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by
大象传媒 South Yorkshire
contributor Andrea Farley-Moore |
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Today
I filled in an electronic exit survey, sent to me by the 大象传媒 Human
Resources Department.
Their
job is to find out if you are leaving because your boss is a bully
or if you've been offered vast amounts of cash for less hours by
a 'competitor.'
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| Andrea
is swapping life at the 大象传媒... |
It
was quite a challenge. Why am I leaving the 大象传媒? I spent years trying
to get in - now I'm closing the curtains on the whole enterprise.
The only 'tick box' that was even halfway relevant as an explanation
was 'other'.
I thought
I'd dealt with the form until I got right to the end and they ask
(again) 'What is the most important reason for your departure?'
Do
they want a sermon? Do they want my testimony? Do they really want
me to say because Jesus told me to and I want to spend the next
few years, if not the rest of my life, telling other people about
his love? Which column would they file that response in?
At
work lots of people think it is really exciting. 'Oh wow,' they
say. 'Good for you.' 'Have a brilliant time'. And lots of others
say they'd love to come too. They might change their minds if they
knew that there are prayers (early) every morning at mission training
college. Not to mention the communal eating and lack of alcohol.
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| ...for
life in South Korea |
Communal
eating. That takes me back. Back to years of summers spent on beach
missions, evangelistic campaigns and OM weekends. As a teenager
I endured regular doses of 'world mission motivational moments'
from my youth leader who spent all his holidays (he was a teacher)
in Pakistan or India preaching the good news.
Slide
shows, prayer meetings and visits from 'missionaries' were the staple
spiritual food.
When I think of it like that, I don't suppose I stood a chance.
From an early age my name had 'overseas' pencilled in next to it.
But
that wasn't the only thing pencilled in. Alongside 'overseas' were
the words 'health problems'. Three lots of heart surgery, a spinal
fusion and a life long commitment to warfarin. And all before I
was sixteen.
Believe
me, there have been plenty of days when I have wondered if this
is a sensible thing to do with a medical file the size of all the
Harry Potters strung together.
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| She
has been practising her Korean cooking - looks tasty! |
Both
the physical effects and, more significantly, the emotional effects
of all that surgery have certainly coloured my ability to take on
this challenge. What about my blood tests, and what will happen
if I need another new heart valve? 'Cause I've had three already.
Reassuringly,
these questions and more besides were thoroughly addressed by the
CMS selection procedure which has taken almost a year to navigate.
Preliminary and secondary interviews in London were followed by
an intensive selection weekend for the whole family in a Diocesan
country retreat.
After
the 'what to wear discussion', Peter, myself and our two boys braced
ourselves for the unusual - twelve adults and their respective offspring
all locked in for the weekend to explore whether you have 'the call'
or not.
I'm
quite sure it didn't all hinge on the eating habits of the under
fives, but that's what stressed me the most. I entered all my interrogation
sessions with an open heart and a big mouth, convinced that honesty
was the best policy. I wanted to feel that they knew everything
about me before they made any decision.
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| Andrea
will be spreading the word in Korea |
Consequently,
by the end of the weekend I felt vulnerable, small and on the brink
of rejection. Which is why their acceptance was to me a clear sign
that we are doing 'the right thing'.
Although
I'm afraid and daunted, I do know that Jesus said "Go into
all the world and preach the good news."
So
I am going. To South Korea.
The
good news? Only that I know Jesus is reliable. He was with me in
my darkest hour and I know He wants to take our lives, sort them
out and give us purpose and hope for the future.
And
so to the end of the 大象传媒 exit survey. Would anything make me stay
at the 大象传媒?
- Reading
the ten o'clock news
- Starring
in Casualty
- Turning
up in Eastenders as Dot Cotton's illegitimate daughter
- Taking
over from Andrew Marr
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| Andrea
might consider staying if she could star with Dot... |
What
exactly are they offering, I wonder?
Right
now I am in transition. Clearing my desk, showing the new girl the
ropes.
Every
fortnight we have a Korean lesson with our wonderful, patient Korean
friends, and every inch of hospitality we now do involves Korean
cooking (Hanguk yori).
Our
furniture has been given away, all of us are sleeping on mattresses
and our clothes are hanging from the edge of a shelf.
We're
taking our remaining possessions to Birmingham where we will spend
six months learning about life as a 'mission partner' before heading
off to live that life.
I am
very much a girl of modern worship and modern church. I like to
think I don't really look like the missionary type. But if you ask
me why I am leaving the 大象传媒 it's the words of the hymn that do it
for me聟
"Love
so amazing , so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all."
-
Andrea Farley-Moore
We'll
be following Andrea's story through missionary school in Birmingham
to her arrival in South Korea.
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