Transcript
Speaker: Maybe when we start recording. Are you recording? Now I am. All right, see? you know We're back. By the way, by the way nice cut. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice cut.
Speaker: I like that. it's a few weeks yeah I haven't seen you for forever. It's a few weeks old. i should I should send you a picture. I took a picture right after I got my hair cut. lot of people were real happy with me. When you were rocking the Willie Nelson. Yeah, right. Yeah. well i'll I'll send you a picture. That Willie Nelson was nice.
Speaker: but i thought it was nice. i do I do think that overall, overall, I do want to acknowledge that because downtown, like the the second half of your face is so incredibly epic that being tied up top gives little bit more style than not the homeless person yep that you were yep that you were rocking before. Where was like, yep I'm not really grooming myself at all. I'm just kind of letting it go. But if your top is like nice and clean, nice and then the bottom is like happening, then you're like, oh, this guy this guy's doing this beard with intentionality, not because he just wants to let all of his body hair grow at whatever length possible.
Speaker: I pleased a lot of people getting the haircut. And actually what wore me down, i think I did it while my family was still out of town at chris Christmas so that they would come back and I would be a cleaned up.
Speaker: But it was really that my wife, one the only reason she wanted me to get it cut was she was tired of people trying to go through her to me to tell me I needed to cut my hair. Like, what is he doing? What what is what is that about? Is he having a midlife crisis?
Speaker: Is he, you know... And yeah, lo and behold, actually, yes. Okay. But, um you know, that i got a little dramatic lighting. Like, hey, why don't we add a little,
Speaker: I don't know. It's not a segment, but we, where we do this at our dinner table a lot of times where we ask for highs and lows on the day. Yeah. And i want to ask you just not on the day, but on the recent history ah for your, what's, what's been your high, what's been your low. Of course, keep in mind, this is for public consumption. So don't, you know, let all your skeletons out of the closet, but.
Speaker: You know, what's, what's been your high and your low? i don't know. This is like a meaningful thing. it If it doesn't make us sound as much like idiots, I also don't want to lose the small Alaskan demographic that we picked up of the Eskimos. They're very finicky.
Speaker: No, this, yeah. So we do, we do high, low Buffalo. So it's like high, high, low, and then something that's like odd. just like Just like a high, low Buffalo. it's like It's like, Hey, this is my high, this is my low. And then this is just something I noticed. This is just, it's not really high, not really low. It's just a thing.
Speaker: Though i I know that what's going to happen is we're going to start doing the Buffalo thing at our dinner table. I'm going to come back in three weeks and say, Hey, we started doing that thing you told me about. And you're going to say, didn't tell you about that.
Speaker: Are you still fan about that? I don't even know where you got that from because I've never done that, never have thought that idea. That's not true. No, it's not. We're doing the allowance thing and it's great. Now you're doing an impersonation of me. Yeah, that's it works. Hey, you know, it's only every people do an impersonation of me, it's like my favorite is people doing an impersonation of an impersonation of me. And it's just like, just more and more just like that they're just chain smokers. You know, it's like, hey, when Mabel does it, she's like, hey guys, everybody get to bed. What's your buffalo? Kids, tell me your buffalo. Tell me your buffalo. Come on. Let's pray together.
Speaker: he um Okay, so who is this person? like Where did you where didd you connect with this person? Mia? Mia? Yeah, Mia. How did you say Mia? So I was doing an interview for a magazine about a book, this person was one of the two people that was leading the interview. Yeah. It was really enjoyable. And then, I just thought, you know, I bet one of them has a really good background of stuff to talk about. be really interesting. And I'd like to turn the table and I'd like to interview one of you. So I said, Hey, we got Mia from Albuquerque. We do this podcast super easy. And she responded back and said, sure. She'd love to do it.
Speaker: So Mia, and that's all I remember. And I, I don't really know anything else. I think it's going to be really interesting to talk to her. And, uh, I mean, that's the point of this, so hopefully so. That was very inspiring.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, yeah, i mean, so the point really the point of this whole thing. Is to be interesting. this this still time we put that you know Really the point was the point of this bird, my saddle. mean, that's why we're here, right? Just to meet people we don't know. So there you go. What's your buffalo? Hey. Hey, Mia.
Speaker: Hey, Mia. Hey, Mia, hi.
Speaker: So what the what time is it there? She's like, you mean Mountain Standard Time? i ah that literally That literally is just like my worst nightmare. It's like, you know, yeah you make you make some initial kind of visible observations. You're like, so how long have you been in country?
Speaker: that's That's the weirdest thing, though, because when when we're finding somebody that we could talk to, sometimes it's, you know, like, and and it's mostly my fault. Sometimes it's taking so long to actually get it to work out, like over the holidays and stuff. So a bunch it's really likely that I don't have any recollection of what this person does or why I thought they were interesting. So, I mean, that's the adventure. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, no, that is the adventure. And she gets on the show, she's like, hey Rush, remember you owe me 50 bucks. I'm like, I don't remember that. What are you talking about? Anyway, you know.
