July & August '22 ~ Disorientation

Life on the mission field is certainly never exactly what I first envisioned. And, thank goodness it isn’t because God teaches me infinitely more through the unexpected than what I would glean if I knew exactly what was coming around the corner and why I would be walking through it. Disorientation, according to Oxford Languages, can be defined as “the condition of having lost one's sense of direction.” I don’t know about anyone else out there, but I can guarantee that we have all felt this, whether for a literal moment or for years at a time. Aside from the apparent and normal disorientation from moving from one culture to another, I have felt more intensely over the past couple of months this sense of discomfiture. Like a spiritual fog, I can honestly say it crept in slowly and dampened my daily life. Although I confidently have arrived at a more stable place of orientation in the last few weeks, I wanted to address and share my experience in my update. I believe it is much more normal than we want to admit for us to walk through seasons of disorientation; yet, as Christians, and especially those very formally involved in church or ministry, we often feel guilty for being affected by it. Are we not supposed to understand to a high capacity the will of God in our lives? Shouldn’t we trust God enough that we aren’t impacted by such levels of confusion? No. We are all human, and God brings us in and through these seasons of disorientation and reorientation to remind us that we are ever dependent upon Him. So, through my most recent season of disorientation, I am excited to share what God accomplished despite myself.

Summer Camps

July 3rd through 16th we spent two weeks hosting our summer camps for the kids in the church. The first week we took our elementary-aged students up to the mountains, and then the second week we went back up the mountain for the middle-school and high-school students. Through both weeks, we saw the Lord move mightily in the individual lives of the kids. I only had the opportunity to serve during the first week of camp, due to the timing of my trip back to the U.S., but the testimonies I heard of what God did during the second week brought much joy to my heart. During the first camp, I was privileged to get to build relationships with the kids and talk to them daily about the theme of the week – not being afraid of man or this world but trusting in the Lord. One of the kids at the camp brought a friend from school who does not know the Lord, and God worked beautifully in this little girl’s life. Each day we would take the kids to a hill where we could get cell reception and they could talk with their parents. On the second day, this young girl spent the whole time on the phone telling her parents the story of Esther and how excited she was to learn more. We pray that God continues to plant these seeds in her heart and to use her to bring salvation to her whole family!

Sweet Home Carolina

After I finished that first week of camp, I got to take time off to visit home and to spend time with the various churches and individuals who so faithfully have been supporting me. I was blessed to see so many familiar faces and to meet many new ones. God’s provision spiritually for me during that month home was also a gift. When I think about the body of Christ at large, I am often overwhelmed by what a sweet gift it is. As I continue to meet believers all over the world, I am blessed time and time again by those who God is so faithfully working in and through. I have begun to find that when I start to feel disoriented, God is always so kind and loving to speak through the lives of these faithful saints and to encourage me to keep stepping forward by faith each day.

One of the greatest blessings of being home was my family. God has given me such a wonderful support system through them. They have been a significant guide through my whole life and have continually invested in my walk with the Lord. Time with them brought so much joy and refreshment to my heart. God also used it to help me process biblically through so much of this past year. The wisdom shared, especially from my mom, gave me exactly what I needed to keep pushing through the disorientation and pursuing what God is asking me to step out in faith into. These moments of love, laughter, tears, and adventure are an invaluable part of my journey with God and in the ministry.

The Final Count Down!

Now that I am back home, we are counting down the weeks until the Fall 2022 semester begins for the Bible College. We are so excited to welcome new faculty to our team here that will be helping with the school! It appears that it will be another small semester, but I am deeply looking forward to the intentionality that this enables. Discipleship is one of the most important factors to me in the ministry here, and I know that I will have the opportunity this semester to be highly invested personally with these students. My prayer is to help provide a place where these students can truly experience deep growth in their relationship with the Lord.

Through the process of preparation for the semester new transitions have also come for me and my roommate. I flew in from the States and immediately moved apartments. This is about the fifth time I have moved apartments in the last year. This, coupled with staying in six different places while home in the U.S. (including being in 4 different States), certainly added to my season of disorientation. However, it has come to be an incredible lesson to me in more ways than one. I can honestly say that God has been drawing out of me expectations and desires I didn’t even realize fully that I was elevating above Him and the ministry. As He has been challenging me to focus on my pursuit of Him above all else, these have floated to the surface, and He has so gently been guiding me through my surrender of them to Him.

Often, it can help us to walk through lessons in the current season we are in when we can see clearly what they could be used for in the future. When struggling with disorientation, it can be useful to focus on the fact that there will be a time again when life around you will have solid direction. It can sustain you to endure a painful or frustrating trial when you can say that the principles being worked into your life will help you with future situations and trials. However, I think I often do this to the detriment of failing to learn the lesson for the very situation I am in. My prayer as I continue walking through this season, especially now that I have a bit more clarity, is that I do not wait to implement the lessons I am learning. Lord, help me to truly utilize these lessons where I am currently planted.

Prayer Requests

· CCBC Fall 2022 – Please be praying for our incoming students and their time in this semester of Bible college. Prayer for protection over this time that they have set aside to pursue God. We ask that you join us in lifting up their futures as well and what God may be guiding them toward in regards to ministry. Please also be in prayer for all the staff members that are involved in the Bible college. We ask for prayers of sustenance as we balance our ongoing ministries in the church and the roles we have in the school.

· College Ministry – I ask personally for continued prayer over the ministry Roberta and I are leading with the young adult women in the church. We have been on pause over the summer and ask for wisdom and guidance as we seek to start things up again in September. Please pray that God shows us clearly how to steward this ministry well and how to best minister to those who attend.

· Calvary Chapel Montebelluna – I ask for continued prayer for the church in general and more specifically for our pastor, Craig Quam, and his family. Craig has been battling cancer and has recently been accepted into a new trial group. Please pray first for God’s healing and that this updated treatment would be effective. We also ask that you pray for strength and comfort for him and his family. Pray for us as a body to be able to love and support them to best of our ability.

· New Missionaries – Since January, we have welcomed two new families here in Montebelluna who are here to serve and help spread the gospel across Italy – The Whaley family and the Blackman family. I ask that you would lift them up in prayer as they continue to settle in and transition to life here in Italy. Pray for their children to adjust well and for all of them to begin to learn the language. We are so excited to continue to see what God is doing here in Italy, and we are blessed to have these new families alongside us.

· Myself – Thank you all for how much you have already supported and lifted me up in prayer. I first want to update you all with a praise report that the health complications I asked prayer for in my last update have been resolved! Apart from this, I do ask for continued prayer simply for spiritual growth in my own life. It is such a blessing to be here serving, and I pray that God continues to teach me how to walk out this ministry to the glory of Him. I want to run well the race set before me and to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Ephesians 4:1-6; Philippians 1:27).