scattered thoughts

this morning, i drove down from madison to st. louis for the speaker's retreat.

after checking in the hotel, i made it to the airport just in time to pick up patrick fung, who will be sharing his story at urbana. at dinner he shared his journey of serving as both a missionary and doctor in different parts of the world. in 1979, he experienced God's call for him to serve in missions while he was in med school. 30 years later, he's serving as the general director for omf international, training and equipping missionaries all over asia.

throughout our conversation i kept on getting the feeling that his story is exactly the kind we need to hear more of. despite his success as a doctor and fruitful ministry as a missionary, the humility with which he shared was most striking.

he has now served 20 years in OMF...when i told him that i have a hard time even imagining myself committing to something for that long, he gently reminded me that living out your calling wasn't about giving God a timeline or signing a contract, but about offering your whole life. lordship. it was a good (necessary) reminder.

the retreat hasn't even started, but i'm pretty exhausted...though after hanging out with dr fung, i'm super excited to see how the speakers will bond and help develop the program content. :)