Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears?
Hello one and all.
Please read the following as an impartial inquisitor if you will and then offer thoughts of your perception on the situation.
Pleisure Snowboarding Holidays have this scheme of employing people that have previously stayed with them in the seasons after they have stayed there. I have been shortlisted for a position in their chalets next season, which would mean leaving this country for 6 months or so to go and work out there. "That would be great!" says I, only now looking at the situation, realise that it is not quite that simple...
I have a job, I'm quite the alrounder you know, in HSBC Insurance Brokers, and have a good solid job there. If I were to go snowboarding, obviously I'd have to leave this job to go and be in the snow.
Or I could try and negotiate a career break for 2 months and just have an extended holiday out there. and turn down the job at Pleisure.
To put even more choices in the mix, I have yet another option which is trying to present itself of working for Cardvd.co.uk although this isn't actually confirmed yet it's something that I am seriously considering. This would be a really good job and the pay would be well worth sticking around for I'm sure, although as there technically isn't a job yet, there isn't actually any remuneration package at the moment either.
If I were to get this job with Cardvd.co.uk then I wouldn't obviously be able to go snowboarding for 6 months as I would have only just started there. I wouldn't entirely feel comfortable with even leaving for 2 months seeing as I would have just started...
So many choices, so little time...
So anyway, I find out whether or not I've actually got the job with Pleisure in about a month or so, late June early July 2005(!)
To be honest I'd really love to go to France for 6 months. I think it'd be great to step "out of my comfort zone"
Please do comment on the above, anyone and everyone who reads and comments on it will get a piece of cake*.
Just so you know, whilst you have been reading this article, I have been pilfering all the ice from your freezer. (you think I'm lying, but how can you be sure? You will clearly have to go and check now! - if you do check, please also confirm by the way of comments)
I'd personally like to thank Google, though they shant have a link dedicated to them, for helping me "feel lucky" with the majority of links attached to the above. Feel free to check them out, although I would like to point out that they bear little or no relevance to the actual content of the above at all.
*the cake on offer is metaphorical, and is more likely to be represented by me drawing on your face...
[listening to:- my life pass me by]
[contemplating:- trying to make paypal work]
Please read the following as an impartial inquisitor if you will and then offer thoughts of your perception on the situation.
Pleisure Snowboarding Holidays have this scheme of employing people that have previously stayed with them in the seasons after they have stayed there. I have been shortlisted for a position in their chalets next season, which would mean leaving this country for 6 months or so to go and work out there. "That would be great!" says I, only now looking at the situation, realise that it is not quite that simple...
I have a job, I'm quite the alrounder you know, in HSBC Insurance Brokers, and have a good solid job there. If I were to go snowboarding, obviously I'd have to leave this job to go and be in the snow.
Or I could try and negotiate a career break for 2 months and just have an extended holiday out there. and turn down the job at Pleisure.
To put even more choices in the mix, I have yet another option which is trying to present itself of working for Cardvd.co.uk although this isn't actually confirmed yet it's something that I am seriously considering. This would be a really good job and the pay would be well worth sticking around for I'm sure, although as there technically isn't a job yet, there isn't actually any remuneration package at the moment either.
If I were to get this job with Cardvd.co.uk then I wouldn't obviously be able to go snowboarding for 6 months as I would have only just started there. I wouldn't entirely feel comfortable with even leaving for 2 months seeing as I would have just started...
So many choices, so little time...
So anyway, I find out whether or not I've actually got the job with Pleisure in about a month or so, late June early July 2005(!)
To be honest I'd really love to go to France for 6 months. I think it'd be great to step "out of my comfort zone"
Please do comment on the above, anyone and everyone who reads and comments on it will get a piece of cake*.
Just so you know, whilst you have been reading this article, I have been pilfering all the ice from your freezer. (you think I'm lying, but how can you be sure? You will clearly have to go and check now! - if you do check, please also confirm by the way of comments)
I'd personally like to thank Google, though they shant have a link dedicated to them, for helping me "feel lucky" with the majority of links attached to the above. Feel free to check them out, although I would like to point out that they bear little or no relevance to the actual content of the above at all.
*the cake on offer is metaphorical, and is more likely to be represented by me drawing on your face...
[listening to:- my life pass me by]
[contemplating:- trying to make paypal work]
posted by mrjohnfernandez at 1:01 am
5 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hi, Bro
I'm not going to suggest one way or the other - as with all the tough decisions, you are ultimately on your own. However, have you read my recent post called "Going to the Dogs"? Rather an exaggerated title, but the point is that there's a real tendency to choose things because they are fun, and no more. God hasn't called us to live a "fun" life. Whatever you do, don't sell God out.
Paul, I commented on your "Going to the Dogs" post...
I may have given the wrong impression in my original post...
