This evening, I had the privilege of sitting down with two of my parents' best friends to talk to them about financially supporting me. We met at a Village Inn for dinner with my dad, and I was so excited to talk to them about what I will be doing in Germany in the coming months. I'll be honest, I was also excited for the bacon and eggs; I'm a sucker for breakfast food at any meal. After we caught up a bit, I shared with them the whole story of how the Lord led me to apply for jobs overseas and finally accept this position at Black Forest Academy. I talked about my passion for this demographic of students who I can so freely share the beauty of Jesus with during my lessons. (Grammar is an amazing reflection of how we serve a God of order not a God of chaos!) They told me they were excited to partner with me, and we continued talking about what I will get to do for God's kingdom with their partnership.
I get so excited when I get to share that I can talk to students about the freedom of the Gospel in my classroom because I remember growing up saturated in Christianese and watched a lot of kids I went to high school with walk away from their faith after misinterpreting it as bondage rather than freedom. Another one of my favorite things about this fundraising process for me is how humbling it is. I'm so loved by so many people, and I'm repeatedly humbled by the excitement of others to partner with me financially. People who know me believe in me enough to send me overseas to teach and love missionary kids. Of course I shared this, and, of course, God gave me another reason to be humbled.
After we finished eating, the hostess and waiter came to our table to let us know that the family who had just left the booth next to us had paid for our meal because they overheard that I was going on a mission trip. I still can hardly process how to respond. I'll never be able to thank that family in this lifetime, but some sibling in Christ chose to share in God's work tonight by blessing me with a free meal. No strings attached. What a great picture of the ministry I want to do: love and teach these kids no strings attached.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Best Friends FOREVER
On the last day of third grade, my best friend Jessica came over to play. We never wanted the afternoon to end because we knew that she was moving to Minnesota and this was our last chance to see each other for a very long time. I remember sobbing when we had to drop her off at her house. My granny had to pull me back into my seat as we drove away because I was pressing my face against the back window to make my last glimpse of Jessica last a few seconds longer. It was a very dramatic scene, I know, but when you're ten, everything is dramatic. At least, that was my experience.
We wrote letters to each other often, and I saved every single thing she sent me. Cleaning out old boxes in my parents garage, I ran across my BFF binder with drawings and letters from Jess. It brought back fond memories of my best friend, though we had sadly lost touch over the years. Our letters became less and less frequent to one another until we finally stopped writing. There was no fallout, just middle school keeping us occupied in the places we were rather than writing letters to someone across the country.
I've had a lot of good friends fade out of my life in different ways, and sometimes I wonder if I'm just terrible at maintaining friendships. One of my greatest fears in leaving the States is leaving behind the few good friends I do have to go to a place where I have no friends. I know that I'll be able to meet new people and establish great relationships in Germany, but it's hard to think that I'll be starting from scratch and working to maintain the friendships I have back in the States. I'd just begun to process this and articulate this fear in the last week or so, but I should have realized that the Lord had already worked out a solution to my imaginary problem.
I just got off the phone with my best friend Jessica who has been living in Germany for the last four years; she's just two hours away from where I'll be living.
Half an hour before our phone call, I accidentally clicked on the "other" tab in my Facebook messages. (Did you know there was an "other" tab on Facebook messages? What the heck, Facebook?) There I found a short note Jess had sent me two years ago. I replied quickly with a short update that I was moving to Germany soon, and within minutes she replied back asking for my phone number. I noticed that the reply was sent from a mobile device in a city with a German name.
Needless to say, I replied with my phone number and was talking to Jess in minutes. Clearly our conversation wasn't just like when we were ten - I think we spent a lot of time talking about ponies then - but it was so natural to be on the phone with my best friend. I'm even more excited for my move now because when I'm saddened by the thought of leaving people in two months, I can remember that I get to see my best friend from the third grade in two months.
We wrote letters to each other often, and I saved every single thing she sent me. Cleaning out old boxes in my parents garage, I ran across my BFF binder with drawings and letters from Jess. It brought back fond memories of my best friend, though we had sadly lost touch over the years. Our letters became less and less frequent to one another until we finally stopped writing. There was no fallout, just middle school keeping us occupied in the places we were rather than writing letters to someone across the country.
I've had a lot of good friends fade out of my life in different ways, and sometimes I wonder if I'm just terrible at maintaining friendships. One of my greatest fears in leaving the States is leaving behind the few good friends I do have to go to a place where I have no friends. I know that I'll be able to meet new people and establish great relationships in Germany, but it's hard to think that I'll be starting from scratch and working to maintain the friendships I have back in the States. I'd just begun to process this and articulate this fear in the last week or so, but I should have realized that the Lord had already worked out a solution to my imaginary problem.
I just got off the phone with my best friend Jessica who has been living in Germany for the last four years; she's just two hours away from where I'll be living.
