Five months is a long time to be away - why am I going?

I wrote this to talk to in church last week, and thought it would be a good first post for this part of the blog.  It focuses on my time in Canada as that was the reason I planned this.  Thailand has come later, and while it has become more important to me as the planning has progressed, it's not the main reason I'm going.

I've put my itinerary at the end as well.

Psalm 24:1 says ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’.

The main thing I’m doing while I’m away is to volunteer at a Christian environmental centre in Vancouver, Canada.  I’m going on this trip for two reasons.

The first is for me, to have a change from my current life and responsibilities.  I put a lot of time, effort and energy into things I care about, but in the last couple of years I find my resilience is a bit low, so I decided to take a chunk of time to re-focus and get a fresh perspective.  In the next five months I expect to spend time with God, and to deepen my relationship with him.  I was also reminded the other day of Zephaniah 3:17 which says ‘The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.’  I need to remember to celebrate his delight in me.  I don’t tend to do that much!

The second reason is to focus for a period on one of my key passions, conservation, in the context of an intentional community.  In Canada I’ll be living and working with a number of Christians who also care about God’s creation as much as I do, and are working practically to improve it.  A Rocha’s core commitments speak strongly to me.  They are Christian, conservation, community, cross-cultural and co-operation.  I hope that working with like-minded people will help me to learn, grow and contribute.

As most of you probably know I care deeply about caring for God’s creation.  Jesus said a key commandment is ‘to love your neighbour as yourself’.  My neighbour lives across the street, on the other side of town, in Fiji, and in Bangladesh.  I want to love my neighbour in every way I can, and that means being a good steward of God’s creation on which we all depend.

My God created this universe we inhabit in all its wonder, mystery and beauty.  He made the whole world, and has committed it’s resources into our care.  I want being a Christian to transform every part of my life, not just the ‘spiritual’ parts.

I’d like to finish with a quote from John Stott when writing about A Rocha.  He said ‘the living God of the Bible is the God of creation as well as redemption, and is concerned for the totality of our wellbeing’.  If you’re able to pray for me I’d appreciate prayer for refreshment, safe travels, success in my work and a deepened relationship with Christ.  Thanks.

Itinerary

Date	Travel Details
16 Apr	Fly at 6:35pm to Bangkok (via Melbourne). Arrive 6:00am on the 17th
30 Apr	Train at 7:35pm to Chiang Mai. Arrive 8:30am on the 1st
13 May	Bus at approx. 7:30am to Bangkok. Arrive approx. 5:30pm
14 May	Fly at 1:55pm to Vancouver (via Hong Kong). Arrive 4:20pm
17 May	Public transport to A Rocha, Surrey
22 Aug	Train at 5:35pm to Bellingham, WA. Arrive approx. 7:30pm
22 Aug – 7 Sep	Travel by train down the coast to San Francisco.
10 Sep	Fly at 11:25am to Honolulu. Arrive 1:45pm
13 Sep	Fly at 9:40am to Auckland. Arrive 4:35pm on the 14th