Torch, Fall 1999

Things changed soon. As a high school senior, I was the first foreign exchange student ever from my high school. It was a wonderfully positive experience, but there are some bugs still in the system when you are the first foreign exchange student. For example, they notified the family that I was coming; they neglected, however, to notify the school that I was coming. So, the school thought I was a transfer student from somewhere else in Austria, and they had no idea that I was dumb as a stump with respect to their language and culture. So, the first several months were very traumatic. This was particularly acute at meals. I could not say, "Please pass the bread." I could not even say, "Bread, please." I was reduced to making sound effects . During meals, my host family would arrange all the food around me in kind of a semi-circle so that everything was within reach and I wouldn't be making embarrassing noises in front of the guests. Nevertheless, still with astounding regularity, I was capable of cramming my foot down my throat. It was a traumatic time. But it was during that year that the Lord really gave me a love for the Austrian people. It was during that year that I realized I was being called to Austria as a m1ss1onary. Another difficulty was that before I left the United States, I had told everybody that I was going to be something other than a missionary. In fact, I told my mom and dad, my brother, and all my friends that I was going to be a doctor. I had in effect painted myself into the "going to be a doctor" corner. To make things even more complicated, while I was overseas, my twin brother, who was valedictorian of our high school graduating class, took it upon himself to interview in my place at several very prestigious universities. While I do not recommend this ethically or morally, the end result was that I was accepted at some pretty nice places. I came back to the United States and enrolled in the premedical program at one of those prestigious universities. I was majoring in chemistry, and I was doing quite well, but I was miserable because I knew it wasn't where God wanted me to be. It finally got to the point where I knew I was going to have to drop out. I walked into the counselor's office and said, "I am not going to be here next semester. I am dropping out of school." A look of horror passed over the counselor's face, and she said, "What's wrong, Ed? Is it the money? We'll give you more money." And I said, "No, it is not the money. I am going to be a missionary." Another look of horror passed over her face, and she said, "Oh, Ed, don't throw your life away." By her standards, I was throwing my life away. The lady was not a believer; perhaps she does not even believe that God exists. By her standards, I was giving up a chance for a very lucrative profession -to be a pillar of my community, to be very influential among my peers-to go out in the middle of nowhere and serve the cause of Christ. She thought I was crazy; she thought that I was throwing my life away. I urge you to throw your life away. I want you to throw your life away according to the world's standards . But, I also urge you to clamor after success according to the only standards that really count, and those are God's standards. One of the best ways I know to do that is to focus your prayer life. Paul Borthwick, a missions mobilizer on the east coast, shares a great idea on how to do this. "If you want to focus your Torch 11