May 1

May 1 New Ministry Information

Hello Dear Friends!

I am excited to announce that I am officially transitioning ministries as of this summer. As I am finishing my master's in counselling, I will be transitioning to a full-time ministry serving missionaries and locals in Kenya through Christ-Centered Counselling. This means I need 34 new financial partners who wish to join my monthly support team.

A few months ago, I thought it would be impossible for all the obstacles in my way to be moved so that I could stay in Kenya. All I had was a conviction that this is where God wanted me to be! Our Heavenly Father has had to move MOUNTAINS to make this possible, but he did. Every. Single. Mountain. So here I am, support raising my entire wage in 7 weeks as I visit Canada. I am eager to see God move this mountain too!

I am not asking you to support me. Instead, I am asking you to ask God if this is a ministry he is calling you to pour into. Please watch the below video that shares the heart behind this new endeavour. Read through the story below, the details of what God has done. If you feel the Holy Spirit nudge you to be a part of moving this financial mountain, reach out to me, and I would love to share more of what it looks like to join the team.

If you'd like to be a part of more regular pictures and updates, please join my Facebook group. This is where I will post updates, prayers and photos as this year progresses.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092075176430

The Heart Behind the Ministry:

The Story Behind the Ministry

I first felt a hunger for overseas missions during a Bible study in my second year of university. I was sitting on the floor in a friend’s house, listening to a missionary from Turkey share. Story after story, this man shared told of how the Lord had worked in and through him to powerfully impact the people of Turkey. I felt something within me bubble to the surface, “I want that,” was all I could think. This man had found trust, joy and purpose by following the call God had put in his life. At that moment, I could sense a stirring in my Spirit, “One day, you will go too,” the Lord whispered to me.

Three years later, I was on an interview call with an international school in Kenya. I didn’t give this position much attention because I believed my calling was in South America. I had applied to three schools in South America and had taken the interview with Kenya because I thought it would give me greater interview experience for the real school where I would get hired. I remember sitting on this call with my principal, and something within me was drawn to this person sharing about Nairobi, West Nairobi School and the work God was doing there. There is no way to explain it other than peace in my heart, knowing that this was the school and place the Lord was calling me to.

The many miracles the Lord worked to move me to Kenya, paying for my finances, and finding the right community to be a part of all confirmed that his hand guided me through this process. I have loved working at West Nairobi School and have grown so much compassion and love for Kenya. One area of heart growth that surprised me was my love and desire to support the missionary community. I found myself continually in conversation with people feeling alone, isolated and unable to work through the deep internal struggles.

This all came to a head three years ago as I sat across from a friend at lunch, watching her cry while sharing her experience of overseas missions. The cultural transition, the stress in her family, and the guilt from never feeling like she was doing enough were consuming her. As I witnessed this hurt, I could feel my heart turn and pull towards this friend in love. Her experience is so familiar that I hear it repeatedly within the ex-pat community. The stress and isolation of living overseas are feelings, unlike anything I had experienced before moving to Kenya. People are eager to go, to be a part of what God is doing, but they don’t realize that their previous habits, hurt, and loneliness are only amplified once they’re among people who don’t think and act like them.

In the next breath, this friend shares her experience applying to Tumaini here in Nairobi, the only missionary, Christ-based counselling center in the city. The overflow of need here on the mission field has created a waiting list for each counsellor at this center, making it difficult for my friend to see someone. My heart yearned to do more, to participate in being a part of the solution, and to meet this need. “But what am I going to do?” I wondered.

A few years previous, I had been to Tumaini myself. My past trauma, anxieties and fear of loneliness caught up to me. Since my previous community had been so strong in Canada, I was shocked by the difference in relationships overseas. I didn’t know how to talk to my community about my struggles, but I needed help—my lack of ability to cope deeply impacted my ministry as a teacher and relationships. I felt far away from God because I believed I had failed him and his calling for me here in Nairobi. Finally, I booked an appointment at Tumaini and found reprieve from this shame and burden by talking to someone who understood the love of God and how he made our minds. This experience taught me how essential intentional support is in ministry and life. To be told that it’s ok to be messy and to demonstrate the tangible love of God to people when shame is blocking their ability to see it. As “helpers” in the mission field, we also need help and aid in our journeys.

