To be Commissioned by your church means that you are prayed for and sent off as a missionary!

Last Sunday, I had the great privilege of having a few minutes in all our church services to share about this next season of life, and here is a glimpse into what I got to see:

I saw our Middle Schoolers show up and start a cheer section (it was awesome)
I saw generations of students I've worked with in these seven years come to pray over me...
I also saw my peers, my parents and their friends who have seen me grow up, parents of the students I've worked with, mentors, teachers, coworkers, neighbors and friends show up...
I saw former missionaries, my Sunday school teachers and prayer groups show up to encourage me...
My estimate of 200 people showing up between three services to pray over me up front, which was wildly encouraging and humbling!

In all this, my biggest prayer in this transition would be that our students would know that they are a vital part of why I am going, and what I am doing overseas.

I have students in 4th grade all the way up to the students I've worked with since 2010 who are sophomores in college that are watching me go- they are watching every post on Instagram and Facebook, and that is one way that they are getting to see a glimpse of the larger picture of what God is doing in the world...

But I cannot be the only one they know sharing stories of experiencing God

Because they are also called themselves- to go out and do missions, and to partner with sending people like me (and they have, one of those stories is HERE!), and they need to see people like me- and people like YOU! They need to see a church that believes in all the steps it takes to sending someone, and they need to know that their church will be with them as they take their own faithful steps towards what God has for them...

So church family, I ask you to pray bold prayers with me- that God may speak clearly to you and the rest of our church family about how to be a part of believing in and sending not just me-- but my peers and the students now that feel called to go or to send people like me... pray that God may move in the next generation of our church in big ways, and the generation before us would be our greatest encouragers through every step of that process!

I've had people sit down and pray through every step of this journey with me
I've had people pray about how to partner in creative and beautiful ways
I've had people encourage me in wisdom, vulnerable conversations and more prayer...

So thank you for being those encouraging me to be bold, so that I may boldly ask of you-- pray how you can encourage others like me to go and do the same through building relationships with the next generation <3

May I be one of many, many more Sent Ones and Senders in the years to come!

If you want to see video of my Commissioning in the 9 am service (its about 30 minutes in)