“I’m going to Russia.”
I have a very strong feeling these words took Joey completely off guard. And why wouldn’t they? It was only a few short months earlier that we uttered those “I love you” words to each other. Nothing says “I love you” like “I’m leaving the country.” Right?
Most high school seniors spend the first half of their senior year filling out and sending in college applications and scholarship forms. The second half of the year is usually spent looking forward to two things: prom and graduation. I followed this pattern, naturally. I wanted to savor each part of the high school experience. Over all four years of high school, I made a habit of journaling and scrapbooking all about these memorable events. I saved ticket stubs. I took pictures. I even kept silly mementos like a napkin from a fun restaurant or my wristband from the fair. These were the types of things that found their way into my high school scrapbook.
However, if you were to look on page three of my scrapbook, you wouldn’t find ticket stubs or photos of a school play. No. Page three was devoted to something happening halfway across the globe - the fall of communism in the Soviet Union. My freshman year of high school, I watched in amazement as communism collapsed in Russia. Russia held a special place in my heart. Way back when I was in fifth grade sitting next to my best friend Katie in chapel at school, I remember feeling a tug on my heart. I had the strange feeling that the Lord wanted me to someday go to the Soviet Union and tell people about Jesus. I didn’t know at the time how he would pull that off considering Russia was a closed country. Communism prevented missionaries from even coming into the country.
So you can understand how the events of December of 1991 rocked my world. It was easy to understand that the fall of communism meant the opening up to the gospel in this country that had previously been so closed to spiritual things. My heart longed to see these people free and able to hear about Jesus. I collected a few newspaper clippings about Gorbachev and Russia, glued them into my scrapbook, wondered what would happen, and prayed once again that the Lord would use me as He saw fit someday.
Then it happened. Nearly four years had passed since 1991 and the fall of communism. Nearly 7 years had passed since I sat in that chapel service and felt that strange call on my life to go to a country I knew very little about. So you can imagine my surprise when I found myself sorting through mail at our house and I happening to come across an advertisement for Word of Life’s Youth Reachout program. Youth Reachout is a summer program that offers youth the opportunity to go on short term mission trips overseas to different countries. Russia was one of the countries advertised for a trip that coming summer.
Tug. Tug. “It’s time,” said my heart. Gulp.
So alongside my college applications, I also sent in an application to go on this mission trip to Russia. I didn’t know if they would accept my application, but I knew something in my heart told me now was the time to go. A little while later, I held in my hand an approval letter with detailed instructions on everything I needed to do to prepare for a trip to Russia.
I had to read a few books, memorize the alto part to a number of songs, raise a bunch of money, learn to share my testimony and the gospel, get my passport, buy airline tickets, and get some shots. None of these things worried me. In fact, they excited me. The thing that didn’t excite me was the thought of leaving Joey for five weeks of the summer.
Thankfully, Joey was very supportive. He knew this was something the Lord wanted me to do. He knew my heart and the strong calling I felt. He would have gone too if he felt the Lord calling him in that direction, but he didn’t. This would be my journey, not his. But he was happy to support me through all the prep work that needed to take place before leaving after graduation.
In the meantime, however, we didn’t forget to enjoy looking forward to the usual thrills associated with being high school seniors. I, in particular, looked forward to the glamour and glitz of getting all fancied up for our senior prom.
