first blog

Well hopefully this is the first of many messages you'll be reading from me! Hopefully I did everything right, and it looks how I want it to.

Explanation: My trip across the pond is my trip to do service in England this year! Yes, according to my Grandma Hofer, the Atlantic Ocean is just a pond. But I like it! I think it makes it seem much less far! So here is where I will be posting experiences, musings, pictures, and journalings during my time in Chicago (one month) and England! Also know that you are WELCOME to come visit me at any time during the year in England! I'll give you a place to stay! There's just one small catch, I won't pay for your plane ticket. Sorry to burst your bubble there. If it makes you feel better plane tickets are cheaper than you think. But it's ok, because I'll see you when I get back to the states.

So yesterday in church I was commissioned to go on this journey. It was a really meaningful time. It feels "official" now. My family was all there and it think it helped all of us to prepare to be separated for 10 months. I really do feel connected to my church, and supported by them, and actually ready to depart, believe it or not. Now to pack... Below is what I said to my congregation as a precursor or parting words of sorts.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20. I’m spending this next year in Bradford, England doing service with Radical Journey through Mennonite Mission Network. I’m so excited for what God has planned for this next year, but I’m also scared out of my mind to leave the comfortable Midwest. But the last part this passage comforts me, and reminds me daily, that even though I may go farther from home than I ever imagined, Jesus is always with me. I can honestly say that I have a passion for service. I’ve always loved helping, since I was little, in the kitchen, in the garden, whereever. Ever since my first service trip with the youth group in high school, I’ve latched onto every service opportunity available. I was a student manager for VB in high school, and I loved every minute. I just can’t get enough of doing service. Since about my junior year of high school, I’ve felt God’s nudging to do service about this time. God kept opening windows and doors and pointing and speaking, and here I am, ready to embark on a year to do God’s work.
A week from today, I will fly to Chicago for a month of orientation doing team building activities and volunteer work in the city with 17 other RJ participants who will be located in Paraguay, South Africa, Australia and England. On September 20, each of the four teams will travel to their respective locations, provided each person has proper funds, and that everyone’s visas have been approved. Please pray that God will provide adequate funds for each participant, and that the visa process goes smoothly for everyone so that each team is able to leave in due time. I’ll be living in an apartment with the rest of team England: Devon, Tiana and Rachel. We anticipate a year filled with volunteering, relationship building, and finding more about God’s plan for our lives. We’ll be volunteering in an elementary school that has mostly Pakistani and Indian children attending, working with the local Methodist youth group, helping with an African women’s club, and there is also hope to start an after school program that primarily our team would be in charge of. On July 12 of next year, all four teams will reunite in Chicago for a week of fellowship and storytelling about what God did in our lives over the past 10 months. The final month each participant will spend in his/her home church applying what they learned while away. I am certainly looking forward to sharing and working in the congregation that has given and taught me so much growing up. Your prayers and financial support is greatly appreciated. During this next year, an advocacy team will be closely working with me to mentor me, keep track of finances, prayer requests and keep me connected with you all here at Bethesda. Those individuals are: Linda Goertzen, Pastor Andrea, Thayne Sparke, Berdine Buller, and Deb Mierau. If you’d like more specific information about what I’m doing or how you could pray, feel free to ask any one of these people throughout the year. As we look ahead together at this next year, I ask for continued prayer for visas, funding, health, the ability to accept the unexpected, and willingness to carry out God’s will. I’ll close with Romans 15:30-33 “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.”