Today, January 22, marks 1 year since I moved to Gainesville to work full time at Adventures in Missions. I’ve been on staff for almost a year and a half, involved with this organization since 2006, from being a participant on trips, to serve teams at Training Camps, to leading RL trips for a year, leading AMB, and finally AIM Staff.
What a journey! I’ve literally seen the power of God at work, not only in the nations, but in the lives of those who come through AIM. The stories I hear… the stories I’ve lived myself… continually keep me in awe of Christ. I am so blessed to be able to do this!
A lot has happened since I last wrote! I am serving as the Field Support Administrative Assistant. Our department recruits, interviews, develops, trains, supports, coaches, debriefs, and overall cares for leaders for AIM Short Term Missions Department, for both domestic and international locations. We have more than 700 leaders we are caring for, interviewing, placing on trips, coaching, etc. Such a rewarding job- and something I LOVE doing! After being a leader, I understand the intensity, beauty, influence, and importance of the role. Being able to pour into other leaders is such a gift!
*the Field Support Team October 2010
At the end of 2010, Don Rock, one of the co-managers for Field Support, accepted a job at a local church, serving as a Missions pastor in the church’s youth ministry. It was hard to see him leave because working with him was incredible, but I am so excited about this new place God has him. While being the Field Support co-Manager, Don was also temporarily serving as the Leader Representative for the Ambassador Program. I agreed to fill the role (also temporarily), on top of my regular job as Connie Rock’s (the Field Support Manager) Administrative Assistant.
Since I was a part of the AMB team, it’s something dear to my heart. And something cool happened a few weeks ago – I got to interview one of my former students to be a leader for an AMB trip! The other day, I looked at prospective leaders who have interviewed and are interested in serving with us, and 2 more former students were in there. So I began to count, and in all, of the 41 college students I co-led during 2007-2008, 10 have returned to AIM to lead. Some are full time missionaries with other organizations, and others are involved with local ministries wherever they live.
Incredible. Humbling.
I’m sharing this with y’all, not because I’m proud of it but because you need to know it. Honestly, it leaves me speechless. I know it’s nothing I did, other than trying to love them and encourage them in their walks with Christ at the time. I tried to be a good leader, but any good that came from that time was all Him and had so little to do with me. It’s just staggering to know that almost 25% of the college students I led have returned to lead. That’s a lot!
This is your fruit, even more than it is mine. God has used your prayers, encouragement, and support to sustain me, give me a place to live, gas for my car, food to eat, and the ability to serve as a missionary. It’s something I’m constantly aware of and thankful for, that I am able to do what I love as a lifestyle… a career. Yet it’s so much more than a job. It’s… well, life.
Pics from those teams and those I met that year:
*With Nestor, a deaf child in Roco Fuerte, Peru
*RL Amazon Jungle Team Summer 2007 with the people of Tangarana, Peru
*RL Swazi Fall 2007 Team, minus my two co-leaders, on top of Execution Rock. This photo is supposed to look like a cheesy Christian cover band. Success?
*With little girl in Mangwaneni Slums, Swazi
*RL Swazi Spring 2008. Notice the driver….
*With Beauty, who sells fruit outside the Nazarene Hospital in Manzini, Swazi
Thank you! Thank you for your support! Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for all you have done! I only wish you could be here to see/hear the stories of those lives you have touched, both in the States and overseas, and will continue to impact because of your ministry. THANK YOU!
Finally, I’m closing this blog post with two things. One, a poem that was on the back cover of a Dayspring calendar I received for Christmas. And two, a promo video for the STM Department I work in at AIM. It’s a good picture of the ministry of AIM and our calling.
When the time was right,
the sea parted,
the walls fell down,
the lions went hungry,
the sun stood still,
the waves were calm,
the stone was rolled way,
the clouds were parted,
the Lord ascended…
And when the time is right,
the King of Kings will return.
-Dayspring
