My first year on the mission field I experienced spiritual abuse, discouragement from others, debilitating sickness, isolation, culture shock, lies, theft, betrayal, setbacks, harassment, vicarious trauma, depression, and fatigue. As a single womanĀ then, I went through most of this alone. And yet, somewhere within myself, I found the courage to continue on in my purpose […]
It was July of 2006 in Mbale, Uganda. I was 25, single, and about to free fall down the side of a 320 ft waterfall.Ā In the beginningĀ abseiling sounded like a good idea, a way to prove to myself that I could get over any of my fears. But once I realizedĀ thereĀ was just a skinny, African
I came home after aĀ long day in the IDP camps,Ā tired and sweaty with barely enough energy to make myself a sad bowl of pastaĀ (for one)Ā before I curled under the covers. I was journaling when I looked up and saw the largest spider I’d ever seen crawling across the ceiling. I unsuccessfully tried to kill it
The Single Missionary, What the Church Should Know Read More Ā»
I have a confession. I love being alone. This might sound strange to people who gather that I’m an extrovert from my personality, because I love engaging with people and hearing their stories. But the truth is, I’m an introvert. I’m an extroverted introvert.Ā Yes, I’m one of the weird ones, which means I’m often
We stumbled upon the circled labyrinth in the dark. We were in nowhere Gardnerville, Nevada on a road trip hoping to soothe the sting out of disappointing news. It sparked joy inside me. Remembrance of other times in Colorado I’d traced the paths that led me Home to God and myself. Stone cuts against sand.
Unexpected: How to Hold On When God Shuts a Door Read More Ā»
Dear Future Missionary, I want you to know I feel you. I see your heart bursting with promise with all you will do. And I say yes, bring your expectations, your passion, your wild and crazy ideas, your belief that you can change the world and anything is possible. It’s what gets us all here,
Dear Future Missionary: How to Prepare for Missions Read More Ā»
At the age of twenty-four, I founded a ministry to help rehabilitate girl child soldiers in a war-torn region of Uganda. It was a ton of hard work. I was young, full of idealism and naivetĆ© and I didn’t know very much then about how to build a thriving culture. As people came alongside me
I haven’t been writing much lately. Life happened.Ā I’d wanted to fall into summer’s sandy shores and slowed time with abandon. But mostly I got anxiety and tumult.Ā I’m not a busyness lover, I’m a stillness lover. I always know I’m not doing well when the ink from my pen dries up.Ā I hit a deep soul weariness
For years I have been fascinated by trauma and PTSD. Having experienced much of this myself, I’ve studied to help those in war torn regions and missionaries heal from their pain. What I’ve learned is trauma and PTSD can often be a silent killer among missionaries and aid workers. I teamed up with my strong
With summer missions trip season upon us, I decided to repost a very popular blogĀ about short term missions. Needless to say, there has been a ton of debate around the topic of how to do short term missions trips well, and it’s a sensitive issue. I’ve read countless articles and heated debates onĀ blogs, both lauding
10 Steps for Doing Short Term Missions Trips Well Read More Ā»
What to do with all this longing? All of us are longing for something. We’re longing for a husband, we’re aching to have children,Ā we’re aching for the ones we lost, we’re longing to be seen and known by our friends, to feel successful, we’re longing to feel like we’ve finally “made it.” (Whatever that means.)
In January of 2013, after 6 years of running a non-profit in Uganda I moved off the field back to the USA and struggled terribly withĀ re-entry.Ā There were many good, wise reasons for this move, including listening to God’s voice, and hitting burnout, but none of them seemed justifiable enough to qualm the voice in my