Speaker: this So. Well, we'll see. we'll We'll see. We'll see if Mia from Albuquerque shows up here. Ah, there she is. Mia. Hello. Hello. Hi, Mia. Nice to meet you. You, of course, remember me. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah now Now, Mia. Yeah. So grateful that you would be on the show. And ah for our listeners, just, ah you know, again, just first time saying hello to Mia. So Mia, tell me, ah tell me a little bit. Can you just give me a context? Like, where are you right now in the world? What ah what is what is life generally look like for you? And how did you how'd you get there?
Speaker: Oh, yeah. So it's a bit of a long story, really. um i know we're en some time yeah I'm currently in South Korea, Seoul.
Speaker: um It was about to be spring a few days ago, but now it's like we're back to winter again. um It's a very fast-paced life.
Speaker: It's almost like New York, really, the city that doesn't sleep. um And how did I get here? Well, I'm originally from Madagascar. My father is a pastor. Stop it.
Speaker: Really? Yeah. yeah No kidding. I just went to Madagascar like last summer. Really? Oh, wow. Yeah. yeah Oh, wow. i What a coincidence. Yeah. no yeah yeah it was it was ah yeah it was ah absolutely It was absolutely like worldview shaping experience for me.
Speaker: ah Yeah, I was really very grateful for my time. ah Yeah, yeah. So tell me about it. you're originally from Madagascar. I'm originally from Madagascar, but my father is a pastor, and he has missionary connections from around the world, um including South Korea. And so when i graduated high school, i was looking for a university,
Speaker: you know, anywhere in the world. And some of my dad's connections mentioned a Christian university in South Korea called Handong Global University.
Speaker: That's down South in Pohang. um I didn't want to apply because South Korea was nowhere in my calculations.
Speaker: um I wanted to go to, you know, a French speaking country because I grew up speaking French. But... My dad insisted that I apply because you know, Handong is a really good school. And so I applied not expecting anything.
Speaker: i got accepted with a full four year scholarship, all expenses paid. And I thought, wow, this is not an opportunity that I want to waste.
Speaker: And so that's how I got to South Korea. and after four years down South in Pohang, I moved to Seoul. And I've been here ever since, um minus one year in a different city for work.
Speaker: Yeah. So, go ahead. ah but just how does How does one get a full scholarship at your school? Was it something about your degree um track or something about your um your education before ah before college? or what was it that that got you the scholarship?
Speaker: I don't know. They don't disclose that. um But they do take into consideration um your your grades, um who you are, you know, your study plan. um Yeah.
Speaker: Good. That's really good. Now, Mia, now mi and you grew up... and Now, again, Rush, I would not have known this, but that French actually is kind of the the common trade language in Madagascar. Like everybody really knows... Yeah. So if you are if you're a Caucasian, all they assume that you don't speak American, which again, that's a very American thing to say. But yeah you they they actually assume that you speak French. Which is really fascinating to me. I wouldn't have i wouldn't have never known that.
Speaker: how many languages do you speak, Mia? um I speak Madagasy, which is my mother tongue. um French, English. I'm not very confident in my Korean, but I can survive.
Speaker: Wow. That's fantastic. i speak I speak English. I speak Californian, which is another, you know. and walking now but but this But this is interesting, Mia. so your accent Your accent sounds almost British.
Speaker: Has anybody told you that? Yes, I get that a lot. People get confused. where does where does one who grows up ah speaking speaking French in Madagascar in Korea with an English accent, how does that how does that work? i think I think it's just because most of what I listen is British.
Speaker: okay yeah The TV shows I used to watch, British. The TV books I listened to, British. um My yeah colleague at work is British.
Speaker: um My advisor when I went to grad school was British. but I grew up surrounded. I think that was surrounded by British.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that's so fascinating because a friend of mine friend of mine who was in Madagascar had this like really remarkable English accent. o And it was her second language, but she was like, yeah, i just grew up watching American TV, was just around lot American. And so when I picked up my English, it came naturally with the more of an American accent. And so I would see that, that logically it's, it's interesting how, how kind of the body and the mind, yeah body and the mind does that. it just speaks It just picks it up, you know, the vocabulary, the accents,
Speaker: Because even the vocabulary that I use, people say, well, that's British English. And I didn't even know that. I know. That's wild. So I do have to that. I would even... The church that your dad was a part of, what sort of church or denomination was that?
Speaker: ah would not even a that the church the church that that your dad that your dad was a part of dis ah what what what sort of church or denomination was that um So it's a reformed Calvinist church.
Speaker: It's one of the biggest denominations in Madagascar. Wow. So so would you know would you would your family know Fali Ravahani by any chance?
Speaker: That's a long shot. No way. I'm sorry. Can you say his name again? Fali Ravahani is how I usually say it, but I'm probably mispronouncing it. Fali Ravahani.