Half an hour before our phone call, I accidentally clicked on the "other" tab in my Facebook messages. (Did you know there was an "other" tab on Facebook messages? What the heck, Facebook?) There I found a short note Jess had sent me two years ago. I replied quickly with a short update that I was moving to Germany soon, and within minutes she replied back asking for my phone number. I noticed that the reply was sent from a mobile device in a city with a German name.
Needless to say, I replied with my phone number and was talking to Jess in minutes. Clearly our conversation wasn't just like when we were ten - I think we spent a lot of time talking about ponies then - but it was so natural to be on the phone with my best friend. I'm even more excited for my move now because when I'm saddened by the thought of leaving people in two months, I can remember that I get to see my best friend from the third grade in two months.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
For Narnia
When I was a kid, my dad read the Chronicles of Narnia to me and taught me a deep appreciation for the literary genius of Lewis and Tolkien. A while back, I discovered that my friend's kids had not yet read the Chronicles of Narnia, and I begged her for the opportunity to read the books aloud to her two sons. Little did I know that the Lord would use this simple action to glorify his name. My friend asked her kids, and they agreed to try it out. The first grader made it through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but didn't quite have the attention span to make it past that. However, I read through the entire series with her middle schooler. At some point, he asked if we could read The Lord of the Rings after; I agreed, and we're now over half way through The Fellowship of the Ring.
When we began Lewis's books long ago, and even when I agreed to begin the Tolkien trilogy, I planned to be around long after we finished the lengthy reading endeavor. However, the Lord stepped into my plans and asked me to move to Germany as a full time missionary which means I won't be able to finish reading The Lord of the Rings with my fantastic kiddo. This is where it gets awesome, though, because while I won't be able to stick around to finish reading the books aloud, my friend told me today that her family wants to support me financially - in particular, her middle schooler wants to support me.
I got tears in my eyes when she told me because I am so humbled by the resources God is pulling together to send me overseas. I still have a long way to go in my support raising, but gifts from the students I serve in incredibly thoughtful. This kid believes in me enough to give of his own resources so that I can serve others in Germany. I won't let him down.
When we began Lewis's books long ago, and even when I agreed to begin the Tolkien trilogy, I planned to be around long after we finished the lengthy reading endeavor. However, the Lord stepped into my plans and asked me to move to Germany as a full time missionary which means I won't be able to finish reading The Lord of the Rings with my fantastic kiddo. This is where it gets awesome, though, because while I won't be able to stick around to finish reading the books aloud, my friend told me today that her family wants to support me financially - in particular, her middle schooler wants to support me.
I got tears in my eyes when she told me because I am so humbled by the resources God is pulling together to send me overseas. I still have a long way to go in my support raising, but gifts from the students I serve in incredibly thoughtful. This kid believes in me enough to give of his own resources so that I can serve others in Germany. I won't let him down.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Today Counts
I'm humbled by the number of people who want to know what I'm up to each day. I graduated this week, and that's an important step in my journey. I promised to update everyone who subscribed to my newsletter with big things like that, so I just sent out my May newsletter reflecting on that. However, here is where I promised to put the little things that impact who I am and what is going on in my in relationship to my journey in Germany.
Well, I'm more than two months away from being overseas, so what kinds of things will be here for that time period? Here's what's running through my head right now: I'm two months away from moving to Germany, and I'm still able to think about things other than Germany. Shouldn't I be consumed with planning things and fundraising and stressing out? I'm oddly at peace, and my strongest desire is to have a Frosty and french fries with Grace before I go.
Qdoba with Rachel and Starbucks with Sam were highlights of a weekend, and I'm realizing what a blessing it is that the relationships I have are the focus of my attention rather than the paperwork and plans.
After explaining to one of my students the purpose behind my decision to move, she told me that she hoped to make a similar decision someday. She was struck by the fact that I was moving overseas to demonstrate what being sold out for Jesus looks like, and I was struck by the fact that she thought she had to wait to live that way. I have two months left in the States, and I'm going to make every day count.
Tomorrow I have a coffee date, lunch plans, and a movie night with friends - each of those interactions count.
Well, I'm more than two months away from being overseas, so what kinds of things will be here for that time period? Here's what's running through my head right now: I'm two months away from moving to Germany, and I'm still able to think about things other than Germany. Shouldn't I be consumed with planning things and fundraising and stressing out? I'm oddly at peace, and my strongest desire is to have a Frosty and french fries with Grace before I go.
Qdoba with Rachel and Starbucks with Sam were highlights of a weekend, and I'm realizing what a blessing it is that the relationships I have are the focus of my attention rather than the paperwork and plans.
After explaining to one of my students the purpose behind my decision to move, she told me that she hoped to make a similar decision someday. She was struck by the fact that I was moving overseas to demonstrate what being sold out for Jesus looks like, and I was struck by the fact that she thought she had to wait to live that way. I have two months left in the States, and I'm going to make every day count.
Tomorrow I have a coffee date, lunch plans, and a movie night with friends - each of those interactions count.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)