A note to my fellow missionaries

Being a student missionary is new to me.  Thus, I have faced a number of new challenges.  I don't pretend to know how to solve most of them, but here is something I found today:

I am tired.  Teaching is a difficult thing to do.  Let me explain that:  sometimes teaching feels like the easiest, most natural thing.  Sometimes the lessons flow freely and every student grasps exactly what you are trying to say.  But the rest of the time it is a struggle, especially for me, a person to whom patience has not always come easily.  I am happy to say that my capacity for patience has increased exponentially, mostly by the grace of God (and much to my students unwitting pleasure).  But as I said, today I am tired. I taught for six hours, three in the morning at a nearby school and three in the afternoon at SDA Language School.  Granted, six hours is not a long work day at all; regardless, I woke up at seven thirty and was back to my apartment for the evening by seven thirty.  And I was tired.  To be truthful, I wanted nothing more than to call home both to my family and my friends and enjoy a combination of talking to them and falling asleep.

Calling home was out of the question, as I have solemnly sworn to myself that I would not contact home for the first month of my trip (ironically acknowledged in this post).  So instead I channeled my tiredness and somewhat down feeling into other areas.  Here's how I dealt with my fatigue; hopefully this helps other student missionaries.

When I feel stressed or tired, I try to do three things:  first, I read my Bible and talk to God about it.  It helps put things in perspective.

Second, I listened to my favorite music.  Nothing in particular, I just cruised my iTunes and found songs that make me feel good.

Third, I exercised.  For me, few things take away stress like exercise.  I brought P90X with me on my computer, and although I tend to not follow the workouts exactly, any sort of physical activity tends to lift my spirits.  I would go for a run, but it's 9:30 at night and still 84 degrees.  So I exercise in my room.

After doing all three of these things, I am still tired, but I don't feel so decimated.  I doubt this will help anyone, but I hope that it does.  If you have any ideas for SMs, please comment.

By the way, if you need a verse to read while you are in your mission field (whether it be in Thailand, Micronesia or your very own home town), may I suggest Isaiah 6:8 - "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?'  And I said, 'Here I am.  Send me!'"

That helps remind me what I'm truly doing when it feels like I'm just teaching Thai and Korean kids how to pronounce the word "broom."