Speaker: No, probably not. Name's not familiar. We'll cut that out because my friend are probably hear this. How do you say your name? well i mean this might they might they might have i like They might have heard of my dad because he is yeah who's pretty well known. What's your dad's name? um Pastor Rakutube.
Speaker: Rakutube? Yeah. yeah
Speaker: Okay, because i'm actually I'm actually hanging out with Fali next week. He's going to be in the States. Oh, okay, okay. Yeah. He also goes by Pastor Zatu. Zatu?
Speaker: Yeah. Okay. Great. Cause I, uh, it's interesting. It's interesting, you know, and again, this happens everywhere. Right. So when I meet people around the world, they're like, Oh, you're in California. and they They just name like, yeah you know, such and such, you know, they can be like, you know, like miles away. It's like, Oh, you're in a America, you know, such and such. He lives in New York. I'm like, that's like forever away from me. But anyway, so thanks for letting me, thanks for letting me do that.
Speaker: so So I know that Joe and I would love to hear about life for you in South Korea, but before we talk about that, let's go back to Madagascar. Earlier, Joe and I were sharing our highs and our lows of just like the recent history you know of what's going on in life. And so maybe that's an interesting way you could you could share with us kind of what your time in Madagascar was like. What do you think of as being the high of your upbringing, your family life,
Speaker: friends and what was maybe one low something that hard that kind of that also shaped you in um i'd say the high was definitely my family i had an amazing childhood um o it wasn't spectacular or anything but um both of my parents are christians and um i have a younger brother five years younger and my parents really tried to bring us up in the faith they they made jesus real for us i i remember um one
Speaker: night, I think I was three or four, and you know everything was dark, and you know I told my parents, well, what if there are ghosts outside? And they said, well, then Jesus will drive away the ghosts.
Speaker: And I said, oh, okay, Jesus can do that. And you know that's that's among my first memories of Jesus. and so to me, Jesus really is has always been sort of a family a a family member, a part of our family.
Speaker: um I lost my faith somewhere in between. i was i became more of an agnostic around 10 years old or something. I know that's really early. It's ah it's a very early time to lose your faith. But um I was no longer a Christian by then.
Speaker: It's like i was I wasn't even sure whether God existed. Um, and I went through a time of depression between 10 and 12. And then right before I turned 13, just started picking up my Bible and reading and reading and reading. And that's when I rediscovered who Jesus is.
Speaker: And that's when I truly, and that's when my parents' faith truly became mine. Hmm. And so that's, but yeah, my family and growing up in the faith, that's really, I guess, the high of my life in Madagascar.
Speaker: um That's such such a fascinating way for you to talk about that because i was going to, Joe, I've never, I was just thinking about this when she said it. It caught my attention when she said I had an amazing upbringing. and I really enjoyed my upbringing and childhood, but I don't think I've ever said it the way you so just said it. Like I've had amazing childhood and it just sort of, is striking me how important your present perspective on it is what your you know your God-centered perspective right now is what's looking back and saying you're being able to see what was amazing there, even though there was that difficult part of you know developing your faith and questioning things. And that's just really caught my attention.
Speaker: that is it That is amazing, isn't it? How how we can how we can think we can think back upon our past and our thinking through a framework of our present and also, and also with a hope for the future.
Speaker: It's amazing how our minds and hearts that actually being present, in reality today actually recognizes our past and also has a present hope that allows us to be able to process all of those things with with who we are in our current state.
Speaker: it's ah It's remarkable. is. It's remarkable. Amazing. Yeah. So, you know, even, even isn you yeah. no, go ahead. no no go ahead Oh, no, yeah, I was going to say, even in other areas of life, um we used to go visit my grandparents, my my mother's parents, and they live really close to the seaside.
Speaker: So we would go and swim and build sandcastles. My grandpa would teach us about the constellations. um Their backyard looked like the jungle, you know, with all those tropical trees and fruits and flowers.
Speaker: And so, you know, i grew up surrounded by that really exotic nature.
Speaker: And that that just made my childhood amazing. That's interesting. Los Angeles is a lot like that. It's not. flu Los Angeles is like concrete and stucco. All right. Well, it's a jungle of a different kind. Old chewing gum, old chewing gum. And you know, your your granddad didn't sit around the backyard and show you the constellations of what you just described is this magical place.
Speaker: So, tell so tell me a little bit, tell me a little bit about your present. How, How do you, how are you thinking about, Oh, actually maybe to go full circle. So what was, what was a, um,
Speaker: As you think through, you're thinking you know the the positive you know the positive of just a remarkable childhood, just really kind of the challenging part of a season, a season of losing your faith, but yet the beauty of God's grace to be able to to open up the eyes of your heart and to allow for the reality of God's word move your heart, transform you. what um what is What is kind of your present? What does your present look like? what what is it Where are you right now? what What kind of room are you in? There's lots of books behind you, I see. yeah what is What does life look like for you?
