Hello friends! My name is Claire, and I am a recent graduate of Purdue University! I'm from Greenwood, IN, and in early 2018 I will be going to Berlin, Germany for two years! This blog is place where I will share my journey with my supporters and anyone who is interested in how the Lord is working in Berlin.
Since this is my first post, I thought that I should introduce myself a little bit! So, as I said, I graduated in May from Purdue University with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies. While in college, I was in Cru, and the summer between my junior and senior year, I went on a stateside summer mission to Hampton Beach, NH. While there, I met someone who was a missionary in Turkey. Through him and some of the other things that I learned while there, the Lord opened my eyes to the idea of doing missions post-graduation. Fall semester of my senior year, I went through a lot of different ideas of what missions might mean for me. From Turkey to Macedonia, Europe to Africa, and college ministry to refugee work, and then the Peace Corps or just staying at home and living missionally while having a job.
While researching what it might look like to be a Christian in the PeaceCorps, I found GoCorps. GoCorps connected me to ReachGlobal and their team in Berlin. I applied to the team in Berlin, but I still didn't really know what the Lord was calling me to.
Right before my last semester of college, I went to IndyCC, Cru's winter conference in Indianapolis. While there, we sat in on a session with CrossCon, where David Platt spoke. He told a powerful story about a family of refugees that left their home country with the hope of getting to Berlin. He also spoke about how not everyone is called to be a missionary and how you are not a lesser Christian for not becoming a missionary. The Lord used that talk to confirm for me that I was being called to the missions field.
First, the story about the refugees confirmed my call, because I have always felt compassion towards marginalized people. Becoming a missionary gives me an opportunity to help people who otherwise might not get the help they need to survive while also being able to share the love of Christ with them. The second part of the confirmation was when he talked about how not everyone is called to missions. He spoke about how some are called to go and some are called to send and neither one made you any better or worse than the other. Before this, my biggest fears were that I was either unqualified or that I was thinking about doing this because I had no other options. For me, when he explained this, it reaffirmed the idea that God was specifically calling me. Not because I wouldn't find a job at home and not because I was this incredible person, but because I have a heart for those in need and the ability to help them and because I love Jesus and want to see others come to know Him.
Since then, the Lord has kept the doors for Berlin open! Not that everything has gone perfectly-even getting this far has been a journey with its own stumbling blocks. But, after going through all that I did to get to this point, I am certain of my call to Berlin.
So, my plan for Berlin is to work in an anti-sex trafficking ministry, although I won’t have my specific ministry partner until I’m there. I’m so excited to see how the Lord uses my time in Berlin for the betterment of His kingdom!