To the one afraid of fundraising
I wanted to share some thoughts and reflections from my fundraising journey. I know that the thought of fundraising can be intimidating and a potential barrier to saying yes to going overseas. I was nervous to begin fundraising, but now that I'm on the other side of it I wanted to share some encouragement! First, I surprisingly enjoyed the fundraising process. It was encouraging to connect with people from so many different areas of my life, and I found that it brought a lot of closure in my transition from college and living in America to life overseas. For example: I met with my… Read more
“Your prayers are not in vain.”
A few weeks ago, I found myself asking God, “Are my efforts in vain? Are my prayers in vain?” I felt disappointed and discouraged because I wasn’t seeing the progress or the fruit I had hoped to see as a result of my efforts. Although I try to love and serve the women we work with well, their situations are so complicated and the economic reality in Ecuador is so hard that the feeling of helplessness made me doubt whether it was really possible to make a difference. I felt the same way about fundraising for the ministry Despite my efforts, we don’t count on the financial support or… Read more
Year One Reflections
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for a full year! Thinking about this milestone, I put together five questions to help me reflect on the things that really define what the Lord has done and where he is leading me next. 1. How have you changed most between day one and today? Comparing day one to today, the biggest change is a deeper sense of security in my identity in Christ. The joys and challenges of this year have matured me, shifting my focus from my own capabilities to resting in Him alone. That spiritual maturity has naturally grown my patience and love for the people I serve… Read more
One Year Reflections
This month, I celebrated my one year anniversary of being overseas! This has been the most stretching and challenging year of my life. I have a lot I could write about, but here are just three ways I’ve grown in the past year: Resilience: Willingly starting over to build a new life in a brand new place builds a special type of resilience! No one told me I had to move overseas, but outside of God’s direction and leading, this is something I chose to do. I feel like I had a vague idea of what I was getting into, but now that I’ve actually lived overseas for a full year, I have realized how… Read more
The Way Jesus Loves
This month I visited Chimborazo, one of Ecuador’s volcanoes and the highest mountain in the country. Every time I have the privilege of visiting spectacular places like this, I’m amazed by the greatness, creativity, beauty, and power of the Lord who created them. This time, I found myself reflecting on a Bible passage that has recently become one of my favorites: “For in [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things,… Read more'Do You Feel Yourself Sufficient?'
'Welcome, Prince,' said Aslan. 'Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?''I - I don't think I do, Sir,' said Caspian. 'I am only a kid.'Good,' said Aslan. 'If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.' (Aslan and Prince Caspian, from C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian) In just over three months I will be packing my bags and headed to the Middle East! Most of my fundraising is done (praise God!), and I have been blessed with a few months to prepare for what is next. There are so many things to learn and so many ways I am not yet ready. So… Read more
My Letter to Future Goers
As I wrap up the last two years of Ministry in Germany, there are many things that were learned, challenged, broken, and redeemed. None of these things were expected, yet none of them were handled alone. None of them were easy, but none of them impossible. When God nudged me into a relational ministry vocation, he wasn't just giving me a job with an organization to hold me over for the next two years. Instead, he took my passions, career goals, and gifts and completely refined and redefined what it meant to nurture relationships and be kingdom minded in professional spaces, cultures,… Read more