heart & Seoul

I am happy to report that we have arrived safely in South Korea (much to Jim's dismay; he was eager to "accidentally" segway into North Korea's dangerous borders...though I admit it would've made for a great story!).  I suspect that we'll be going on a lot of adventures for the sake of a story...for example, while I was describing my interest in possibly visiting Angkor Wat, Jim was very excited to visit a spot he had pointed out to me on the map with a most charming name: Bat Dung.  Ha!  I've already envisioned writing about "roaming through Bat Dung" and the things we're bound to "step into". 

On the way from Reno to LA, I ran into a girl who used to come to my LifeGroup!  Prior to leaving Reno, I'd read Pastor Steve's account of the screaming baby who sat beside him and had prayed that I would not befall a similar fate.  So, you can imagine my great pleasure when I was able to sit next to one of my sweet friends!  God is gracious :)

As I am sitting here, lounging in a trendy internet cafe lined with alluring designer stores, I cannot help but reflect on the ease of accessibility.  Affordability, on the other hand, is another issue, though not one which we encounter as much as other areas of the world.  For the most part, we can afford nice things: nice houses, nice cars, nice clothes.  We can afford living nice lives.  But at the heart of the matter is what we cannot afford. 

In a matter of hours, we'll finally be arriving in Phnom Penh where we'll be serving and ministering to those who've been rescued from the violent, calloused hands of the global sex trade.  We have each been given an assignment to fulfill while we're there, and mine is to write; specifically, write articles for AIM.  As a writer, I feel an intense obligation to make each word count; to pour my entire heart into whatever I produce because I simply cannot afford to scribble meaningless, purposeless, and empty words.  Not when I consider the lives of those whom I'll be interviewing and the stories I'll be writing about them; not when I think of the other lives I'll be able to impact through the written word.  There is a certain integrity in the pursuit of Truth that has been corrputed by our consumerist nature.   I think this is part of the reason why we can pretend that our hearts break for the injustices we see on TV, committed daily all over the world, then quickly change the channel and get back to dinner. 

I once interviewed author and activist, Frances Moore Lappe, who had said that the word 'consumer' is inaccurate.  When we think of a fire consuming a house, we think that the fire has consumed it in its entirety.  But we don't immediately take into consideration the possible chemicals now in the air; how the flames have affected its surrounding environment or the now homeless family...

Perhaps it is this pursuit of Truth that inspires the desire for one to travel on a mission trip or to venture boldly into the local and global communities and serve.  Because it is only in the midst of the pursuit of Truth that our eyes are opened to the illusion we're living in.  That we can afford to consume without fear of consequence; afford to love conditionally without fear of neglecting the unloved; afford to confuse tolerance and silence for 'peace'...when in reality, in Truth, we cannot afford to love half-heartedly, selectively, or quietly. 

When we foresake the lives of others, we foresake our own. - Joel Houston

-Beth Parawan