Gongs and Goose Bumps

On the eve of Dustin and I leaving for Nicaragua, we were a part of something huge at Christian Fellowship Church. In fact, Dustin was the one that God gave this vision to(He’s my husband, I’m allowed to brag :) ) Essentially what happened this morning was that the congregation at CFC walked through the doors and, instead of sitting in a service, got to be part of the largest Stop Hunger Now (SHN) food packing event to be organized out of the Richmond SHN branch. A total of 2,800 people were involved from start to finish. In just three and a half hours over 285,000 meals were scooped, bagged, boxed, and palletized!! That’s crazy!

There were four separate rooms within the church doing the packing. As one of the quality control volunteers I got to see the looks on peoples faces as I assigned them to their stations and watch their joy and satisfaction throughout the event. Each time 1000 meals were bagged and boxed, a SHN employee would bang a gong to let the room know they have reached another milestone. Whenever I heard the gong I got goose bumps (and that gong was going about every 5-10 minutes!).

Sure, packing food for hungry kids in other countries is amazing in of itself. However, the reason I got goosebumps is because I know exactly where these meals are going. All 285,000+ meals are going to Puerto Cabazas, Nicaragua so that Pastor Earl Bowie can open a feeding center. The amount of meals packed today can feed over 700 children for one year! Dustin and I will be at this feeding center when it opens and will be helping serve the children who will benefit from the hard work that was witnessed today. Read Isaiah 58 and you’ll know why we did what we did.

Now I am home but I don’t have much time to rest. I have to finish packing so I can leave at 3:45 AM to Dulles and catch a plane to Nica. so I can start language school!!

(Pictured here is one of the many amazing families that rolled up their sleeves and gave it all they got. Michelle is a friend and former co-worker who I invited to come without even telling her what we were doing. You all rocked it!! Thanks for coming!!)

Come, follow me

When we graduate from college, many of us have our minds set as to what career we want, where we want to live, and how we want our life to unfold. I’ll be honest, when I graduated, all I really wanted to be was a mother. I’m so thankful to have a mother who was able to be home for us when we came home from school each day. That’s who I wanted to be. It’s funny that no matter how hard you try for some things, God has a way of taking you down a completely different road - if you listen to Him.  I don’t want to rehash the last 5 years right now but you can hear our whole story at www.cfellowshipc.org - click sermon archives --> Answer the Call --> The Call). 

Our experiences have taught me (and continue to teach me) so much about myself, my marriage, and God’s unending love, grace, and mercy. If you would have told me on my graduation day that by the age of 34 I would have been to Ghana, India, Sri Lanka, and Nicaragua to help and minister to some of the world’s poorest human beings, I would have thought you were nuts. At that time in my life, I couldn’t see outside what I wanted, what I had planned, and what I desired. But through some crazy life storms, God has showed me what HE wants for my life, what HE has planned, and what HE desires for me. 

So here I am. This Monday we leave for Granada, Nicaragua to start language school for the summer. In September, we will head to Puerto Cabezas to work with Pastor Earl Bowie and Verbo. I will be creating and teaching an after school English program for the kids living in the orphanage. I will also be overseeing the adult literacy and life skills program we have adapted from India to use in the surrounding communities and eventually up the Rio Coco. At the same time, I have been contracted out by ORPHANetwork to start the same adult literacy program on the west coast from the ground up and to start an English program in the feeding centers. Finally, I have also been tasked with educating school teachers on teaching strategies, assessment, and so on as there is no formal training for teachers. There’s a lot on my plate but I am so excited to start this new adventurous chapter in my life.

The picture above is of one of my dearest friends, Jen, on graduation day at Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!). I had the pleasure of traveling to Nicaragua with her in 2010. We are currently praying for the possibility of her coming to Nicaragua in January for six months and using her skills and gifts to work alongside Dustin on the business development component of the P.E.A.C.E plan and helping me teach English. Pray that God reveals his plans to her and that she answers the call.