?”
“It’s just that I
really like one organization, but they kind of want married women, or like,
nurses. I feel…unprepared.”
“If you need to be
married, I’m glad you’re unprepared.” Isaac’s face broke into a big smile.
“Let’s go in and find a different organization. One that knows what you have to
offer.” He grabbed her hand and stood up.
She stayed seated,
but her heart felt a little lighter. “I just need to figure out what it is I
have to offer first.”
Isaac tugged her
arm. She stood up and smiled. He put his arm over her shoulder. “I’ll do what I
can to help. You have a good head on your shoulders. You’re a hard worker. You
make people smile just by walking into a room.”
Jane felt her
cheeks heat up. “All admirable qualities, but useful overseas?”
“You know your
scripture. You care about people who are hurting.”
“That’s a little
more tangible.” Jane’s heart was in her throat. She walked into the
Mini-Missions fest with Isaac— Mr. Daniels’ —arm around her shoulders.
What would the other students think? What did she think?
“How about ELIC?”
Isaac asked, stopping at the first booth.
“That’s short
term.” Jane led him away.
“YMA?”
“Also short term.”
“Have you
considered the Evangelism Fleet?” Isaac grabbed a glossy pamphlet from the
table with a cruise ship model.
“Short term. Am I
picking up a theme here?”
“Can I help it if
I don’t want to send you away forever? I did just meet you, after all.” Isaac
stopped in front of the Summer Institute of Language/Wycliffe table. “Ever
considered translation work?”
“No, I’m mostly
interested in Evangelism.”
The Church bell
rang. According to the schedule this was the signal to go to Chapel for the
morning keynote speaker. Isaac stood still, his arm around her shoulder, as the
students flowed out of the room around them. “You didn’t want to hear the
keynote, did you? It’s the director of YMA. You know, the short term people.”
Jane rolled her
eyes and laughed. “Maybe I could skip this one.”
“I wouldn’t want
to waste your time on something that wasn’t a lifelong commitment after all.”
He grinned. “Where can two people go for a quiet conversation around here?”
Jane stepped out
from under his arm. “This way, to the library.”
The Bible school
library was a small room filled with donated biographies and commentaries. The
dusty, almost vanilla, smell of old books greeted them as Jane opened the door.
She sat at the library table. Isaac straddled a chair across from her.
“Okay, I’m just
going to lay this out there. Missions work, in the end, is like any other job.
You either need experience or skills.”
“And that’s what
my time at Harvest was for.” Jane folded the corner of her schedule back and
forth.
“That’s what you
intended it for, but it’s not enough. I know, you want it to be enough, but I
think if you are serious about missions you need to consider short-term work.”
“I went on
short-term trips in high school. I don’t want to go backwards when I could
spend my time learning the language and the culture. It will take a long time
to be fluent enough to preach in a 10/40 language. Wouldn’t more short-term
stuff just waste time?” The corner of the paper ripped off in Jane’s hand. She
rolled it into a ball between her thumb and finger.
“Untried
missionaries waste time too. High school missions trips are equal parts helping
the teenagers grow up and helping the community they travel to. What if you got
to your dream closed country and you just weren’t up to it?”
Jane pressed the
ball of paper until it was tiny and hard. “Do I
Jane chewed on her
bottom lip. “It’s nothing really. I am keeping an open mind and trying to
listen to God’s will.”
“But you got
disappointing news inside?” Isaac leaned away from Jane so he could make better
eye contact.
“Yeah, kind of.”
“What kind of
news?”
“It’s just that I
really like one organization, but they kind of want married women, or like,
nurses. I feel…unprepared.”
“If you need to be
married, I’m glad you’re unprepared.” Isaac’s face broke into a big smile.
“Let’s go in and find a different organization. One that knows what you have to
offer.” He grabbed her hand and stood up.
She stayed seated,
but her heart felt a little lighter. “I just need to figure out what it is I
have to offer first.”
Isaac tugged her
arm. She stood up and smiled. He put his arm over her shoulder. “I’ll do what I
can to help. You have a good head on your shoulders. You’re a hard worker. You
make people smile just by walking into a room.”
Jane felt her
cheeks heat up. “All admirable qualities, but useful overseas?”
“You know your
scripture. You care about people who are hurting.”
“That’s a little
more tangible.” Jane’s heart was in her throat. She walked into the
Mini-Missions fest with Isaac— Mr. Daniels’ —arm around her shoulders.
What would the other students think? What did she think?
“How about ELIC?”
Isaac asked, stopping at the first booth.
“That’s short
term.” Jane led him away.
“YMA?”
“Also short term.”
“Have you
considered the Evangelism Fleet?” Isaac grabbed a glossy pamphlet from the
table with a cruise ship model.
“Short term. Am I
picking up a theme here?”
“Can I help it if
I don’t want to send you away forever? I did just meet you, after all.” Isaac
stopped in front of the Summer Institute of Language/Wycliffe table. “Ever
considered translation work?”
“No, I’m mostly
interested in Evangelism.”
The Church bell
rang. According to the schedule this was the signal to go to Chapel for the
morning keynote speaker. Isaac stood still, his arm around her shoulder, as the
students flowed out of the room around them. “You didn’t want to hear the
keynote, did you? It’s the director of YMA. You know, the short term people.”
Jane rolled her
eyes and laughed. “Maybe I could skip this one.”
“I wouldn’t want
to waste your time on something that wasn’t a lifelong commitment after all.”
He grinned. “Where can two people go for a quiet conversation around here?”
Jane stepped out
from under his arm. “This way, to the library.”
The Bible school
library was a small room filled with donated biographies and commentaries. The
dusty, almost vanilla, smell of old books greeted them as Jane opened the door.
She sat at the library table. Isaac straddled a chair across from her.
“Okay, I’m just
going to lay this out there. Missions work, in the end, is like any other job.
You either need experience or skills.”
“And that’s what
my time at Harvest was for.” Jane folded the corner of her schedule back and
forth.
“That’s what you
intended it for, but it’s not enough. I know, you want it to be enough, but I
think if you are serious about missions you need to consider short-term work.”
“I went on
short-term trips in high school. I don’t want to go backwards when I could
spend my time learning the language and the culture. It will take a long time
to be fluent enough to preach in a 10/40 language. Wouldn’t more short-term
stuff just waste time?” The corner of the paper ripped off in Jane’s hand. She
rolled it into a ball between her thumb and finger.
“Untried
missionaries waste time too. High school missions trips are equal parts helping
the teenagers grow up and helping the community they travel to. What if you got
to your dream closed country and you just weren’t up to it?”
Jane pressed the
ball of paper until it was tiny and hard. “Do I
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