1. November 2009, New York City (NYC)
2. God Calling
3. Church Hunting
4. Vineyard Community Church, Pomona
5. Dominoes
6. Chain Reaction
7. Mixed Feelings
8. Training

November 2009, New York City (NYC)

I flew to NYC after my job at UPS forced me to take some vacation time. I hated taking vacation time without something planned, so with only three weeks of advanced notice, I took the leap to go to NYC alone. I got on a plane with absolutely no plans, just a plane ticket and a hotel. I thought I would figure it out as I went. Little did I know how true that would be.

God Calling

Before arriving in NYC, I called myself a Christian — but at best, I was a lapsed Christian. I wasn’t attending church or reading the Bible, and I believed I could be with God on my own terms. I should have studied the Bible more, and then I would have known that being a part of the body of Christ is the scripturally correct thing to do. But at the time I was in a state of self-deception.

Being an introvert, it was interesting to be alone in a city of over 8 million as I went to all the major tourist traps. I walked six to nine miles a day between major scenic locations, taking pictures of churches. Everyone knows Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. But I had no idea that within the three-mile length of NYC there were so many churches.

Oddly enough, I talked to God a lot during my time there. Maybe while looking up at skyscrapers, I saw the duality between what man had created versus what God has created. In any case, the chilly autumn air and alone time lent itself to spiritual introspection. Finally, I felt it was time to do something permanent about it.

I broke down and realized how spiritually thirsty I was.

“Church Hunting”

I returned to California, conceding to God that it was time to find another church. My last experience with church had involved hearing gossip, experiencing a church merger for the wrong reasons, and seeing the only pastor I ever had leaving. It had left a bad taste in my mouth about churches.

Still, I was certain God was beckoning, so I decided to try it again. Several years earlier my brother had told me about a church nearby that he appreciated for the fellowship. With no better place to start, I decided to visit, intending to attend a new church every week until I found the “one.”

Vineyard Community Church, Pomona

Although it was obvious to everyone there that I was new, it was still a strange experience to have many people introduce themselves — an eerie friendliness.

I did my very best to be avoided. I spent my first week sitting as far back as I could sit, not even standing during worship, and putting on my best skepticism hat. Everything was under the microscope. I wanted to find fault, and I wanted a reason not to stay.

But strangely enough, I went back. Despite not feeling settled, I returned week after week, never managing to continue my church hunting even though there is no shortage of churches where I live.

During my first two weeks of attendance, I was invited to the Men’s Group. I wanted to fill my schedule with God, so I attended on Monday night. I sat in silence and listened to the worship, reading, talking, and praying.

I broke down and realized how spiritually thirsty I was. I took everything in at a ravenous pace. Men’s Group became what I called “the therapy I didn’t know I needed.” I added a third day of church attendance on a weekly basis and didn’t miss a day. I built up relationships faster there than I ever had in my introverted life. I also gained a spiritual mentor.

Week after week, I heard what I needed to hear from the pulpit, in men’s group, from my mentor, or from a friend. Whether it was difficult to hear or not, I did my best to receive it all. In the shortest time I had the greatest spiritual growth ever in my life. Clearly I was getting spiritually filled, but I didn’t know to what end.

Dominoes

On a Sunday in March, a middle-aged man walked up to the podium during announcements with words that still ring through my mind. He asked the congregation to pray a simple prayer, “Lord, what would you have me do this summer?”

He was asking for those who were interested in joining a ministry to teach overseas in Vietnam during the summer. I didn’t think anything of it. I met with Ron after the service and signed the sheet just for information. If I didn’t like what I heard, I could always back out, or so I thought.

In mid-April, I received my first phone call from Andrea, the Regional Director for Asia at TeachOverseas. The conversations were innocuous at first, and honestly I didn’t want to get tangled into a trip abroad. I was busy trying to launch a career. True, I was failing miserably. The economic crash in ‘08 made it difficult to get a job in California, and I didn’t want the terrible jobs I found on Careerbuilder.com. As for the jobs I really wanted, I realized I was under-qualified. Andrea, on the other hand, persisted.