Speaker: so um Life in Korea is it's very different from life in Madagascar. um For one, Madagascar is is a tropical island. We like to take things easy. um South Korea... I like take things easy too.
Speaker: Yeah. But Seoul especially is very fast-paced. I have to count the minutes and the seconds of my schedule you know if I want to get anywhere on time. ah um yeah And everything is quite competitive.
Speaker: um I currently work in the publishing industry. I'm an editor at a Christian publishing company. It's one of the biggest publishing companies in Korea. And they have um an English devotional slash Christian living magazine, one for adults and and another for teenagers. And so I'm i'm in charge of the ah adults.
Speaker: And um and so far, my job's been great, honestly, because I get to i get to look deeper into God's word.
Speaker: Most of the articles I edit are about... how to live out the Christian faith. um I get to interview Christians all around the world, like Pastor Rush Witt.
Speaker: um I get to know what lots of people are doing, basically. Yeah, go ahead, continue. Just tell it tell us more about that. Yeah, so my job's been great. um Life itself has been more challenging, I think, because back in Madagascar, community was a big thing.
Speaker: I would spend most of my days from home to school to church, and I would always be surrounded by people who actually know me. Yeah, wow.
Speaker: in seoul as I'm sure it's the case in most big cities. It's harder to have that that community around you. Here in Seoul, I could literally spend an entire day without saying a single word to a single person. unless you Really? Because I was going to ask you what it's like to interact with people.
Speaker: yeah I was going to ask you what it's like to interact with people on a regular basis and whether you you're out in the city and you know you're are people talkative? Are they interested in you?
Speaker: you know Just people out out in the world or everybody's just too quickly going on to their thing and passing each other by? Seoul, we all mostly mind our own businesses. We're we're all rushing to whether more wherever was supposed to be.
Speaker: um yeah Although occasionally, if i go to the quieter parts of Seoul, will occasionally have one elderly person approach me and you know ask me where I'm from, who I am or what I'm doing here. I think it's it's because I am very noticeably foreign.
Speaker: So that sometimes happens. But yeah, that's rare. It's a rare occurrence. Every now and then someone takes an interest in you like that.
Speaker: Yes. You mean, yeah. It's interesting. what's your What's your friend group like? Who do you spend your time with? Mostly people at church.
Speaker: So people in my small group. ah think those yeah and And some of my colleagues. Those are probably my closest circles, apparently.
Speaker: Yeah, it's it's amazing, isn't it? When when we're displaced we're displaced, it really does bring to light just our our embedded desire for community and also just for our rich dependence on who God is. Because the you know the dynamics of work or of anything along those, although it's enriching that there is this this sense of placement and what home and belonging feels like. and And it's interesting when when home is displaced, we realize that at home really really is more a person in who Jesus Christ is. And and how that gives a um just a sense of ah belonging and purpose, which then gets to be reflected in relationships. So it's not, you know, it's not even just that I enjoy friends or people, but it's more the the reflection of belonging saying, wait a minute, I i can be truly known and seen because I'm known and seen by who my God is. And that gives me a freedom to be able to enjoy relationship. Does that resonate? Yeah.
Speaker: Yes, um actually, ah back in Madagascar, I used to feel like surprisingly, I used to feel like I didn't really fit in because I'm an extreme introvert and being surrounded by people who are interested in my life 24 seven, you know, for an introvert, that's, that's just draining.
Speaker: um and then I, I come to Seoul and at first I thought, Oh, this is great. You know, people leave me alone. um But then as the years went by I began to feel that lack of community.
Speaker: Back in Madagascar, I didn't have to work for community. I didn't have to try and be intentional. I was just surrounded by community. I didn't have to work hard for it at all.
Speaker: But here I noticed that, oh no, if I want community, I actually have to be intentional about it. I have to sacrifice something in my schedule, in my personal comfort, in order to reach out to people. And I have to do it again and again and again. And at first I did find it draining, but then I started feeling that, oh,
Speaker: God actually created me in his very communal image. God exists in community. he He's a triune God. It's the Trinity.
Speaker: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they're all together. And and I was created in that image as well. I might be 100% introverted, but I still need other people in my life.
Speaker: and So during during your time... Yeah. So during your time in Seoul pursuing community or learning to pursue community, is there a key a key um thing that you have learned to do Is there something that you've you sort of got there and you you tapped into one day realizing this is the way for me to develop community? I need to i need to go after it this way. What has been the source of it for you?
Speaker: yeah what is it what What does intentionality look like for an introverted Madagascarian in South Korea look like? um well um Sorry, correction. We're Malagasy.
Speaker: Malagasy. Yes. Malagasy. Malagasy. Yeah. So, yes. So how does an introverted Malagasy girl go about building community in a South Korean society?
