Tripping over the Phone [1/5]

The job I am applying for has asked for a testimony, along with various other things, and I felt like putting almost 5 hours into the document would be a waste of time if no one else got to see it. So for the next 5 days I will be posting a page of my story every day. Keep in mind this is only like 2nd draft and I was more worried about content than I was about style. Should I feel the need to punch it into something more "worked out" I will go back over it, add a little more and focus it's style a bit. I'm fairly use to being "open" on this site, I just want you know know that this is being the most "open" I have ever been, however I feel like it's something I should share.

Dear readers, I now present to you, "Tripping over the Phone: The Ben Morrell story. (Thus Far)" enjoy. (Also note that I wrote it from a "how has God been leading you to missions, angle.)

---

There is a saying in screen writing that goes something like this: If you want to use a telephone later in the movie for something important have the main character trip over the chord in the first act. In a lot of ways I think that God has had me “tripping over the phone” in regards to missions for a good part of my life and looking back now I can see that more clearly. Let me elaborate:

My personal experience with God started when I was very young. In fact, I have been going to church with my parents since before I can remember. It seemed to me that my parents were always involved in church and there were a lot of time where I was at church after church, between church, and often before church. God blessed me with parents who were interested not only in their own spiritual lives, but also that of their children. Which is why when I was in “Sparks” (part of the Awana program) I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my savior.

The next major change to my life came when I was 9 years old, in 3rd grade, and my Father decided that Washington would be a better place to raise his family than that of Southern California. So, we moved. I remember thinking at the time that it seemed like my whole (little) world had come to an end and I thought to myself that I would move back to LA the first chance I got. (Newsflash: 17 years later I’m still in Seattle.) I grew up in Bothell and quickly became used to the Seattle area and finally (a year later) couldn’t even imagine going back to California for almost any reason. I personally believe that this is the second biggest thing that happened to me in my life to create such a change. God guided and shaped my life, both the spiritual and the physical in that action by my parents.

The first time that I realized that “normal” people do missions was when my parents volunteered in 1994 to go to Spain and teach a group of missionaries there how to make their lives easier by using a fairly new technology called email.

My personal relationship with God really took a step forward in Jr. High School at church when I first went on a mission trip because a girl I was interested in was going as well. It was a trip to a camp in Montana to do service projects around the camp. It was an exposure to serving others for God. This was the first time that God really grabbed me and showed me a little bit about what it was like to help others and to serve Him. That experience in 8th grade really set the pace for my High school years.

In High School I started going to a private Christian school. (Due to some bad experiences in public Jr. High) At church I had a small cluster of friends who I would do things with and we would often serve together. Through this I learned that service wasn’t something that you have to do alone, but often times service in groups is not only more effective but also fun at the same time. There is a goal to overcome, and it might not be easy, but with many people involved in the process it becomes more enjoyable and you learn more about the other people as well.

To be continued...

~B.