transition

Sometimes I find myself in a writing block ... one too many times. It's a common obstacle for writers, a bit too common for me these past several months. With new transitions in my life, I found it very overwhelming (and very distracting) to force myself to write a decent blog. 

Until now.

A little recap: 

I left a job I became very comfortable with for four years. It provided security, consistency, and gave me a lot of pride. For two years I was an editor for several magazine titles, and for my age I felt pretty good about myself. But amidst the glamor self-worth that came with the job, I knew in my heart that this wasn't permanent ... I couldn't see myself being here forever.

 

When the opportunity to work at Vanguard arose, I took it in a heartbeat. Being back at a school I had grown to love was exciting. Change was needed in my life, and I knew God was preparing me for this moment. 

Now:

It hasn't been the easiest transition. Going from a job I know really well to a job I'm learning bits and pieces every day has been tough. Working and adapting to a new team has had its obstacles. It has been a season of growth. I've been challenged internally and externally, more so than I thought I would when entering into this new role. And although it's been a rough transition, I know God is working in me.

I'm excited (and scared) for this new season in my life. I know that this is where I'm suppose to be. Where God wants me to be. 

something new

New job, new season. 

To be continued ...

weekend adventure: hidden oaks

When God brings two people together and transforms them into one, it is an amazing thing to witness. This was the case for these two, Sarah & Denny. I've recently gotten to know more of them as a couple over the course of a few months, and their love for Jesus, love for one another, and love for Africa illuminates the room. 

Brian & I had the amazing opportunity to watch these two get married in front of their families and friends. It was such a beautiful, African-themed wedding. They even had a few singers and musicians from Kenya (friends of Sarah) play a couple of songs before the ceremony started ... it was like we were back in Africa all over again! 

Congrats Sarah & Denny :)

"we've come full circle"

In 2010 I graduated with these girls. Has it been four years already? 

Then

We began our college journey back in 2006. We met in the smallest room on campus: our Freshmen dorm. It was in this place that we shared our stories, laughed for hours, cried on each other's shoulders, gossiped about boys, pulled all-nighters, ate the most unhealthiest (but oh-so delicious!) food, and watched endless hours of Friends. It was good times, the best times ... so much so that we did it all over again ... for three more years.

College would not have been the same without them. 

Now

"there are no wild animals in Africa"

This past Sunday night, we had a fundraising opportunity called Night of Nations.

Night of Nations: an event where global outreach teams perform a skit, song, video, dance, or anything imaginable!

Courtesy of Vanguard Outreach Department

I have a love/hate relationship with NoN ... 

Love: It gives me the reason to dress up 

and make a complete full of myself in front of a crowd of people.

Hate: It's stressful. 

I remembered the first time the Outreach department decided to host this event, I was going to Mozambique for the second time. Our theme was Safari with mix of African animal stomping, Mozambican dancing, and had the help of our Ethiopian nieces ;)

And then I dreaded the following year's NoN. This time around I was going to Mozambique through our S.O.S program (Summer of Service) for 10 weeks , along with other students who were going to different countries. Our theme was Dora the Explorer. Dora helped a friend find her missing djembe by traveling through Philippines, India, and to finally Africa, encountering new friends and the infamous Swiper along the way. And yes, I was Boots.

This year, our team came up with Safari theme with a Lion King twist. It's the only time where you will see a hipster-vegan lion, crocodile, zebra, Rafiki, bird, elephant, and tourists dancing on stage to "Yesu Wakanaka (Jesus is Very Good)" while the audience is singing and clapping along. Although our team didn't win the prize, we still had a lot of fun, had hours of team bonding, and no one was shy. Pretty proud of my team. Like a proud momma. 

Courtesy of Korynn Whitaker aka Zebra

our next adventure

God has been revealing a lot to us…especially within the last month. Before I begin to tell you what He’s done, let’s back track a bit…

Since we've been married, we really haven't been living out the Gospel. Not to say we have been straying away from our faith, but to be quite honest, we have not been pursuing God in an intentional way. It’s very easy for us to live life filled with routines; Routines are not bad at all – it's when we've become defined by them and allow them to dictate how we carry on life versus asking God for guidance. Within the last year, we decided it needed to change: we got more involved with church, viewed our jobs as ministries not as identities, and viewed these pauses/delays in our lives as God's way of preparing us something beyond what we know.

Over a month ago, Brian and I were asked if we wanted to lead a team to Mozambique through Vanguard University. Obviously, my desire is to go back, and I would've said yes right away. But since Brian and I have been in this season of waiting on God, we knew we needed to pray about it. Not only did we pray about the trip, but prayed about where God is leading us. During those same weeks, Brian and I had really tough conversations about next summer; we knew we wanted to go on a missions trip, but we both had conflicting hearts when it came to it: I wanted to go back to Mozambique (leading or not leading), and Brian felt more opened to going on a missions trip outside Mozambique via ROCKHARBOR (rockharbor.org), but still had Mozambique in the back of his mind. There was the possibility that if Brian didn't felt called to go, I could lead the team by myself…or we go somewhere else. There was also the stress of requesting three weeks off; it’s not often that companies would allow for an extended vacation. So imagine two weeks filled with lots of praying, crying (well just me, of course), talking and talking…and you get the gist of it all.

At the end of those two weeks, God answered. He called us back to Mozambique; He called us to lead a team there; and He called us to do it together.

By God’s will, we were able to take off 18 days; the conversations we had with our bosses were filled with ease, and not so much of what he had predicted would happen. We both felt that even though the idea of going somewhere else was something we were opened to, we knew that God was opening a door for us to return back to Mozambique this upcoming summer. Since we’ve been together, I had always imagined both of us doing missions together. VBS, in a way, was the stepping stone we needed to get back into ministry. It definitely reawakened our desire to do God's work in our community, but also reawakened our heart for ministry overseas.

So for the next nine months, we will be preparing for this adventure. Excited? Yes. Anxious? Yes. Nervous? Absolutely. But we know that this is where God is calling us; He wouldn’t have given us something that we couldn’t handle.

We don't know how involved in missions we will be – be a missionary, help send people to missions, or lead small trips. Either way, we are confident that ministry is a huge part in our lives, and we want to obey God in all of it.

For now, this is where He has us.

We're heading back home.