Speaker: um At first, my expectations were too high. I expected the kind of chemistry that happens in Madagascar to happen in Korea, or at least, you know, the kind of chemistry that I had in college for relationships to just happen.
Speaker: because we happen to be in the same church. um But it doesn't work like that. is you know We see each other ah only one day a week and for just a few hours of that.
Speaker: And so i had to learn to adjust my expectations, first of all. Like, no people are not automatically going to remember my name. not going to automatically remember who I am. They're not automatically...
Speaker: I'm going to become my best friends. And, you know, everyone has whatever they're facing in life. When they arrive within that church building on Sundays, they might be tired, they might be depressed, they might be worried about something.
Speaker: And I have to take that into account when I try to interact with them so that, you know, if I meet someone and I try to talk to them and they seem distracted or uninterested, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have anything against me.
Speaker: It just means that they're facing their own troubles just like I am facing mine. And so I had to learn to be patient with people. I had to learn to um extend the same patience that Jesus uses with me to other people.
Speaker: And so, for example, um After I became a Christian, I didn't automatically um become more loving or more compassionate.
Speaker: i had to learn that. And Jesus never found fault with me while I was learning. And so thinking about how patient he has been with me while I was learning to to live the Christian life, while I was learning to even interact with him, that inspired me to Be more patient with other people. Give people room to be themselves and walk alongside them while they're figuring things out in life.
Speaker: And so in a nutshell, what I'm doing is, okay, here is someone that I want to interact with. I'm not going to force myself into that interaction. I'm just going to sort of hover alongside that person and I'm going to be there when they need me.
Speaker: And I have to sort of get into that mindset again and again and again, like i get into my clothes again and again and again, because it doesn't come naturally to me.
Speaker: Mia, what you i mean what you were talking about, i mean, Mia, just ah just just to really state the beauty of your theology working out into practical ways moments where you're embodying the reality of who you are in Christ as an image bearer that has been drawn and called to community and to be able to reframe, reframe and to order your interactions literally on a daily basis to be able to put on right, to put on, to put off other things that could easily entangle our hearts, but to put on the real commitment to lovingly pursuing others before we're called to and to be able to practically do that in a way. And this is this is just stood out to me.
Speaker: To do it in a way that is that is actually thoughtful of the other person. That I think so many times people can go into friendships or relationships thinking that I need to do this for me, but to recognize, no, listen, it's actually for us, which means that the relationship itself happens at a pace that is intuitive and ordinary Taking into account the people who you're pursuing. And, and what's interesting is, is that every person's different, right? Yeah. So whether how they, yeah how they are on a Sunday for you to be mindful of saying, listen, I first and foremost want to be able to know and understand the person, and then I can move towards them intentionally.
Speaker: which really which really is it highlights what what Rush and i care so much about. And the reason why we're actually having this conversation is because it it it sharpens our ability to say, okay, how do we get to know and to understand someone so that we might move towards them so that together we might experience a joy and a belonging and a hope that we could not experience in isolation because we're not designed to do that.
Speaker: yeah So the the ways in which that you're intentionally thinking about it as ah as a proactive introvert is is very in inspiring to ah to many, for sure. yeah what got catch I was going to say, that point, one of the things, Mia, that we have gained from doing this podcast together is just learning.
Speaker: from people, just you know ordinary people out there like you and learning ah how we can better think about things. happens every time. It's happening really right now, because I was going to say, i mean, just such an enormous level.
Speaker: I don't want to put you on the spot, Mia, or embarrass you, but truly in everything you're saying, an enormous level of maturity. you know In the United States, it can be offensive to ask someone how old they are. so I hope it's not offensive. How old are you? I'm used to it. I'm used to it in Korea. um I just turned 30. Last year.
Speaker: So tell me, tell me what, um what is it? What's in your heart? What's in your heart for, ah for the kind of for the future for you? What if you could, as you dream, as you think about what you're experiencing and enjoying the ability to engage with a lot of different Christians and Christian thinkers and to be able to do that in a cross cultural context, what ah Even as like a third culture person, right? From multiple and how that's enriching your own heart.
Speaker: What are some things that are in your heart that you would love to explore or to see ah to see here in the future? um I think I have one main vision for the future.
Speaker: And it's helping... um Malagasy youth be more confident in exploring the life that God has given them.
Speaker: The reason why I say that is when I grew up, I mean, yes, I had amazing parents and amazing family and amazing childhood. But um one of the darker sides of my upbringing in Malagascar
Speaker: I feel like many times um in the education system, it's like the kids are taught to fear exploration from a very early age.
Speaker: And I'm not saying all schools do that or or that even, you know, that that that the schools that I went to did that on purpose. I don't think so. I think it's just in mindset i I assume it's a remnant from colonization because Madagascar was colonized by France.
Speaker: And some of the the repercussions of that, but we're still feeling it to the present day where you see a people who's afraid of going out of their comfort zone. So at school,
Speaker: kids aren't really encouraged to explore different methods of solving one problem, for example. You have to do it the way the teacher teaches you, otherwise you're wrong.
