Category: The Adventures of JB

Last Tuesday I went on a run with my training partners determined to remain focused and not do a lot of talking.

That lasted about two minutes

I’m not sure why that happens, there is just something about running that causes me to talk constantly.

Of course there is nothing wrong with talking [1] in fact lately I’ve been trying to think about how to apply that outgoing personality into other areas of life.

The thing is I’m an introvert most of the time who would greatly prefer reading a book or watching a movie to spending time with other people…and that really has to change

Is there something wrong with enjoying a night in? Of course not! But when that desire keeps a person from developing relationships or a social life there’s definitely a problem, and that’s where I’ve found myself lately.

So gaining a social life has become a huge goal for me this year.

I can already hear the hysterical laughter of parents who come home exhausted at 6:00 every night or take care of the kids. 🙂

It is true that most of us don’t have healthy relationships with friends because our time and energy is taken up by things like family, work, and other daily challenges.

But my situation is unique as a single male in his late thirties. Being on my own means having extra energy or time after a hard day of work that can be spent connecting with others.

Yet I still stay home…

The biggest reason is when hanging out with other people the possibility of humiliating myself goes up dramatically [2]. So it’s just a lot easier to save myself the embarrassment.

However the extra time and energy of singleness is a gift from God, and using it watch TV or read every night instead of pouring myself into the lives of others is a disservice to that gift [3].

That’s why I’ve started leaving home at night and having coffee with friends. I’ll probably never be the life of the party but that’s okay, a listening ear is much better anyway.

January 15, 2015

Dearest Friends,

One of the challenges with my journey home to Melbourne is I’ve actually lived there since January 10, 2007 (except during two extended stays in the States).

Now at first this may not seem to be a serious problem, however it makes keeping documents from as long ago as 2006 necessary.

Usually I’m able to provide needed documentation from that long ago. But early this month Immigration requested any emails that I had received regarding my initial Visa [1].

There were a few problems with this:

1. The work for that Visa was done on my behalf by Missionaries in Australia (that’s how it had been done for all other Permanent Visa’s)
2. This meant I didn’t have emails from Immigration for that Visa
3. Since it was so long ago the emails weren’t kept by fellow Missionaries
4. I did have two emails sent to me in the summer of 2006, but they were received by an email address that hadn’t been in use since early 2007
5. When I tried to retrieve those emails it wouldn’t let me into the website

Wanting to find those emails I spent some time on the phone with technical support and was able to re-activate the email address (it was inactive because of little use).

My excitement about getting into the system was short-lived though since all of the prior emails had been wiped clean

In an act of desperation I met with my father and we started going through his old laptops, hoping that some of those 2006 emails had been forwarded to him.

they hadn’t

I was about to give up when I saw something in HTML [2] entitled “Australia is expensive” and decided to click on it. A few seconds later we were praising God.

It was an email message sent to my father from Australia two-days after arriving in Melbourne that described in detail the specifics of my Visa.

While this isn’t a message from Immigration, that email can be used as documentation for the first Visa’s (proving what I am saying is true) which is what Immigration wanted anyway.

I’m honestly not sure why I sent my father that message in HTML (which is different from forwarding it to him) but in a way believe God led me to do it so we could find that message almost eight years later to the day.

This experience along with others is a strong reminder that God knows everything (even what will happen in eight years) and controls the future.  I pray this truth can be a comfort to you just like it is to me.

With Love,

John Wilburn

While many steps towards Melbourne are physical [1] quite a few of them are mental. Personal      development, or strengthening areas of my life that are weak will certainly prepare me for the return.

As with most people I have a mental list of things that need to be worked on…near the top of it is the idea of working smarter.

Continue reading “An Old School Approach to Getting Things Done” →

January 13, 2015

After years of working with children I have a reputation for being what my friends call “crowd- control”

Now I realize those words make people think of muscle-bound men in suits, but with children it’s quite different.

1. Crowd-control keeps the kids from being too loud or disruptive
2. Initiates consequences such as the dreaded “naughty chair”
3. Clearly explains class rules
4. Oversees any disagreements that may take place during class
5. And responds any time a student raises their hand [1]

Continue reading “Why Children Need Crowd-Control” →

January 12, 2015

I envisioned myself packing textbooks, lesson-plans, and worksheets for two college classes in Bangladesh this morning…instead I’m sending emails explaining why it was cancelled.

To make a long story short, rival political parties have set up blockades in large cities keeping people from coming through until their demands are met. This would create serious problems for my students who have to travel from the far Northern region of Bangladesh to the Southern region.

Since the students safety is the most important thing the decision was made to cancel my class.

The strange thing is instead of being upset or angry about the situation I’m actually happy because that class challenged me to pursue something with excellence.

Continue reading “How My Cancelled Bangladesh Class is a Blessing” →