Why Here?

Written by a Cafe 1040 student

I have been in Southeast Asia for almost a month now and have seen such beautiful and confusing things. I expected that much. The surprise has been in the willingness of locals to befriend me and my teammates.

We have friends who are children, elderly, single, and married. Friends who are students, workers, skaters (in between jobs?), and retired. People aren't really so different just because of a time zone.

So why switch time zones if life's not so different after all?

Learning new things? Sure!
Making new friends? A huge perk.
Getting new stories? Why not?

But at the end of the day, why here?

That’s what our friends are wondering. They are not surprised by a smile or a gift. People have been nice to them before. Students have learned their names before. Hospitality has been expressed before.

John 10:8-10 talks about the difference. We come here to share what we know. That there is an opportunity not for life, but for life abundant.

We have heard from many of our friends that something seems different about the way that we act around each other. That they feel loved when they are with us.

It is our ambition to demonstrate more than hospitality - to show love and the One who loved them first.