Speaker: That's just it. um You don't question what the teacher says. You just follow, just just do what you're told. And I grew up,
Speaker: in that kind of system, my parents did encourage exploration. They did encourage creativity. They encouraged curiosity. But at school, that wasn't the reality.
Speaker: And so I lived between these two worldviews, these two mindsets. And and for a while, I was i was very confused. But when I got to South Korea, um many of my professors in college were American.
Speaker: And they encouraged questions in class. They encouraged us to explore our ideas. And for me, it was like it was like this huge weight was lifted from my shoulders and from inside my heart.
Speaker: I literally, i remember thinking, wait, what? You want me to ask you questions? Any questions? And ta was that was just so liberating.
Speaker: And It allowed me to explore parts of myself that I never even knew were there. And that's that's the experience that I want the kids back home to get.
Speaker: I want to help disciple them. I'm not sure how this will happen. um I am currently trying to apply for a doctoral program so you know I can get my PhD.
Speaker: hopefully be able to teach at a university back home. And my goal in that is to disciple young people um to have that kind of mindset that God has given you life. He has given you yourself.
Speaker: He has given you an entire world of possibilities. You don't have to be afraid. You can step out of your comfort zone. You can ask questions. You can make mistakes. You have that freedom.
Speaker: Yeah, so that's that's what I would like to do. Well, and I would say, Mia, that connecting to what what you had communicated so intuitively about relationship, that you're understanding that it is certainly the worldview that comes through a biblical mindset that can...
Speaker: that can reframe and apply to all things for life and godliness. But it really is in the context of friendship, of of relationship by which someone can ask questions to be able to, what the Bible calls to draw out the heart, that it takes a lot of wisdom and care to be able to have someone in your life to help you to think in a way that you don't think by yourself.
Speaker: And for the object of those thoughts to be Who am i in relationship to who I know my God to be? And how does that relate to practically the application of God's authoritative word into my heart and life?
Speaker: And I tell you what, Mia, the way that you speak of that so intuitively and the desire to do that in Malagasy and to be able to ah disciple and to care for young people,
Speaker: to be able to invest that. um I just think that that is that is a trajectory and a life worth investing in. And I tell you what, I just have been so encouraged. I think that you know Rush and I both, we honestly, we share that same heartbeat. I mean, we really do. i think that our lives are are around...
Speaker: and leverage towards how can we invest in relationship forward to be able to minister to others to help to shape a worldview that not only is honoring and glorifying to the Lord, but is also for their greatest joy.
Speaker: And we really do believe that a biblical worldview brings that kind of blessedness and framework. And Mia, it's so interesting. So, you know, Rush is in the the cold tundra of Ohio. I'm in California and you are in South Korea. But yet what unites all of our hearts together is that common a unity in a what does it mean to actually ah follow who Jesus is. and And that's just that's just such a great point.
Speaker: ah great encouragement to me and also because russia and i will never get phds i just want to say that that's right somebody's got to do it and you should and you are the person you are the person to do it and me and you really are behind you look at how we showed up to this
Speaker: it's i mean it's it's you yeah i don't know. I'm just a nerd. That's that's why you see all those those books behind me. I love it. I can't live life without studying, without you know researching something. yeah <unk> lord mi you're really you're You're so interesting to talk to in part. um ah Joe used the word intuitive, but you have a beautiful way of talking about the way that you see your life and the way that you see the world.
Speaker: And before you have a chance, if you want ask- And everybody knows, and everybody also knows that the English-British accent is always the coolest accent. Times 10. Yeah. Anything you say, yeah anything you say, Mia, is already going to sound cool because you have a cool British accent. and So yeah leverage that with actually what you were saying. That's like one-two punch in my mind. That's right. Thank you, I guess. That's right. We're we're glad you're not from Albuquerque.
Speaker: because that would That would make it ah much ah less interesting. but um But I wanted to just ask you ah quickly here, because of the way that you see things, this might be a little more trivial, but I'm just i'm curious what it's like in Korea in terms of culture, the arts, on just on the street. I mean, what's the music scene like? What are people watching and listening to? Is it is it all K-pop? Do people know who are the Foo Fighters?
Speaker: ah what What are people doing? in Korea, just the average person.
Speaker: um One thing that's really interested me about Korean culture, especially modern Korean culture, is that even the entertainment, the the music that they listen to, the movies that they like to watch, it's mostly Korean.
Speaker: They make it themselves. Because... yeah um Was it last year? Yes. Last year, um i went to see the newest Ninja Turtles movie. I'm a Ninja Turtles fan.
Speaker: um So I went to see TMNT Mutant Mayhem in the theaters. And i was surprised at all the empty seats. I thought, are you kidding? Yeah, that's that's interesting.
Speaker: I've been waiting ages for a new Ninja Turtles movie and nobody shows up. I'm with you. I'm with you.
