Ups and Downs

It's been awhile since I've posted on here, so I thought I should give at least a little bit of an update.

I talked to my Zumba instructor briefly before class on Saturday morning. We decided to go ahead with doing my Zumba-thon in September since it will be after summer, when many people may take time off for vacations, etc. So I'm glad that we will be having the event when more people will be likely to attend, but it will only be a few weeks before my anticipated departure date. I think that may be both a positive and negative thing. On the one hand, I'd like to raise my budget sooner as opposed to later. But, on the other hand, it could be a good way to do a final push of sorts. If I know I have a certain amount left to raise at that point, I could challenge myself and others to reach that target. Either way, it will be a blessing and I will have a chance to share the needs in Thailand to an even greater amount of people.

Since the last time I wrote there have also been a few exciting new developments in my path to becoming a missionary associate. I got a call from Pastor Bradford's assistant at Central Assembly and she helped me set up a meeting with him to discuss my MA plans. I'm so thankful that with his busy schedule and probably lots of requests for appointments, he's making time for me. The meeting's not until April, but I see that as an opportunity to better prepare myself for what I want to share with him and to pray for what might come out of the meeting.

I had a dinner meeting with Michele Dove (the primary missionary I'll be working with) about two weeks ago and it was great to catch up and hear about all the amazing opportunities God has opened for her in Thailand. One of the most exciting things to come out of the meeting came after I shared what I feel is an increasing burden to work with women in Bangkok who have been sex slaves or worked as prostitutes. It is a huge problem there and I had planned on finding an organization to volunteer with during my time there. However, Michele told me that God has been directing her to create a holistic ministry to reach out to these women and their children and meet their physical, spiritual and emotional needs. After hearing my heart, she asked me to help be on the team to develop this ministry. Wow. It's incredible how God works in the details of our lives, knowing and shaping our hearts for opportunities such as these. I still can't comprehend the way this is all lining up or how it will actually play out, but I am so looking forward to being a part of this new ministry. It will be a tremendous learning and growing experience to see a ministry develop from the ground up. I'm still going to be on the magazine staff of course, but, really, it all comes back to sharing Jesus with the women of Thailand. I only pray that God will increase my compassion and understanding of his unconditional love.

In spite of all this good news, I've been feeling kind of "heavy" lately. I'm sure some of it can be contributed to my own spiritual laziness, which I work to overcome on a daily basis. But I also have times when I get sad thinking about leaving my friends and family in the fall. I'm almost more sad about leaving my friends (don't get offended Chases, keep reading) because they are currently the ones I live with and I know that when I get back from Thailand things will be completely different. So many are getting married and moving to different states. Others are preparing for whatever God calls them to next, which I know will be much bigger and better things. Thankfully, my family will always be stuck with me, but with friends, it can be so hard to maintain those relationships when you are separated and experiencing completely different things. Right now I feel like I have my own little niche here in Springfield (of all places) and it makes me sad to think things will never be exactly as they are right now.

Well, before I get too glum, I better go. I also just typed this during work, which probably isn't a good thing and depending on who reads this (I have no idea if anyone actually does), could be a poor reflection on my otherwise 100% dedication to my job (haha). Back to AG News and all things OPR.

Write Now

Last week my boss asked me if I wanted to write a brief "memo" for the AG Mission, the monthly employee newsletter for headquarters employees. Usually the executive leadership team is featured in this column, but I guess there was some miscommunication about whose turn it was in February and instead of featuring an exec, somehow I ended up filling the spot. My boss, Dan, wanted to give me a chance to share my preparations for Thailand with a larger audience and I really appreciate his support. The issue is hot off the presses today and I suppose it will be delivered to employees this afternoon.

I really did pray as I was writing this. I wanted to convey what God's been teaching me and hopefully it will encourage others. (And let's just hope my first few lines don't offend anyone.)

So here it is, the February 2008 Mission Memo:

It all adds up

Can I make a confession? As an Evangel student, I firmly stated, “I will never work at Headquarters.” At the time, it seemed too cliché: graduate from an AG school and work at AG Headquarters.

But through a course of events that I can truly say was God directing my path, a few weeks after graduating last May, I was working as summer staff in AGWM. And now, since November, I’ve been an assistant editor in the Office of Public Relations.

Not only did God provide finances and a great work environment with both jobs, they’ve been preparing me for a call He gave me almost one year ago.

When I look back and see how God has guided me the past few years, I’m amazed how decisions that seemed minor at the time have had life-impacting results.

One of those decisions was to take an extra Bible class my last semester at Evangel, simply because I enjoyed the professor and needed that amount of credits to be a full-time student. Little did I know that as a result of taking that class, the professor would ask me to pray about becoming a missionary associate.

In October (well, depending on the unpredictable nature of itineration), I will leave Headquarters to spend a year in Thailand as an MA. I’ll still have the title “assistant editor”, but for Women’s Connection Asia, an outreach magazine developed by missionary Michele Dove.

As I work on articles here in OPR, I wonder what seemingly inconsequential experiences will take on new significance in light of the ministry opportunities I’ll encounter in Thailand. I believe that through the two positions I’ve held at Headquarters, God is preparing me, strengthening me spiritually and sharpening my abilities.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Aren’t you thankful that, whether we are aware of it at the time or not, God is shaping us for the good works he has in store?

