The Waiting Place

Hey everybody!

It’s been a while since my last post. I finally have news regarding my departure date. I will be leaving on January 8 and I received my flight information today. This isn’t what I was expecting and it’s a little disappointing; however, I can now plan my life with the knowledge of when I will be in what country. Just having a date makes everything seem more under control. With Hurricane Sandy backing everything up on Global Ministry’s side, it won’t be possible to get Rebekah and me to South Africa before everyone in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa’s office goes on holiday. (Their summer’s are in December. It’s a crazy other-side-of-the-world phenomenon! ;) P.S. “Going on holiday” sounds way cooler than “going on vacation”. I plan to switch my vocabulary immediately!) Their office will reopen January 7 and I will arrive with Rebekah on the 9th. It all makes logistical sense, but it is still frustrating.

Before this news, I always thought it was possible to get my visa tomorrow and have to leave the country within 5 days, so I didn’t want to commit to any projects. Now that I have a more definite timeline, I’m hoping to solidify a more consistent volunteering regimen over the Holiday season. I’m still searching for opportunities and have agreed to help out at the North Texas Conference Center for Missional Outreach in December. I love making connections with people and so this opportunity sounds wonderful!

My prayer right now is that God may use me wherever I am to help bring forth the Kin-dom of Heaven here on earth. Part of my frustration in this situation is that I have felt a strong God-given calling to international mission work. God has gifted us all with different strengths and callings. They work together and all are important in their different, complementary roles. I have felt a calling to go overseas and that’s what makes the waiting hard. I don’t necessarily believe that God willed me to stay in the States longer. I believe that the laws surrounding immigration are faulty in our own country as well as others. People have built up walls that make international Kin-dom building more difficult. I also believe in a really big God who transcends all difficulties. God can bring good out of any situation and that is the good that I am in search of. I have seen God moving during this waiting period and I will continue to keep my eyes open! Please be in prayer for all of the mission interns who are still waiting for visas. It has been a challenging time for many of us and we value all of your support. God bless.

Changes and Trusting

          The last couple of months have been an emotional roller coaster. So much has been going on! I was at training from July 12 – August 5 with the General Board of Global Ministries and it was a life changing experience. I met some amazing people from all over the world and we participated in really deep and challenging conversations to prepare us for our next journeys. They were conversations that got to the core of who I am and how I interact in the world. Towards the middle of training I developed this sense of inadequacy. We were listening to people who were experts in their fields and sometimes I couldn’t even follow fully what they were trying to convey (usually in the economic and political areas)! I saw how much there is for me to learn still. A quote that kept coming back during training was that “God doesn’t call the equipped. God equips the called.” This was a big comfort to me during those days. It’s ok if I don’t know or understand everything. This is the beginning of a huge learning experience and a new life journey.

          I realized that I have been working in areas of direct service my entire life. For example, if a person is homeless, we deliver food and provide shelter, but how often do we look at what is really causing people to be homeless and advocate for change in those structures? I almost never have. As a country and a world, we have systems of oppression that perpetuate poverty. I’m just beginning to see that and I pray that my eyes may continue to be opened. As I begin to see more clearly how people around me are being oppressed, I want to advocate for change so that people may live in equity. This was my main take away from the training and the thought that has stuck with me, although we talked about so much. I developed a strong support community with the other young adult missionaries and staff as we participated in these conversations and then had fun, silly times as well. No community would be complete without a little fun as well!

          Since I’ve been back home, I’ve had the privilege of sharing my story at churches and being prayed over. It has been a time of celebrating memories and relationships, as well as mourning over coming changes and transitions. I am SO blessed to have such wonderful people in my life and I can’t wait to create many more memories in the future with all of you! 

          Now, this will be new news to many of you. I should have been leaving the country tomorrow, but unfortunately problems have arisen with my visa and the visas for the 2 other mission interns going to South Africa. Additional paperwork has been requested and we are now waiting for it to process. Our timeframe is a little uncertain. My best guess is that I will be around for 5-6 more weeks, but it is ultimately a guess. I was initially disappointed about the change in plans, but now I'm looking forward to all the ways that God can use me during my additional time in Dallas. I'm trying to connect with more people and churches in the area. This program has already made such a huge impact on my life and I would love for more people to be aware of it, as well as, partner with me in my experiences. So, if your church or small group would like to learn more about young adult mission opportunities through the General Board of Global Ministries and my call to missionary service, let me know!

Commissioning Service

I'm going to be commissioned as a mission intern with The United Methodist Church tonight at 7pm EST in DC, along with 33 other young adults. It is going to be streamed online and I would love for you all to join me on this part of my journey if you're able!

Click here to see the 2012 Young Adult Missionaries be commissioned! Please walk with us and support us as we all begin a new journey together.

New Beginnings

I've never had a blog before, but I decided to start one in order to keep everyone updated with my activities and whereabouts. I accepted an offer from the General Board of Global Ministries, a part of The United Methodist Church, to be a part of their 3 year mission intern program. 18 months will be spent in another country and 18 months will be spent in America.

I received confirmation today that I will be serving my international portion in South Africa with The Methodist Church of Southern Africa! They are bringing me on to develop a model regarding the protection of children. The problem presented to me was that of a migrating population. Many people are moving to South Africa to find work and that raises problems if something happens to the parents. If for some reason the parents of a migrating family die, then the children are left vulnerable to human trafficking. The proposed plan is to somehow have the local churches track who is in their area. If churches are more present in the life of the community, then they can better protect the people around them. I can’t wait to talk more about this issue with my future colleagues and see how I can help them to bring their plans to life.

When creating this blog, I chose to entitle it “Missio Dei: Where Worlds Collide.” Missio Dei or “God’s Mission” is one of grace and love. God is already working in the world to spread these qualities. Over these three years (and over the rest of my lifetime) I will be humbly participating in this mission that is already in progress. When including “Where Worlds Collide” in the title, I was thinking about the many barriers that separate us today as a global community, such as race, religion, gender, socio-economic status, politics, and education. I believe that the acceptance of differences will get us all much further towards accomplishing mission Dei. Through doing this program, I will be entering into relationships with many people who are, on the outside, very different from myself. My hope is that these differences can be lifted up and diversity celebrated. I want to share my experiences with you all, so that your eyes may be opened up, alongside mine, on this journey.