Speaker: But then you know you go to BTS concert, for example, or you go to yeah you know the screening of the newest South Korean movie and it's packed.
Speaker: And I thought, okay, that's really interesting. I mean, I feel this way about the Ninja Turtles because I grew up watching the Ninja Turtles, whereas these people did not. And so I found it really interesting because back home... That is really interesting because it's the opposite. Yeah, it's the opposite of what I expect you to say. Yes, we do produce our own media in Madagascar, but people still go and watch the latest French movie or the latest American blockbuster instead of you know, the latest Malagasy series.
Speaker: And so, yeah, what's happening in Korea for me, it's, it's, it's a new phenomenon. It's something I'm not used to, but it's also something I admire because it shows me that they recognize something beautiful, something valuable, something attractive in their own culture.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. i two So do you have a question that you want to ask us that you have that comes to your mind? If not, it's fine. you a question you'd like to ask us? I have a question, actually. It's a bit of a deep question, but it's my favorite type of question. oh um Okay, let's do it.
Speaker: Sure. What is God showing you about himself nowadays?
Speaker: Great question i like question. That is a good question. That is a deep question. and you what I just wish there were more Mias in my church that, i you know, I'm getting donuts on a Sunday morning, you know, and you've been hovering, you've been hovering for a couple of weeks now, know, and then we find like, Hey, tell me, what is it about who your God is that you've been thinking about? It's like, I love that. It's fantastic.
Speaker: I would, um I would probably, i would probably say that I have been, um reflecting on reflecting on in terms of his sovereignty has been just a real just a real um kind of tannin of my heart and thinking recently. And in particular, particular how it relates to my personal contentment.
Speaker: So I read again for the third time, Thomas Watson, The Art of Divine Contentment. And again, because I think just my my heart and my life kind of bumps into itself and to be able to ballast my heart again by going, hold on a second.
Speaker: the The themes in the book of Ecclesiastes, the dynamics in terms of how God has called me into his workmanship and that there's a ballast to lean into my days and with a real rest and a peace, knowing that I can, because there is a God who is over all things and he's Lord over all things because of his, his character and his purpose, but also by his position because of the work that he has done. And so he is Lord over all things.
Speaker: and And, that sovereignty is being translated into just ah everyday life where it gives me a drive and a purpose to lean into things that are challenging, helps me to enjoy warm blankets and and crisp mornings and and thoughtful, unhurried conversation.
Speaker: and that it also it also gives me the ability to to be content with and to allow for suffering and hardships to be used in terms of my overall growth and joy and understanding of all of his attributes because because uh because god's attributes has attributes so it's not that he's just sovereign but his sovereignty his love and his mercy and his long suffering and his justice are all related and so through his
Speaker: sovereignty that that gives me the ability ah to also to experience those other character traits as well as i as i live under it. So that's that's something that I've been reflecting upon. Yeah, well, that's well said. Actually, I love this because I think that our answers are going to sort of complement each other in an interesting way, because without knowing what Joe was going to say, what I would say is, and the reason I say it will complement is...
Speaker: Also, thinking about Ecclesiastes, what has what has been really clear to me in my life recently is the normalcy of of the things that I go through in life. So, you know, back to the to the principle or the truth that there's nothing new under the sun, that the God who is sovereign over everything under the sun, the things over which he's sovereign are all in a way normal. And and the reason that's standing out to me is because in my life, I think I have given the experiences that I've had or like the things that have happened in my life.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. how can I put it, like more credit than they deserve. Or I've put more energy, given given them maybe more energy than they have. And now in my life, so I'm 46, kids kids are are growing up. And as I'm looking around at, as I'm looking at Joe, I'm looking at Joe's family, I'm looking at his life, I'm looking at my life, I'm looking around at other people.
Speaker: I'm like, everybody's going through the same thing. Everybody's got the same struggle. There's nothing. All of the trials or temptations are really normal and common. And that inside the sovereignty of God is a comfort to me that my life is not some special case. These are not you know unsolvable problems. That's been a big thing. Right. And I know that Joe and I really appreciate that question because that's a great question, Mia. And we would expect nothing less from you. Mia, I tell you what, what ah what a delightful surprise to be both encouraged and just to enjoy hearing about just where you are in life, where you've come from what your hopes are for the future and
Speaker: thought that all reflects on a very clear worldview that comes from the word God itself. Thanks for meeting with us today and for letting us spend some time with you.
Speaker: It's been a remarkable time. Thanks for being on the show. We cannot wait to see what God does with you. Yes. I don't know what he has in store.
Speaker: a little scared, but I know it's going to be good.
Speaker: What in the world? i i I just can't. hide That was absolutely amazing. It was amazing. I mean, are you kidding me I mean, the way in which that she was able to articulate The dynamics of what it means to pursue people in community yeah with such clarity, not only theologically, but then practically as an introvert and and as a third culture, as a third culture kid, it's like...