France is a very closed country to evangelism. Just check out the UFM website. There are these groups of people that live up in these ski resorts all year round who have very little or maybe even no contact with any Christians and Christian message. Whilst there are some companies that run Christian weeks away skiing, like Oakhall, none of these companies actually go to France at all.
Having been over to France twice now to the same place and having built a rapport with the people there, I'm now in a very priveleged position to spread the Gospel. People may say that I'm needed here at my work with HSBC, but there are other Christians there as well and there are many arranged activities and talks that people can go on to find out more about the Gospel.
I was once told about mission in the following terms...
"When thinking about mission, just think about GOD!
G-gifting, God's gifts that he's given you which you can use as your own act of personal worship.
O-opportunity, the circumstance and providence that God has set in place to bring about chances in your life to use your gifts.
D-desire, pretty self explanatory but although the desire shoudl be a factor as if you don't desire something you wont put effort in, desire should always be as a response to the first two."
Further points that I have raised before in my blog, I have never been outside of my house environment for any real length of time. Whilst I am looking to move out, the market is simply not there at the moment. Again, whilst I'm not letting this be the swaying reason for wanting to go away, this is something that I have to bear in mind, particularly as it's been commented on by other people at church that I seem to be stiffled by others in the church as I still am a peer for many of the youth at the church, I often get labelled as one of the youth and as such cannot progress beyond this "glass ceiling"... and yes they do exist...
So anyway... your further comments please.
John
John - I totally agree that you must look for where God wants to use you, and I'm sure there are very needy communities out in France like you say. Given everyone else has done a pretty good job of raising points that I would consider, I'll just say one thing.
Given how hard it can be even for missionary couples/families who are based in national churches to get enough of the good teaching and biblical fellowship they need, how much harder is it going to be to survive as a Christian in the kind of environment you'd be going into?
Bearing in mind...
you'd be surrounded by people who drink heavily, can be very hedonistic, live for the moment, and I'm assuming there are very few churches in the infrastructure you'd be living in, if any?
It is practically impossible for a Christian to survive in that kind of environment. And I'm not saying that to contravene the knowledge that God's grace is all-sufficient, I'm saying it IN the very real knowledge that we must FLEE temptation and make SMOOTH paths for your feet.
Especially considering you have never been out of a church with consistently excellent Bible exposition, plenty of good fellowship and many other mature Christians who can encourage and hold you accountable... I think you have to think *very* seriously about whether this is a good thing to do, and whether it is going to be the *most* helpful and conducive thing to you following God's paths.
Finally, just remember that glorifying God, striving for holiness and obeying his laws is even more important than trying to evangelise other people or tell them about God. The second evangelism starts to jeopardise your own personal walk to holiness, it is no longer the most glorifying thing to God!
Thanks for listening
Bec
Thanks for everyones concern...
in response to a few of Dunc's comments: Yes, there are things you can do, besides prayer I mean, and this also ties in somewhat with what Bec has written.
"you'd be surrounded by people who drink heavily, can be very hedonistic, live for the moment"
What and how is that different from here? Only as we were reminded in the prayer meeting tonight there are approximately 10 churches in the surrounding area here with many outreach activities going on, whereas in France there is one church up in the resort (again in response to Becs comments) although as yet I haven't been able to sufficiently decifer their doctrine, BEING IN FRENCH.!.
Again however, although I admit that times would be tough with not much contact with other believers, surely this alone should not be a reason to hold back.
Another comment, the people don't actually drink that heavily. On both the 2 weeks that I have stayed with these guys, people are well aware that they are only going to be staying around for a week, and in this week they have to try and get out on the slopes as much as they can in order that they can get their moneys worth from the week. This means on the most part, early nights followed the next day by a leisurely afternoon nap ready for dinner in the evening.
I do genuinely think that this excursion would be difficult, and would really force me to rely on God for my stength, words, wisdom and everything I need to even go away. I don't think that me going away would be conduicive to my walk with God. I don't... at all... But then living anywhere in the western world other then in a monastry would be either. Do you see my point?
We have already set up the process of trying to get the sermons at HHEFC recorded onto mp3 so I could download them and listen to them over there and I would do what I did with the James series so that I can keep up to date with my disciplines of daily reading and quiet times.
Finally, "Finally, just remember that glorifying God, striving for holiness and obeying his laws is even more important than trying to evangelise other people or tell them about God. The second evangelism starts to jeopardise your own personal walk to holiness, it is no longer the most glorifying thing to God!"
I agree... and in going to France to do this I would be obeying the command in some way to take His message to the corners of the earth , to maybe a group of people that would otherwise not hear the message in a way that they understand. Think about Christians in Sport? presenting the gospel in a way that sports people can understand. How does this differ other then the difference in height that I would be witnessing at above sea level...
Cheers guys and keep the comments coming.
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