The Physics of the Quest
In the early months of my final semester at Hesston College, I sat down to lunch with President Joseph Manickam, or Joe as we all call him. And in a noisy cafeteria, over loaded baked potatoes, he said this:
"God loves you, Mackenzie, and Joe has a plan for your life."
No, not weird at all...for Hesston.
I had an inkling from the minute he had asked to meet with me. It was China. He wanted me to go to China, or at least that's what I hoped he would ask me.
And he did.
The solution to how I would study Mandarin or how I would get to China was offered to me just as I was trying to figure out my plans after Hesston. Funny how that works.
And so, the season of patient intentionality began. From waiting for my acceptance to Nanjing Normal University to applying for my visa and getting immunizations, it was a time of waiting. Eight months of waiting.
Up until two weeks ago, I still didn't have a visa or a plane ticket, but the plan was still China. It just seemed like the next step, the next adventure on my journey...but would it even happen?
YES!
The visa finally arrived, my plane ticket was purchased and reality set in. On August 26, I would fly nearly 15 hours across the world to Nanjing, China to spend ten months living, learning Chinese and taking in as much culture and new adventure that I could.
At times, this process has felt extremely isolated. I have questioned why I am even going to China or taking a gap year. But allow me to be cheesy in quoting the closing line of a movie (Eat, Pray, Love) I recently watched, reminding me this journey won't be one I take alone:
"If you're brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you."
It's called, the Physics of the Quest.
A quest for what? Luckily for me, there is no end goal, no expectation that needs to be met or credit that needs to be earned.
This quest is a quest of learning to be. Digging my feet as deep into this new ground that I can and taking it all in. Finding truth, both good and bad, about the world, my faith and myself. Welcoming everyone I meet along the way as my teacher, my friend, my neighbor.
So, here I am. Leaving my home and all that I know for a year of new: New teachers, new friends, new foods, new languages, new cultures, new adventures and new challenges.
Friends, family members, schoolmates, strangers and anyone else who may be finding themselves reading this blog - welcome, and thank you for coming with me on this quest. Your prayers and support are appreciated more than you know. If you would like to receive regular updates about my time in China, subscribe to this blog!
You can also contact me while I am in China:
WeChat: Mackenzie Miller (杨雨) or MackMill20
Email: mackenziegmiller@outlook.com
So here's to the beautiful stories and genuine people who I will cross paths with in the coming year, to the breathtaking places I will travel to, and to the lessons I will learn. To both the loneliness and homesickness that is sure to pay a visit. And to learning to be, to slow down and appreciate another part of God's fascinating world.
Here's to a year in China.