Setting up the camera: phase I (up till I was about 20)

In April I went to an OMF training week. I wrote a little about it here. One of the things we had to do was develop a timeline of our life, using a specific format. It was designed to help us explore how God has worked in our life over the years and guided us to where we are now. It was an interesting experience, if just a little frustrating at times as I tried to rethink about my life in a way that fitted the format. 

In any case, one of the unique parts of these OMF courses is that at the end we have to do three assignments that we decide on ourselves. They're not supposed to be large, but are a way to help us cement something of what we've learned in our hearts a little deeper. It is all too easy to go to a course or workshop or conference and come away with little that's changed, so this is a way to combat that.

In the process of creating the timeline in April, I wrote three draft blog posts. Writing things down is a good way for me to process things and after nine years of writing blog posts it was a very familiar way for me to work through this.

So, one of the assignments I decided on was to edit those three posts and share them with you. 

One of the conditions of doing these assignments is that they are to be shared with someone. Sharing isn't a big deal for me, if I'm using this format . . . although for this one I'm supposed to discuss what I've written with someone, so if one of you is interested in talking with me about these three posts, do let me know.

Here is the first of three posts: it covers the first twenty or so years of my life, and is, alas, a little long. Each phase is divided into sub-phases as you'll see below.

Sub-phase A. Grew up in the church (1973-1990)
This verse haunted me as I was growing up: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48 NIV). I was born into a Christian family and have been at church every Sunday for most of my life. 

An early school photo.

My family was stable and loving. I was (and still am) the eldest of three girls. I don't remember a time when I didn't know about and believe in God and that Jesus died for me. The church we attended was like an extended family. We saw our church friends multiple times in the week. Us girls (mum was the pianist) were in the church's Junior Choir that practiced on Wednesday afternoons and often there were events on Saturday. Sunday was almost an all-day event, with Sunday school and church in the morning, and sometimes a shared lunch. Then we went back for church in the evening.

At school I achieved highly academically and was also fairly sporty. My involvement in sport dropped off in high school as I committed myself more to music: learning the piano and being a part of the school band with the flute, though I knew that I wasn't a gifted musician and also no "genius" academically. I did learn to work hard, though. I wasn't a popular kid, and had hardly any good friends at school as a teen, but was content enough with my church "family".

No, my life was not perfect, but I knew I'd been "given much". 

I don't remember when I became a Christian. As a teen I questioned if I was, because I didn't have one of those "conversion stories". But God reassured me through his Word that I was indeed his, even if I didn't have any memory of consciously choosing him as Lord of my life.

The first big ripple in my life were leaving home at 17 to go to university in the "big smoke"  down the road. I got into my chosen course: Occupational Therapy, but I soon discovered that I was quite average in the big pond of university. Living away from home in a girls-only college (US=dorm) took some getting used to, but I soon found a number of good friends, many of whom I am still in touch with. First year was full of homesickness and academic struggles, but it was a time of growth. I also found myself getting to know a new church family and Sunday was one of the highlights of my week.

Sub-phase B. God's early pursuit of me for mission

This is not a consecutive stage because God pursued me for mission from an early age and that continued into young adulthood and Phase II.

The OMF missionary, Cecily, who I met when I was seven. Here we are
together in the early stages of David and I preparing to go to Japan.

The first missionary I remember having a personal encounter with was an OMF missionary in Korea. I was seven at the time and she was the guest speaker at our Sunday School that day. I even volunteered to be dressed up in a Korean dress. The cool thing about this encounter is that we are still in contact with this lady. She's now retired and praying for us. Our eldest son also happens to go to the same church as her!

My first car. Older than I was. It had a solid motor, but other aspects of it
were a little dodgy. However, many a good conversation was had inside.

From about the age of 15 I was thinking a little more specifically about mission, though had grown up with the assumption that any Christian could be called to be a missionary and wondered if that's where I might end up. I chose my degree with the desire that I should choose something practical for work overseas if needed (at that time The Leprosy Mission had a big influence on my life).

Throughout these early years of my life there were many small ways that God was preparing me for the future. I had opportunities to be involved in various "ministries", for example, I was playing the piano in church during my high school years, and also a small band for a time. I was given a chance to do some youth ministry during my university years, including camping ministry. At our young adult group I spent some time as the prayer coordinator and helped organise small groups for support and encouragement as well as prayer.

There was a hint of a Japanese theme that appeared during my uni years. During my first year at uni I spent much of my Sundays with another girl from our college, we went to church together and more often than not had lunch together with the minister's family too. She was studying Japanese and had been an exchange student there for a year. Partway through that year I was able to get an old car (see the photo) and I began to help others from our "side of the river" get to our church. It was a 20-30 minute drive from where we lived. One of the people I drove in that car was a Japanese lady who was studying at Bible college (who, incidentally, is now an OMF missionary back in her home country).

Though I didn't see it at the time, merely moving out of home to go to uni was the start of God preparing me for the future. After such a stable childhood (we moved only twice and I went to only two school, about 200m from each other), I struggled with transition and big changes. Moving out of home was a huge change, but one that propelled me to grow so much spiritually and in maturity.

Sub-phase C. Relationships ('85-'99)
This is also not a consecutive sub-phase, but one that continued through the latter part of Phase I and into Phase II. I was discovering that I was a very relational person, but, like most teens and young adults, struggled with the questions:

My life-long friend. I've known this girl ever since she was born when
I was six-weeks old. Our parents were youth group friends. We Skype
regularly these days and are looking forward to some quality time together
when I get back to Australia in July.

• Who am I?
• How do I fit into the world?
• Who do I want to marry?
• How do I function best?

I was never one to easily conform (at least not on the inside, I think I often look like I'm fitting-in on the outside). I struggled to be content with who I was and with how God made me.

As I moved into my late teens and early 20s, big in my mind was the third question there: Who would I marry? Or indeed, would I not find anyone?

I'm getting ahead of myself here, but during uni and then as a single working in a country town, I had several young men try to get my attention, but none seemed right. I won't deny I had some crushes too, but none of these went anywhere. I wondered what "right" indeed was.

Boundary event (1993)

The structure of this timeline is that the phases are set apart through "transitional" or boundary events. These are significant events that might be termed "turning points" that propel you into a new phase of development.

The boundary event for me was going on an OMF mission Study Tour in Dec'93/Jan'94. It was my first trip overseas (to a country that OMF can't say we now work in). I was in a team of mostly young people (about 12 or so) and we spent time learning about the culture and religions of this country, as well as learning about mission and the Scriptures. Of course, through this all I learned a lot about myself, though that wasn't what I expected. I went on the trip seeking guidance from God about my future in mission, but there was no lightning bolt in that regard! There's more detail about that part of my journey in this post I wrote for OMF.

I did, however, meet my husband on that trip. However neither of us knew that at the time as there was a strict "no romance" rule. We didn't get together as a couple until a couple of years later.

*This is the first of three posts I've written about my life as an assignment for a course I did in April, processing my life in a specific timeline format. I will publish the second post tomorrow.