WWSE: Switching Gears

So, last week I was in Antique, celebrating the launching of the New Testament and gathering stories of how the community has been involved in the work of not just translating the Scriptures, but also seeing the people of the community using, learning from and being transformed by the Scriptures.

The week was action packed. We started our days early in the morning, and worked through the day and into the night. The days were filled with meeting lots of people, taking photos and conducting interviews. We were up and about... and it was fun.

This week I'm ... in meetings.
Usually the word "meetings" drags on me.
I think of ...

• sitting in a room that's way too cold from the AC.
  
• sitting in the same room for eight hours straight.
• smiling and nodding at people who I've met before at other meetings while trying my hardest to remember "who is that again?"
• or worse... being on the other awkward side of that greeting and having to remind people of who I am.
  
• spending 8 hours in meetings and then an additional how many hours post-meetings catching up on "real" work
• being in a new country or city and the whole time just seeing the backs of people's heads and the hotel conference room decor.
  

The meetings don't officially start until tomorrow. So today I got to roam a bit with my new friends from PNG (Senena and Badi) and mentally and emotionally start to switch gears from last week's experience to this week's meetings.

We had a brief opening session this evening.
What I heard and saw has encouraged me and is helping with the gear-switching.
There are over 250 participants gathered here representing 105 different organizations.
Among us we represent 43 nationalities serving in 55 different countries.
And there are 51 people serving on an international or regional level (including me).

We come together this week to network and connect... to learn... to exchange ideas... to be challenged... to be transformed. All those here have a heart and passion for God's Word and wanting to maximize the exposure and engagement of people worldwide with God's Word.

I'm so looking forward to hearing about the ways people are working and seeing the exchange of ideas among the people here.

And personally, I'm eager to be challenged by God this week.
A pastor who prayed for the group said that this really is about each one of US, our relationships and our encounters with the Lord. He asked us to think..."Is the Word of God dwelling in each of US richly as we seek to see it so in others?"

THAT is a question I've been wrestling with over this last week. As I've witnessed the eagerness and excitement of the Kinaray-a as they received His Word in their language, I've been challenged and convicted about my own passion for His Word (or lack of?). SIGH.

Pray for what God has in store this week -- for me personally -- and especially for the group gathered.