You are in a precious moment when you have achieved the significant goal of a college degree, you are called to serve the Lord as a staff worker, and you have a sense of call to live overseas.

I would look upon this next period of time as an investment in the future, given your uncertainty regarding the matter of a career.

InterVarsity: set yourself some goals, ideally with your supervisor, to do some serious reading and look for other ways to learn more about how to do your job. - What questions are students asking that make you nervous? Do some research. - What areas of weakness do you have in evangelism, discipleship, counseling, planning, etc.? Work on these areas. - As you serve, you will discover more about your interests and strengths. Talk with your colleagues and supervisor(s) about what they see in you and how these abilities could translate themselves into a meaningful career.

Career issues: what motivated you to study politics? What has attracted you or given you a sense of call to serve overseas? - If you have an idea of a country where you might go, here is an opportunity to do some investigation. Find out all you can. Ask the Lord to lead you to key people who can share their understanding of the situations there. Develop these contacts – whether in the U.S. or those residing there, and communicate with them. - As the Lord how your gifts, training, and interests would enable you to fit into that context.

Answering questions: When people ask you what you are going to do, I would recommend an honest reply, giving details depending on who they are, how well they know you, their world view, etc. For example, you could say, “The Lord has led me to invest ___ years in serving Him in InterVarsity, in gratitude for all He has done for me. The future is not clear as yet, but I’m sure that He who created me, enabled me to graduate from college, and has led me this far will make the way clear when I have to make future significant decisions.”

Non-Christians will find this hard to understand, but so is the whole matter of being a committed Christian in today’s world! Christian friends may find it unusual, and a challenge for their own attitude toward life and its values. Your parents may be worried about you, thinking you have become a religious nut, so it will be important for you to show yourself responsible in your duties, keep close to them, and from time to time ask their advice.

I hope these ideas will be helpful to you, Eric. May the Lord give you close Christian friends you can talk and pray with. The Lord has promised to guide us when we put our trust in Him.