 |  | by BBC South Yorkshire
contributor Andrea Farley-Moore | |
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Today I filled in an electronic exit survey, sent to me by the BBC Human Resources Department. Their job is to find out if you are leaving because your boss is a bully or if you've been offered vast amounts of cash for less hours by a 'competitor.'  | | Andrea is swapping life at the BBC... |
It was quite a challenge. Why am I leaving the BBC? I spent years trying to get in - now I'm closing the curtains on the whole enterprise. The only 'tick box' that was even halfway relevant as an explanation was 'other'. I thought I'd dealt with the form until I got right to the end and they ask (again) 'What is the most important reason for your departure?' Do they want a sermon? Do they want my testimony? Do they really want me to say because Jesus told me to and I want to spend the next few years, if not the rest of my life, telling other people about his love? Which column would they file that response in? At work lots of people think it is really exciting. 'Oh wow,' they say. 'Good for you.' 'Have a brilliant time'. And lots of others say they'd love to come too. They might change their minds if they knew that there are prayers (early) every morning at mission training college. Not to mention the communal eating and lack of alcohol.  | | ...for life in South Korea |
Communal eating. That takes me back. Back to years of summers spent on beach missions, evangelistic campaigns and OM weekends. As a teenager I endured regular doses of 'world mission motivational moments' from my youth leader who spent all his holidays (he was a teacher) in Pakistan or India preaching the good news. Slide shows, prayer meetings and visits from 'missionaries' were the staple spiritual food.
When I think of it like that, I don't suppose I stood a chance. From an early age my name had 'overseas' pencilled in next to it. But that wasn't the only thing pencilled in. Alongside 'overseas' were the words 'health problems'. Three lots of heart surgery, a spinal fusion and a life long commitment to warfarin. And all before I was sixteen. Believe me, there have been plenty of days when I have wondered if this is a sensible thing to do with a medical file the size of all the Harry Potters strung together.  | | She has been practising her Korean cooking - looks tasty! |
Both the physical effects and, more significantly, the emotional effects of all that surgery have certainly coloured my ability to take on this challenge. What about my blood tests, and what will happen if I need another new heart valve? 'Cause I've had three already. Reassuringly, these questions and more besides were thoroughly addressed by the CMS selection procedure which has taken almost a year to navigate. Preliminary and secondary interviews in London were followed by an intensive selection weekend for the whole family in a Diocesan country retreat. After the 'what to wear discussion', Peter, myself and our two boys braced ourselves for the unusual - twelve adults and their respective offspring all locked in for the weekend to explore whether you have 'the call' or not. I'm quite sure it didn't all hinge on the eating habits of the under fives, but that's what stressed me the most. I entered all my interrogation sessions with an open heart and a big mouth, convinced that honesty was the best policy. I wanted to feel that they knew everything about me before they made any decision.  | | Andrea will be spreading the word in Korea |
Consequently, by the end of the weekend I felt vulnerable, small and on the brink of rejection. Which is why their acceptance was to me a clear sign that we are doing 'the right thing'. Although I'm afraid and daunted, I do know that Jesus said "Go into all the world and preach the good news." So I am going. To South Korea. The good news? Only that I know Jesus is reliable. He was with me in my darkest hour and I know He wants to take our lives, sort them out and give us purpose and hope for the future. And so to the end of the BBC exit survey. Would anything make me stay at the BBC? - Reading the ten o'clock news
- Starring in Casualty
- Turning up in Eastenders as Dot Cotton's illegitimate daughter
- Taking over from Andrew Marr
 | | Andrea might consider staying if she could star with Dot... |
What exactly are they offering, I wonder? Right now I am in transition. Clearing my desk, showing the new girl the ropes. Every fortnight we have a Korean lesson with our wonderful, patient Korean friends, and every inch of hospitality we now do involves Korean cooking (Hanguk yori). Our furniture has been given away, all of us are sleeping on mattresses and our clothes are hanging from the edge of a shelf. We're taking our remaining possessions to Birmingham where we will spend six months learning about life as a 'mission partner' before heading off to live that life. I am very much a girl of modern worship and modern church. I like to think I don't really look like the missionary type. But if you ask me why I am leaving the BBC it's the words of the hymn that do it for me
"Love so amazing , so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all." - Andrea Farley-Moore
We'll be following Andrea's story through missionary school in Birmingham to her arrival in South Korea. | 