Ice Day

Well, I work up this morning to the sound of ice hitting my window, but didn't think much of it. However, when I went to leave for work, my car was caked in ice and it was still coming down really hard. I didn't have a good feeling about driving to work, so I called in to take the morning off without pay (I have to save my vacation days for pre field orientation and friends' weddings). Then about ten minutes ago, I got the call that headquarters was actually shutting down for the day- something that apparently never happens.

So, it's very nice to have a day off work, but, the forecasters are saying this could be ice storm part two. Oh Springfield weather. It's crazy out. There's lighting and thunder, but then tons of ice coming down. 

Brrr... I'm thankful for blankets and slippers today.

Love is in the Air

Well, the highlight of this past weekend for me (better than receiving a Thai-English dictionary and seeing Tom Brady get pummeled) was hearing that one of my best friends is now engaged! Yay! I'm so happy for Melissa and Shawn. They are both so great and Springfield won't be the same when they move to North Carolina.



But until then, I can look forward to the fun of being a bridesmaid for the first time in my life! I can't wait! I feel honored to be a part of Melissa's special day and I have to admit that I'm a dork and have already looked online at bridesmaid dresses. July 19th will be a wonderful day!

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

Earlier today, kind of out of nowhere (but if you know my dad, you know Keith=Random, so nothing really comes out of nowhere) my dad told me that for every person I can get to contribute $20 to my Thailand funds by February 8, he will match their giving, up to $200. So there's potential for earning $400 in about a week and a half. Not too shabby for a novice itinerator like me.

Last week I discovered that friends can easily make donations online. Just click (or go to, if the hypertext doesn't work) https://secure1.ag.org/contributions/index.cfm and then type in my World Missions account number: 294539. It should pull up my name (with the word Thailand) for you to click on. From there, the site takes you through the donation steps, just like online shopping... except this has eternal value ;)

So, Dad, if you are reading this, thanks for the support and for challenging me to get out there and ask people to give. But more importantly, thanks for believing in me!

A milestone of sorts

My prayer cards arrived yesterday, and with them, another sense that this is really happening. It's funny, because growing up, I always felt sad when I saw the single, women missionary prayer cards... and now, I have several hundred with my own face. Irony.

Also ironic: In fifth grade I attended one of those children's church weekend getaways. On one evening, we broke into small groups for prayer. Miss Debbie was the leader of about eight girls and we all took turns going into the center to be prayed for. When it was my turn, Miss Debbie said, "Out of all of the girls here, I can most likely see you becoming a missionary." My response was less than enthusiastic, something along the lines of, "No way! I want to live in America!" Now, twelve or so years later, I am preparing to become a missionary, at least for a year. It's funny how people can see things in us before we are able to. Sometimes when I have doubts about the direction that God is taking me in, I remember those words spoken to me in a prayer circle. They are reassuring and challenge me to become the person God began crafting many years ago.

If you are reading this, please keep me in your prayers. I sent a letter to Central Assembly yesterday, so I hope a service or at least some financial support comes out of that. As I've said in various ways before, what an adventure..

So, I guess this is for real...

This past week God has confirmed several times that I am supposed to go to Thailand. These confirmations are much needed, as the actual reality of me becoming an MA can sometimes seem impossible, especially when I think about my budget. I'll only share a few of the encouraging, maybe even providential, events of the week.

As anyone who has read this blog or talked to me knows, raising my budget is the biggest challenge to becoming a missionary associate. I've been taking Zumba, a Latin/international dance aerobics class, for several months now and have previously considered asking the all-women group to consider supporting me. But during class on Thursday night, I decided to go a bit further than that. Kathy, the class instructor, is currently planning a Zumba-thon to raise money for her daughter's tennis team and a local food pantry ministry. While dancing, it struck me that I should ask her if we could do a similar event to help my budget. She agreed and seems really excited about it. There are more than 60 women involved in Zumba at First Baptist (the church where the classes are held) and the event will be open to anyone who wants to attend, even guys. Kathy and I still need to plan the details, but I'm so grateful for her enthusiasm. I'm going to promote the idea as "women helping women," since my work in Thailand will mainly encompass ministry to women. I'll be praying too that others will be inspired to support me financially or in prayer.

Recently, I started attending the young professionals Sunday School class at Central, which is held at a nearby Panera. This morning, my friend Carrie, whom I usually sit by and who also designed my amazing prayer cards (more about that later), was out of town, so I sat down at a table by myself, hoping to meet someone new. A few minutes later, a girl (well, she's probably about ten years older than I am) sat down at my table. Soon after introducing ourselves, I learned that she is missionary and currently itinerating. I was so, so excited when I found out that her missions work is devoted to working with girls who are the victims of sex trafficking. My heart has been drawn to those types of ministries recently, especially knowing that I am going to Bangkok, where it is a catastrophic problem. It was such a blessing to hear about her work and her advice on raising support. She admitted that the missionary/missionary associate process can be really rough sometimes, but one thing that she said stuck out to me and inspired me. My paraphrase won't do it justice, but she said that her life and the work that she does is so much more than she ever thought it would be. Wow.

I wish I could have written that the way she said it, but her words resonated with me and helped to solidify the purpose that I feel God is building for me more and more each day. I don't know all the specifics, but that's okay. My new friend (I feel weird using her name, since she doesn't really know me yet) gave me her card and encouraged me to email her with questions about the MA process, etc. I'll be doing just that early this week.

All of this to say, I'm so thankful that God is sovereign and guides our paths, placing people and opportunities where he knows they best belong. I've been encouraged this week and I look forward to our Southeast Asia group meeting on Friday night, which I'm sure will be another powerful and encouraging night.