I made a few concessions and finally admitted that I wanted God’s will to be done. I figured that whatever God wanted would simply work out. I jumped through the hoops looking simply to appease with no commitments. I told Andrea I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be doing over the next year, so our conversations went something like this:

“You don’t have to say yes, but if you want to stay in the pool, I need your resume.”

“Ok.”

Then the following week she said, “You don’t have to say yes, but if you want to stay in the pool, you’ll need to send in three references.”

“Sure.”

And sure enough, a week later, she said, “In order for you to stay in the pool, I need you to have an interview. Normally, it’s over the phone, but since you’re so close, you could actually come in for the interview … ”

“All right.”

I made a few concessions and finally admitted that I wanted God’s will to be done. I figured that whatever God wanted would simply work out.

I blew straight through the interview, fearless with the same attitude I had before. If it was God’s will, then I would end up there. I was probably more honest and candid than necessary with my shortcomings as a candidate.

Meanwhile, tensions were growing at work. I had been an employee of UPS for over five years — enough to have earned my keep while being ultra-reliable to prove it. For years, I had one or less days of unscheduled time off. But despite my length of service, I wasn’t getting anywhere. UPS had proven itself to be a reliable part-time job, but the move from Operations to Corporate was a difficult jump, and I had no desire to work in Operations full time.

The breaking point for me was an argument with one of my managers. I had been praying for this manager and for patience in dealing with him. But his abrasive leadership style and his irrational decisions left me weary. I had no problems with the rest of my leadership team. Thankfully, this particular manager didn’t have any say over my employment, as we exchanged words more than once.

It was not my proudest moment. I desired Christ-like traits such as patience, humility, and respect for (misguided) authority, but I didn’t have them that day.

It was time to quit. I didn’t have another job lined up, but there were no lateral or vertical positions for me, and UPS was feeling the fiscal crunch like every other company. But I had served my time and suffered through it. I was not used to quitting, but with a little more guidance, I did it.

Chain Reaction

As soon as I had put in my two weeks’ notice, Andrea called me.

“We would like to formally invite you to teach with us in Vietnam for TeachOverseas. Unfortunately, as you’re signing on late, you only have until the end of the week to agree.”

Enrollment in the summer program had already concluded, leaving only the year-long option. My hemming and hawing had left me with significantly fewer choices. I would now have to decide whether I would make the year-long leap overseas or not at all. This turned into prayer week for me.

Of course, I said yes, but not until waiting for the last hour of the last day, Friday by 9 a.m. What was just the beginning of my life back into Christ five months earlier suddenly hurled me into another country.

Mixed Feelings

After making a decision, I still wasn’t sure if it was the right choice, but it was too late to back out now. We were to be sent out two-by-two, and leaving my future year-long partner was no way to act. It was also the first time I’d ever been referred to as an “answer to prayers.” How could I think of being anything but dedicated?

I went back to living my normal life for two months before training as the rest of the pieces fell into place. I also started my journey to raise money and found that I meant more to certain people than I had thought. As I was leaving for training, not to be seen again (for a year), I was treated to several free meals and Starbucks. Most surprisingly was the impact I had on others at VCC. People that had only known me for a short time were willing not only to invest in me, they wanted to invest in me richly.

Training

Training is where things started coming together, spiritually, mentally and discipline-wise. The one-month schedule was rigorous. From 9 in the morning until 10 at night, my schedule was packed.

I met my teammate, the rest of the Vietnam team and others traveling to different places in the world. I heard testimonies, learned my trade (both of the English teaching and spiritual variety), and learned about adversity, culture shock and countless other subjects from a program that was well-designed from years of experience. Despite all of this, I felt underprepared.

When I finally said goodbye to my friends and my mother, I couldn’t believe this was really happening. I called my brother on the way to LAX and asked him to pray for me. What a blessing it is to have the simple things.

And then I was finally off to Vietnam.

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Donate to Jeremiah March’s ministry at http://www.teachoverseas.org/contribute/. Select “Teacher or Staff Member” from the drop down menu, and search for “Jeremiah March’ to donate.