Born For The Nations

It's a grey Chicago morning, in March of 2012.  I'm a lost senior in College at North Park University, the economy is limping back to life, and jobs are pretty much nonexistent for the majority of us starting out.  I'm sitting in a church on Altgeld Ave. of which I wandered in, on Chicago's west side.  The Apostolic congregation, is an experience to live.  Growing up in a traditional Swedish church, this gave me a new insight to God.  Amidst the praying, singing, prophetic gospel music, and prayer in languages only God can understand, the Apostle stops mid-message, and points at me.  "Gordon!  You were born for the nations!" And continues his message.  This could have been either spiritual rhetoric used for encouragement, or truly a prompting from God.  I've since chosen to believe the latter, but at the time, you are thinking "Yeah, I've got big dreams, and a budget that says 'boy you're going back to your hometown where you started!'"

Fast forward 4 years, it is January 2016.  I've made mistakes and found shenanigans since this time, which has slowed me down from many things yet end up working on some cruise ship that circles the Hawaiian islands.  I am now debt free, and meeting people from all over the world, working a schedule that at first made me think "what the hell did I just get myself into?!"  Always wanting to travel, co-workers came from all corners of the world, including Philippines, which I never put much thought into, until they spoke of the cheap rates, and nice people.  Beautiful weather, and it is like Hawaii, without the inflated prices.  You can do MORE, for LESS and be there for a longer period of time.

I am looking on Airbnb, and find a nice place, but it's in Bali... I never paid much thought to Bali either.  But, I ended up researching Bali, and the spirituality, and culture it was richly laced with, and I said "This is going to happen!"

A month in Southest Asia, no travel agent, nothing.  Just me, and my planning.  And there I went, booking flights, lodging, and books and forums on this new land I was to walk.