My Calling

 I am currently at UNL, majoring in Elementary Education and getting a coaching endorsement.  Many of you already have heard that I will be going into the mission field next year with YWAM (Youth With A Mission).  I will be taking off the spring semester of 2011 to go to Newcastle, Australia.

The program I’ll be participating in is a 5 month program called a Discipleship Training School (DTS).  It consists of two phases: lectures which are the first three months, and outreach which is the last two months.  During the lecture phase there will be a different speaker each week, covering a variety of topics such as Character of God, Hearing God’s Voice, Missions and Calling and Vision.  The final two months will be the application phase, or outreach, where I will get a chance to apply what I learned during my time in Newcastle.  Outreach locations vary for each school and I won’t know my location until lecture phase begins, but some of the recent locations have been India, Thailand, Mexico, Fiji and South Africa.

The DTS program in Newcastle, Australia is one that intrigued me because they have a program on Saturdays called Youth Street.  Youth Street is a dynamic youth ministry that uses skating, surfing, music, dance, art and sports to impact youth 12-17 years old for Jesus.  Each Saturday afternoon sees 60 or more youth, many unchurched, participating in current youth subcultures and meeting God in a way that they understand.

Many of you are probably wondering how I decided that I wanted to do mission work.  During high school, I attended church and called myself a Christian, but there were a lot of things I did and choices I made that were not Christ-like at all.  Toward the end of my senior year, I began to recognize this and wanted a college with a solid Christian environment where I could grow in my faith.  Hesston College provided that for me and I saw a number of my friends answer God’s call to the mission field.  This was something that I had a hard time understanding because with my organized and scheduled personality, I just wanted to finish up school and start my career.

In January, God brought an old friend from Hesston back into my life and at the time I didn’t know why.  She had just returned from her DTS and her attitude and love for Christ was so contagious and I could see the work that God had done in her life.  I mentioned that service was something I had been thinking about and her first response was, “You know that’s God speaking to you, right?”  As I saw pieces falling into place and heard more confirmation through her and various sermons, I knew I needed to commit to DTS.

So the purpose of this letter is not only to tell you how I have been called to do His work, but also to ask for your support.  The most important support I need is prayer support—that things unfold smoothly and that God will use me to reach out to people.  The other necessary support is, of course, finances. The total cost for the 5 month DTS is approximately $9000. This includes all living expenses and airfare, and I’ll be raising it on my own so your help is vital.