Next Stop, Huntsville!

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to my small corner of the interwebs. I’m feeling extra bloggy tonight so let’s get going!

I see that some of you have received your GoNow letter from me! Of course, you read about my plans for the summer, but for those of you who haven’t checked your mailboxes, here is a short preview. I have applied through my school’s BSM (Baptist Student Ministry) to be sent as a GoNow missionary for the summer. After a long process of applications and interviews, I have been appointed to Huntsville, TX. Huntsville is home to some of Texas’s largest prisons. From May 18 until August 14, I will be staying at a hospitality house designed for those coming to visit loved ones in prison. This ministry takes a special interest in “the other victims of crime”.  The house provides lodging, meals, and spiritual support for families dealing with the incarceration of their loved ones.

For me, this means cooking, cleaning, answering phones, and doing whatever else needs to be done to help things go smoothly during the week. On the weekends, I get to spend time with the families and build relational bridges to Jesus. The temporary loss of a family member to prison can cause major strain on a family. During this difficult time, I will have the opportunity to talk about the hope found in Christ and the transformation he can bring to anyone who asks. Over and over in my own life I have seen the Lord bring a beautiful and joyful ending to a painful story. I love that I will be participating in God’s transforming power in Huntsville.

Know what else? There are a truckload of kids who desperately need Christ to change the trajectory of their lives. Check out these stats http://emu.edu/now/peacebuilder/2011/03/justice-for-children-whose-parents-are-in-prison/ . Without the ministry of the hospitality house, these children are on a path toward the same choices their parents have made. Through loving on these kids, we can teach them how to make their own positive choices. The house emphasizes keeping these children in school, a factor that decreases the likelihood that they too will end up in prison. These kiddos need to know that they are valuable creations of God and that he has great plans for their lives. And if I have anything to say about it, the time that they spend at the hospitality house will be a blast!

I don’t know if it has come across…but I’m excited!!! It is getting hard to concentrate on school, but these last few weeks are pretty important. In other news, I woke up this morning and told this day that I owned it. It belonged to me and it would be great. I should do that more often! It’s been a long and lovely day and I feel the kind of healthy tired that tops off a day. I am sure that I planned to say more, but I am anxious to get this posted.

Long Time No See

How very behind I am! I need to get back up to date so I can start posting GoNow updates. For the moment, here is a piece of my application for summer missions. We were asked for 2 experiences that give good insight about us. This is really close to my heart. I am becoming more and more aware of how many people experience depression. What was once a painful topic has become a wonderful ministry tool. Here is a bit about that:

About one year ago I came to a place where I needed to admit that I was struggling with depression and I needed help. Since starting college, depression and anxiety had been slowly creeping up on me. They began to show up more and more, straining my health, focus, and relationships. Prior to this time I felt that depression was a sign of a deficient faith. If you know Christ, then his joy ought to fill your life. Anxiety implied to me a lack of trust in God. When I began to feel these things in my own heart and mind I became very troubled. Had I failed God? Was I doing something wrong? Fortunately, my family was very supportive. They encouraged me to see my doctor. I began taking an anti-depressant and saw almost immediate results. I felt more like myself than I had in months. It seemed that I had a chemical imbalance that could be adjusted. However, after several good months, I began noticing bad signs again. I became nervous, overly sensitive, and spent most of my time asleep. I thought the problem had been fixed. I was hesitant to admit that it was back. I thought God had used my medicine to heal me and now things were going bad again.

The same inadequacy I had felt before plagued me. I returned to my doctor and increased my dosage. The experience sounds like a dark time for me, and at points it was. However the consistent factor in all of this was God. He never left my side when I asked difficult questions. His word confirmed to me that his work on the cross was sufficient for me. He would never change his mind about me based on failure or success. When my depression robbed me of enthusiasm, he assured me that he had created me for a purpose and that my life was going somewhere worthwhile. I began to understand that this was a trial in my Christian life, not an indication of some failure, and that God was able to see me through. I gained empathy for others experiencing depression and a desire to minister to them. Today, I still take my medication and have begun seeing a Christian counselor. My depression and anxiety are manageable. Still, there are times when I rely heavily on God’s help and comfort. Because of my constant need for him, my prayer life has exploded. I understand the faith of the men in the fiery furnace. My God will deliver me, but even if he does not I will praise him. If God takes away this struggle from me, I will rejoice in his healing. If he does not, I will rejoice in his love in the midst of it.