Speaker: The way in which that she describes that, it was, I'm telling you, I mean, i am telling you that there are, there's so many people in our local churches that just have never even begun to taste of what relationship is.
Speaker: And for her to be able to for her to be able to articulate that and for her to be able to fight for it. I tell people all the time, they make fun of me for it, but I used say, listen, once you taste of real friendship, you will fight for it for the rest of your life. yeah Whatever context you're in wherever you are, that because you know that it's possible and you've tasted of real and true friendship and fellowship, that whatever context that you're in, you're going to be looking for it. You're going to try to nurture it.
Speaker: And you're going to invest in it because you know that that is where that is where life and belonging and growth and purpose happens, not in isolation, but in the context of friendship. And I just like, and again, it's, I mean, it was almost like, ah i mean, it just was a fat softball for crying out loud. It's like, it's like, those are the things that we talk about. And we were just going, here why don't we just go out on the ye olde internets and like try and talk with people and see. And here's somebody on the other side in South Korea for crying out loud. I mean, I just like, And she is just light years. Good night. Light years away from...
Speaker: anywhere that i would have been at 30 and i mean she has a huge such so so many huge shaping influences that uh was really just so helpful i mean just helpful to talk talk with her mean we've had all kinds of episodes so far where you know some are just like kicking around and right yeah it's like simple stuff or it's like uh it's about running or it's about you know whatever but uh to have a chance to um to be able to talk with her and, and hear just to take the lid off and just go for it. You know I mean? Listen, let's really, let's really talk. And, and, and it just was a part of her story. Oh yeah. Like we came in to say, Hey, let's talk about, let's talk about sanctified relationships. You know, it's like, no, no,
Speaker: Let's just talk about life and in the dynamics of everyday life, just going, listen this is the this is the foundational framework by which I think about life in South Korea um from someone who grew up in Madagascar. And you know it's just it is ah it's pretty it's pretty remarkable. i tell you i tell you what, though. It's like the um yeah it's just Man, I tell you what, Rush, i it inspires my own heart again just to go those days. i mean, it's that second Timothy 2, right? It's like like because we've had the opportunity to taste of that, that's why we just we leverage our days to try and find who is
Speaker: the who is the next person, who are the people in our world that we can model and pursue and give opportunities so that a next generation next generation can experience those things. Because that's what that's what happened to me. i mean it's ah it's it's like Again, it's like when when you talk about Bob and when I talk about guys like Mark,
Speaker: That, that it just, that it was not because we were beautiful, not because we, um, anything, but rather because someone who is older said, Hey, listen, I'm going to invest in you and give you an opportunity to think with me about what it means to follow Jesus. And, and it's just, here's a, here's just a massive expression of that.
Speaker: And to the heart of this this young person who is just... um And has made so much. Has made so much of those influences. Because it's one thing to have influences in your life. And know a lot of people have those influences trying to speak into them and they don't want to hear it. or they don't But for her, i mean that really says a lot about her character. And we did learn this.
Speaker: that if the two of us went to South Korea and tried to go to college, ain't nobody giving us a full scholarship. No joke. She's like, oh, I don't know how people give me full scholarships. She, no, are you kidding me? I know enough to know how much because yours truly get denied everywhere. You know what I mean? Me too. I mean, I got into my college literally just as a plea, as a personal plea.
Speaker: you know I was like, hey, give Joe a shot. He's a good guy. give him a shot. Came in on academic probation, actually. Did you? Yeah, I did. Did you take the SAT? No, of course I didn didn't. did you didn't take You didn't take any tests? Nope. Uh-uh.
Speaker: no Oh. They don't do that in California? i graduate No, I graduated from high school with with a 1.9 cumulative GPA. No way. Oh, yeah. And I i went to junior college went to junior college for a year because I wanted to be an actor. And there was a great junior college. had a great theater program.
Speaker: and got saved life transformed and wanted to go into study and my it was my the pastoral staff that knew about that knew about this small college in southern california and said hey listen this said this is where you want to study and so they called they called and said hey listen sun This guy, this guy's, this guy's a good stock and his life and his academics do not show that.
Speaker: Would you take a bit on academic probation? And yeah, and they gave me shot and then ended up graduating with a master degree from the same, you know, from the same deal. Had a, had a three, 3.0 cumulative when I graduated, which again, for kid like me, you know, seriously you know what i'm saying no i know look at what god has done and i genuinely mean that yeah and look at what god has done with you look at what he's needed i know a couple of card tricks i'm able to like you know i can i can still birth the alphabet i mean there are all kinds of things that just you know the lord does through ordinary the ordinary guys yeah yeah but really he's done good things in your life from where you come from i'm thankful for that
Speaker: And I'm thankful for you, man. Hey, listen, for whatever it's worth, I miss you. It's good to- I miss you too. We're back. Yeah, we are back. Let's do this. Season
