O Church Arise

I love the music of Keith and Kristyn Getty. It's powerful, filled with the gospel, and so full of worship. One of my favorite songs, "O Church Arise" has been playing over and over in my head for days now. In light of recent events, the catastrophes across the globe, particularly the events in Paris on November 13, my prayer has become increasingly more a plea for the Church to arise..."an army bold whose battle cry is 'Love!' Reaching out to those in darkness."

Terrorism thrives on instilling terror in the hearts of people, but "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7). O Church arise.

Terrorism wins when we are too afraid to openly worship the Living God, the God of Peace, the God of Love, the Creator of the Universe. It wins when we won't share the message of Life in a world of death. It wins when we shut our doors and our hearts to those who are tired, hungry, thirsty, those needing clothing, the stranger, those who need refuge, those who are lost. Let us not forget Christ's words to his disciples, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). O Church arise.

My heart breaks for the victims of the terrorist attacks and I wonder what I can do. I #prayforparis. I pray for the Church in Paris and the Church universal. I pray that we will not hide. Church, you know the answer. Church, you have life...don't keep it all to yourself. Church, reach out and be the hands and feet of God. Church, shine your light in the darkness so that all may see and know the glory of God. O Church arise.

O Church, let us not hide. Arise.

Yes, Uganda

Last Friday, while I was in Nashville with some friends, I finally received the details about evangelism training in Uganda!

Training will take place at the African Christian Training Institute near Kampala, Uganda and will be led by Dr. Henry Krabbendam. Dr. K was a professor of Bible and Theology when I was at Covenant college my freshman year. The training lasts for three weeks and begins right after Thanksgiving (I haven't gotten my flight details yet, but I will either be leaving Thanksgiving day or the day after). In order to attend this institute, I have to raise $3,500 over the next month.

I am very excited about this opportunity!

Please be in prayer for me as I seek to raise that support. Pray that in my excitement and in the times of stress as I seek to get everything (vaccinations, support, etc.) squared away before the trip that I would not forget the purpose of the trip. Pray that I would be sensitive to what God will teach me through this process and pray that God would be preparing the ground ahead of me even now as you read this post.

If you would like to receive ministry updates or send financial support, please email me.

Uganda?

On August 18, I interviewed with the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship Executive Board. This was the next step in the process of joining their team of missionaries. I was both nervous and excited. In the days leading up to the interview I prayed and made sure I had my documents together--the ministry budget, the vision statement that I prepared for Craigavon Presbyterian Church, and my first ministry update. The interview was brief, only 20 minutes because they had a full slate of new ministry team candidates to interview (I believe it was the largest number of candidates since PEF's founding), so I knew I had to be concise. I had my notes in front of me, I was ready. But I don't think I was really ready for what happened at the end of the interview. At the very end, they welcomed me on board and left me with this recommendation (which I now know is a requirement of all new Team Members), that I go on a short term mission trip to Uganda for evangelism training with Dr. Henry Krabbendam.
Uganda? Really? I was surprised. Uganda has never really been on my radar for missions. Sure, while my aunt and her family were missionaries in Tanzania and Ghana, I did consider spending a couple of weeks with them (but I never followed up on the initial thought), so it's not like Africa is my Nineveh. It surprised me because I am preparing to go to Northern Ireland, and even now when I tell people that I'm going to have to first go to Uganda for training the question is "what does Uganda have to do with Northern Ireland?"
I shouldn't really be surprised. In the two weeks leading up to the interview I had been praying for evangelism training. So why should I be surprised that God answered my prayer? I was reminded of the passage that says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8, emphasis mine). My way would have sent me to some conference center where I would sit with other believers, possibly missionaries, and someone (a pastor or missionary perhaps) would teach one, or more, evangelism methods, we would break into small groups of two or three and practice every so often, and at the end we would be charged to go out and do it (after all, this was my experience with the "Bridge to Life" training I got at a local church). God's way, get out of the classroom and onto the field.
What does Uganda have with Northern Ireland? While I do not have a complete or clear view, I do know that God calls people from every tribe and people and language to himself (Revelation 7:9). Also, my roommate (who is one of my biggest encouragers on my journey) and I watched the Prayercast video on Uganda earlier this week and she commented on how it is interesting that the prayer requests were similar to the Northern Ireland video that we've watched several times now in the past two years. If you haven't watched those Prayercast videos, I encourage you to click the links and watch those videos.
I am still waiting on specific details about the training in Uganda, but I am very excited about this opportunity and I hope you will join me in prayer as I prepare for this trip!

Changes

Almost 2 years ago I wrote this about how I longed to be a career missionary. I longed that my student loans finally be paid off and the next school year would be my last (not because I didn't like the school, but because I ached to be on another mission field). That was my plan. It was not God's plan, and I learned to be okay with it. Honestly, I love the school, it wasn't that I couldn't wait to get out of there. So another school year went by, another group of students graduated (my first group of 7th graders at the school), God closed the door on changing my mission field, and I signed another contract.

Then, last fall right after I paid off my last student loan, my car (mine, the one that I owned outright) died and I didn't have the money for another one, not to own outright. I thought, Really, God? You say that "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few" and here I am ready to go and you keep closing the door! I am thankful that God is so patient with me! He reminded me "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9) and "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14). Let's be honest, waiting isn't easy, and for someone who is a planner (hey, I'm a teacher, I have to plan ahead) not being in control of my plans was/is hard. But, I know God is faithful, I have seen his faithfulness time and time again, not just in scripture, but in my own life. As much as I thought I was ready to go, I wasn't. I still needed to learn to TRUST.

A couple of weeks after I bought started making payments on a "new" car, I had real contact (not just an email to info@whateverministryorganization.org) with someone at Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship (PEF), we talked on the phone, then they sent me their ministry documents (including the application). While it seemed like a perfect fit, I took a few weeks months to read their information, praying about it, talking to others about it, and putting it off until the right time in the school year, I finally filled out the application. A few weeks ago, I heard back. They had accepted me as an evangelistic candidate! That's right. I am now a member of PEF.

So now my journey of raising support begins (and sadly that means no more full-time teaching). Please pray for me as I take this next step of faith. Also, pray for me as I prepare to go before the PEF board in August.