I remember specifically the day my mom flew home after my first child was born. Gone were all the nurses in the hospital; gone was the woman who had successfully raised four functioning young adults. Being alone with a blinking person who still has their umbilical cord attached can make a parent kind of, you know.

Panic.

I mean, the toaster oven sitting on my counter had come with more instructions. Becoming a parent was way, way too easy considering what it took to actually be a good parent. Yikes.

But in reality, I was far more prepared than a lot of people who’d waved at their moms at the airport. Thanks for coming! Wish you weren’t…leaving me here with this person who can’t hold up his own head. Did you remember I’m 23? Or at least, more prepared than a lot of people who’d welcomed kids into their lives in general.

MINIMIZING PANIC

Going overseas can be a teeny, tiny bit like having a baby. A lot of the people you’ll love on there can, in fact, hold their heads up. But it will take you several months to get a good rhythm. You won’t always know exactly what you don’t know. Some of what you expected–even some of the happy, exciting things–will flop completely. With other things, you’ll be amazed at what you love. Yet it will exhaust you, confuse you, overwhelm you, delight you, and send you on the ride of your life. One, I will propose, you will likely not regret. (And both parenting and going overseas make new disciples. How ’bout that!)

Here at Go. Serve. Love, we’ve compiled a series of self-assessments you can take over and over again to help you determine a bit of your readiness to go overseas–so you feel a little less like a teenaged mom when you arrive with all your bags, and a little bit more like, Hey. Maybe I can do this. (And look! I don’t have to burp any of these people.)

We’ve already published Part I of these questionnaires (grab it here!), and now we’re ready to release Part II. Take them in order (we’ll email the results immediately to you), grab someone for coffee, chat about your thoughts, and plot out some action points. Like parenting, there is no “completely ready!” for overseas work, but we’re here to set you up for success.

FIND IT HERE: Part II: How Ready Am I? A Self-Assessment for Global Work. 

Like this post? You might like

• FREEBIE FRIDAY: YOUR JOURNEY THERE: A FLEXIBLE TIMELINE [INFOGRAPHIC]
• God’s Will–and the Clarity I Didn’t Have
• He Said/She Said. You Say? “How can I know if God’s calling/leading me overseas?” Parts I and II