Hi everyone! Bob here with a life update. For those of you who follow Mumbo Jumbo, you know that I recently graduated college. It was all a bit easy and anti-climactic, so my parents and grandmother wanted to do something extra special for me. They decided upon sending me to study at the Ravi Zacharias Summer School in Oxford!!!
(If you couldn’t tell by the three exclamation points, I’m very excited).
Ravi Zacharias is a brilliant speaker and author with a great sense of humor; an articulate voice that draws on a deep well of knowledge to speak profound truths. This school is made up of hand-selected teachers, some of whom my friends have studied under in the past. I’m going to be in class from 9 to 9 just about every day, being taught by some of the most brilliant apologists alive.
It’s also going to be my first time out of the country since 2005, when I went to China and India. I’ve never been to a foreign “western” nation, so it will be a new experience for me. I’ve always wanted to go see England, and I’m eagerly awaiting being able to go there. (Image Via Black Coffee Reflections).
I might just not return.
Of course, this makes for some fantastic fodder for writing, so expect to see many posts inspired by this week. If I can get an iPod touch, I’ll try to update Mumbo Jumbo Daily while I’m away, but we’ll see what we can do, right? Worst case scenario is I write a bunch of posts and retype them when I come back, whilst you, faithful reader, eagerly await my return!
The best part - I get to have TEA TIME, every day at 4:15. I love tea to begin with, so this is going to be a major highlight. I know that’s completely nerdy, but I don’t care. It’s not every week an American gets to have tea time!
And partially, this is a big answer to prayer. Up to this point, I don’t think I’ve really made any personal statements of faith here, but allow me to give you this story now.
I was pretty much in a rut of despair the week of my graduation. The real world comes crashing down on you all of the sudden, and there is all this pressure. One night I was down the lowest I’ve been in a long time, and I just cried out, “God, put me where you want me to be.” I’m not even joking, the next day I’m presented with this.
It doesn’t end there. Obviously I’m thrilled about this, but I’m also worried about the logistics. I don’t know how I’m going to pay for things like food and transportation; I could work some more hours at this food-service job I carry on the side, but I said to God again in prayer, “you know, I really don’t think I have enough money for this.” I think I went on about selling some stock I had, or hawking my CD collection for a bit… I’m also completely willing to work those extra hours but I am graduated now, with a degree, so I’m looking for a way out of that job, not depending on it more.
I kid you not, 2 days later at my graduation, my other grandmother, this one on my father’s side, hands me an envelope with $500 dollars in it. I also get a belated birthday card from an Aunt and Uncle with $100 dollars in it.
I laughed about it a short while later and sighed, “Well, I guess I know where I’m supposed to be going…”
It’s funny the way that works…
I leave on the 28th and return on the 7th (or at least I’m supposed to). It will be a fantastic adventure for sure, a great learning experience, and something I will never forget. This is pretty much the best graduation present ever!
For more info about the Ravi Zacharis Summer School, please visit this link. I do believe there are some spots left open.
Congrats again, Bob! This should be the experience of a lifetime. And you just can’t beat tea time.
And I’m not a person of much faith, as you know…so if I were you, I would be thanking my family, first and foremost, for the opportunity and the means to make it happen. It seems to me that they were the ones who orchestrated the whole thing. So don’t forget to spread the gratitude to them, too!