The Journey of A Thousand Miles Begins with One Step

No, it's not that I'm going somewhere a thousand miles away on foot, nor will I ever intend to do such a thing :p Just thought of jotting this down to mark the first historical step I've taken today towards a dream that God has put in my heart a few years back while visiting Lombok, Indonesia. There I met many kids selling goodies to tourists and I got the chance to interact with them and ask them questions regarding their life. Most of them have to help their parents earning money by selling the goodies after they finish school in the afternoon and a few of them already quitted school (they only completed elementary school) because their parents couldn't afford to pay for school fees.

I felt my heart was filled with such compassion towards them and I thought to myself I should be able to help them.. I would be able to teach them for free.. they would be able to have a better education and chances for better life.. plus teaching has always been a passion of mine ever since I was little.

So, the initial plan was that I wanted to do this during my retirement age when my kids (if God grants one or two or three or four to me) are all grown up. Then one day I was sharing this passion of mine with a group of good Christians and I'm not quite sure how it happened but suddenly I realized.. hey why don't I start doing something about it now? Not like doing it now, but taking some steps to test the water.. is this something I could handle? will it be something I'd love to do everyday? I talked to a friend who has been on a mission trip to Cambodia and his story inspired me. He was also saying that he's had this idea with his friend to setup a computer learning center in Cambodia, and that I would be able to use my computer skill to teach there. I was like WOW! That would be just awesome! Doing the thing I know how to do and through teaching which I love to do and working for God..

Then it so happened that a week or two after that, I met another new friend who was sharing with me how she went on a 5-month mission trip (3 months preparation through Bible study in Hawaii and then 2 months in Cambodia). I was really encouraged by her story.. The idea of taking 5 months off my work life... learning about God while living in another foreign country (and nice island!), then went on the mission trip to Cambodia.. it appeals to me so much.. I felt like just jumping unto it at once.. Okay, you may say that I'm a rather impulsive person..

I did some research about it on the Net, talked to more people and one day shared it in my bible study group. And someone just popped up this question.. why don't you start doing it in Japan? Aren't you in some way on a mission trip? Living in a foreign country and serving God.. and Japan also has orphanages. It came as rather surprising.. it's so clear, yet I never realized this..

And so the first step of the journey of a thousand miles began.. after a few delays and some disappointments in between, today I went to an orphanage. The place itself is not really unpredictable.. and it's related to a church which is really good. But somehow I came back feeling rather down.. I could see a big mountain in front of me.. my super limited Japanese capability is definitely gonna be the biggest obstacle.. how would I be able to help them with their homeworks, console them, tell them about God's love for them if I couldn't even speak their language.. and then I'm not even sure if I would be able to have a good relationship with the kids.. or even to have the long-term commiment that the kids need most.. I guess I'm just scared.. It's the journey to the unknown.. and that always scares me..