Summoned Once More

After a year and a half of teaching in Mahachai I felt like I had truly found my home. I was a fairly gifted teacher who was loved by his students and made decent money for the time. I had great friends both Thai and Western and I was living a dream as far as being away from Oklahoma was concerned.
Then one day my parents called and I can still remember the sinking feeling as the dialogue turned to my "future." I hate this word at times. Future. Seemingly innocent yet quite the instigator of chaos given the right conditions. You know the conditions are right when you start getting pelted with questions like: " So what are you gonna do in the future? Where do you see yourself in the future? What about------your future?"
As I held the receiver to my head I took in the words that would strip me of my comfort and sense of belonging. Those words: "Maybe its time for you to come home." My reply: "Uh, maybe." They continued: " If you really want to be effective you need to have a degree." My reply: "Uh."
That Christmas I prepared to fly home back to the States.
Over thirty students showed up at the airport to bid me fairwell. As I prepared to go into the gates my boss and roommate came to give me their send-off handshakes. As he took my hand, my boss looked at me and said "4 months. You'll make it 4 months." I said: "I'm going to study for four years." He said: " You fit here."
I walked into the gates and boarded my flight for America. It was a mix of emotions for me as I left Thailand. I hadn't been there very long yet it left such an impression on me. I could still remember the overwhelming joy of my first return trip to America. Would it be the same this time around?
I returned home to my family who had already filled out my application to go to bible college at BBC in Springfield, Missouri.
After a couple of quiet weeks home I got myself ready to go back to school. You know the usual checklist: shirts, ties, shoes, deodarant, notebooks, HIV test, etc., etc..
I was indeed about to embark upon a stint aboard the USS Legal Eagle. The big question was was for how long?