[旅行、信仰與教會] Travel, faith and church
今天是出發前最後一個上教會的週日，乾脆就趁勢來寫寫我對於旅行、信仰與教會的想法。
Today was my last day attending church services before the trip, so I thought travel, faith and church can be a good topic to write about.
（English edition available below)
在開頭先澄清一下：我並沒有打算要需要發展出一套「旅行神學」，或者開一門「聖經與旅行」的專題課程，把我的旅行講得有多麽神聖，或多麼「符合聖經」（biblical）。對我來說，在這個時間點選擇去旅行而非繼續在辦公室工作，就如同晚餐決定吃日式拉麵而不選擇吃韓式豆腐鍋一樣，是一個自由意志下平凡的選擇。(原諒我用這麼奇怪的例子，因為我正好肚子餓了XD)
不過，對我來說旅行和信仰還是有一點關係的，我常常覺得規劃旅行需要足夠的信心——我指的當然不是自信，而是對別人的信心。舉個最近碰到的例子：烏茲別克的落地簽證需要事先申請邀請函，因此一個月前我就要先請了烏茲別克的青年旅館幫我申請，且先付給了他們一筆服務費。這個過程中當然會有些懷疑，像是這家青年旅社真的存在嗎？把錢和個人資料給了他們就一定會拿到簽證嗎？這一切會不會都是一場騙局？雖然對方聽起來來非常可靠，我還是直到兩週前收到了邀請函才完全確定這是真的。從這個角度來說，旅行和信仰是有點像的，都需要先「相信」某個人事物（不管是幫我辦邀請函的青年旅社、trip advisor、lonely planet或是網路論壇）是真實且可信的，然後根據得到的資訊進行規劃，即使要去的是一個從未去過也從未見過的地方。或許旅行這件事，本質上就有一點信仰的成份吧。
除此之外，這趟旅行也不得不和我的教會扯上關係，畢竟我的事前準備工作其中很大一部份是用在和教會溝通協調上。
我在教會帶領一個每週聚會的小組，而且地點就在我家，因此當我決定要去旅行兩個月，首當其衝的就是這個小組；為了讓這個小組可以繼續運作，我用了整整一個月的時間準備：先找好可以暫時帶領小組的人，然後考慮行政事項如何分配（在誰家聚會？誰負責發email？如果有問題要找誰？），也在做這個決定的第一時間就先知會大家，過程中就是不斷的溝通溝通溝通，直到所有人都沒有疑慮為止。除了小組之外，我平常在教會裡的其他任務（樂團鍵盤手、兒童主日學助教）也會受到影響，因此也得付出額外的心力去溝通。很讓人感恩的是，到了今天準備出發時，該交接任務的都交接完成，教會朋友都知道我要去旅行兩個月的計畫，也都非常開心的祝福我一路平安，並且表示願意一路為我禱告，即使我說穿了就是去放假旅行罷了，還有很多人是比我更需要禱告支持的呀。
總之，今晚要出發了，教會的事情也都不用我擔心，很期待一路上可以無後顧之憂的好好享受，也可以透過所看到的人事物與自然景色，對背後的造物者有新的認識。至於現在仍然帶有一點焦慮的心情，以及我對這種感覺的回應，很意外的被一句平常沒有特別喜歡也不太有感覺的歌詞給精確描述了：
“You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail.
And there I find You in the mystery. In oceans deep, my faith will stand.”
(English edition)
First of all, I have no intent to develop something called “travel theology”, or a “bible and travel” seminar, to make my trip sound more holy or biblical. In my opinion, choosing to travel instead of working at this moment is a decision out of the free will given by God, just like choosing Japanese ramen for dinner instead of Korean tofu soup.
Nevertheless, travel and faith still have some commonality. They both require some confidence - not the confidence in oneself, but the confidence in someone or something else. For example, to get visa on arrival for Uzbekistan, I had to ask a hostel there to provide the pre-approved letter of invitation (LOI), and pay then some commision before getting the letter. I inevitably had doubts in the process: is this an actual hostel? Am I going to get a visa just by giving them my documents and commision? What if everything is just part of a treachery? Even if the hostel owner sounded quite trustworthy, I couldn’t be fully certain until two weeks ago when getting the approved LOI. To some extent, travel and faith are similar: both require you to believe something/someone is true, no matter it’s a hostel, lonely planet, trip advisor or web forums.
This trip is also related to my church. As a leader and host of a small group, my absence definitely has impact on the group. Therefore, some efforts, a temporary place to meet, etc. In addition, other ministries that I’m part of (worship team, Sunday school) are also affected. Thankfully, most things are now all set. Most church friends now know about my trip, gave me their wishes and offered to pray for me - even if this trip is simply a vacation, not a short-term mission.
Anyway, now I’m officially on the way, and temporarily away from my church duties. Hope I can enjoy the trip, and know the Creator through the world and things He created. Part of me still feels the anxiety of going into unknown places, but the lyrics from church services affirm my take against this feeling:
“You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail.
And there I find You in the mystery. In oceans deep, my faith will stand.”
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