Step out of your world for a moment. Imagine waking up on the other side of the globe. You walk down the six flights of stairs in your run-down apartment, unlock the metal door, and find yourself completely out of place. Suddenly surrounded by people of a different race, culture, language and traditions, you walk down the lively streets where older Russian women with colored scarves wrapped around their heads are on the street corners selling fruit or raw fish. Amongst the bustle, a child with dirty hair and in tattered clothes runs up to you. Looking up at you with big eyes, he holds out his hand asking for money in a language you do not understand. You have stepped onto the sidewalks of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

This former soviet of Russia is where I spent two and a half months of my summer 2003. However, as I compose this article, I write from a desk overlooking a busy street lined with palm trees. I sit in an office where people speak Spanish in the background. Where am I now? Panama City, Panama. How did I get from Kyrgyzstan to Panama? On a plane? Yes. But more importantly-by following the Master's lead-being a disciple of Christ. Through my journeys I have learned what it means to be a disciple.

"God's never early, but He's never late!" says a Russian woman I met this summer. My first lesson in discipleship taught me the importance of having a relationship with God and hearing His voice. However, God works on His own time. When I was in my early teens the thought of doing mission work crossed my mind, but I told God, "Well, if I'm married and my husband wants to do mission work, then I will go." God had other plans.

Through a mission trip to Mexico in college, I realized God was leading me to pursue mission work after I graduated. Before graduation I looked into many different mission groups. I was willing to go anywhere. Let me warn you. Being willing to follow God's direction can take you to the other side of the world!

Youth for Christ was interested in having me work as the music coordinator for their new outreach in Kyrgyzstan. I went as a scout for the summer to work with youth ministries already established and to consider long-term mission work with YFC. There I learned a second lesson about discipleship. I learned a relationship with God also involves trust. I had to trust God for the money to support myself this summer, and He completely provided. Discipleship is primarily getting to know our Master and learning to trust and follow where He leads.

While I found discipleship is primarily a relationship with God, it also involves relationships with others. I learned this lesson through my experiences in Bishkek. During those two months, I taught English to young children and led the music for English day camps. The ministry involved teaching English to the children as we conveyed the message of Christ. Yet our primary outreach was to form relationships with the young, unbelieving teen-agers who worked as our translators. For the last three weeks, we worked at Christian English camps in the mountains, where our translators came as campers. Many of the girls grew more interested in Jesus, and one girl became a believer by the end of camp! My favorite memory was when my Russian co-counselor ran up to me saying, "Eight kids, eight kids!" Meaning eight more kids had just become a part of God's family by faith. Through relationships, we get to know the people God puts in our lives and they get to know the Master whom we serve.

Yet, I learned that discipleship includes hardship. Kyrgyzstan has two different cultures. The big cities like Bishkek have the remnants of the Russian culture. The people speak Russian and dress and live like Russians.

In the mountains the people are more rustic. They speak Kyrgyz, live in tents called Yurts and live off the land. To be Kyrgyz is to be Muslim, while many of the Russians are still Russian Orthodox. To the mountain people the name Christian has taken on a negative connotation. The people are hungry for the freeing message of grace. However, many youth were afraid to become Christians because of their families. I met a man who was beaten by his father and disowned by his family when he announced that he was a Christian. Some of my girls, who wanted to know more about Christ, were afraid to go to church for fear of their parents. Those girls were learning first hand the cost of being a disciple.

Discipleship is the reason I find myself now in Panama. I am currently working with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as a music teacher for the seven Lutheran churches here in Panama. Panamanians are not very musical, but many people want to learn. They have no previous music program, so I'm beginning from scratch. Now I'm excited to see what further lessons God wants me to learn.

Through all my experiences God taught me that the life of a disciple is all about Him. Being a disciple is a relationship with the Master, trusting and following Him. He calls His disciples into relationships with others, so in sharing the message of His love we can introduce them to our Master. Be willing to follow wherever He leads you. Be willing to step out of your world for more than just a moment.