The following months after meeting with my friend, the Lord worked on fundamental dynamics to fit and align with these heart desires. He allowed the counsellor/chaplain position to open at our school, giving me the space not to work full-time. Simultaneously, he began to work in my heart the desire to take my master's in counselling. The possibility of starting the journey toward this dream of supporting people in their mental and emotional health was exciting.

I see the last two years as a weaving of two ropes together. These two learning streams have strengthened me and provided a stronger foundation to stand on as I shift ministries. The first rope is my growth and exploration in the counselling profession. I have continued to work in Nairobi as I complete my Masters. My master's coursework has taken up 40% of my week, while the other part includes working as the chaplain/SEL at our school. Through this, I have had many opportunities at school and in my personal life to discover my love for hearing people’s hearts and seeing how to help them grow.

This growth in my love for meeting with people has allowed the Lord to teach me his heart. He continues to speak to me about his “withness,” the ways he demonstrates his love by just being WITH people. Jesus didn’t expect his disciples to change immediately, nor did he call out every shortcoming; he only asked them to be with him. Through my ministry and schooling, I have been finding out what it means to demonstrate the withness of Christ to those around me. As he calls me into this next season of counselling, I believe this will be an essential aspect of my ministry, sharing the withness and acceptance of Christ with those I meet.

The second rope the Lord has been weaving in my life is my own continued personal growth. Through my personal counselling journey this past year, He has grown me in openness, an ability to be centred in Him and an awareness of how good He is in our desire to grow. I have found incredible freedom through sitting in his presence, sharing my deep hurts and insecurities with him, and discovering that he can hold it all. The interplay of counselling and freedom in Christ have been inseparable in my story. In counselling, I found the ability to dive into the parts of me that scared me, coming out with greater awareness and understanding. This provided me freedom and clarity to see the Lord amid the hard, not just the good. He wants all our hearts, not just the parts that have been cleaned off and are on display. Through counselling, I could see the joy of being a beautifully messy child of the king.

These two ropes, discovering the heart of ministry the Lord has called me to and the own healing experiences he’s led me through, have woven together my current place of ministry. As I enter next year, I am on the home stretch to completing my master's. This means I can begin counselling members of my community, living out the calling the Lord has given me. This is an exciting thing. The Lord has provided a different opportunity to do the same thing I would at Tumaini, but with my local church in Nairobi. I will start counselling under my church in September, working to support our members in their mental and spiritual wellness.

In my ministry position through my church, I will lead counselling groups on different mental health topics, provide Social-Emotional Learning classes to families and offer low-cost counselling to the members of our Church community. Our church members are about 50% Kenyan congregants and 50% ex-patriate. I will support all our members, raising awareness and bringing support to the mental health needs in our church. My counselling hours will aid me in completing the required hours to finish my master's, which will lead me one step closer to working with Tumaini next year.

What will the impact be of this ministry? The vision of offering this counselling service through our church is to provide easy access to counselling and mental health conversations, which some members may not seek otherwise. Within the ex-pat community, I hope to speak a different message than I had perceived when moving to Kenya. A message that encourages vulnerability, authenticity, and acceptance of where one is at in their healing journey. Within the Kenyan community, there is still a stigma around mental health. I want to help people grow in understanding the benefits of listening to and understanding our emotions.

As I shared from my own journey, the holistic idea of this is to encourage freedom and the abundant life Jesus speaks about over and over. Understanding the goal isn’t full healing (because is there ever “full” healing?), but the goal is to grow deeper in reliance, understanding, and experience of the love of God. We find deeper liberty as we understand how our thoughts, emotions, past experiences, and current habits play a part in our relationship with God and the world.

My heart desires to support people in Kenya to understand and experience the abundance of life Jesus has offered them. This year that will play out with me walking alongside members at our church, offering support and counsel. To support those supporting others, enlarging and building up the body of Christ.

This ministry will not be possible without the help of obedient people who sense a call to partner in supporting me in what the Lord is doing. For this to happen, I need greater financial support. Would you be interested in joining my support team? If you are open to this or have more questions, I would love to schedule a call with you and share more of what the Lord is doing, answer any questions you have and discuss the possibility of your partnership. Please reach out, and we can schedule a chat.

3 Ways YOU can join this team-

PRAYER PARTNER

I ask that you become one of my payer partners and commit to praying for me as I commit to praying regularly for you. You can stay connected to my prayer needs through my prayer letter. If you would like to receive my prayer letter, please get in touch with me through my email.

FINANCIAL PARTNER

I can only do the work God is asking me to do in Kenya through monthly and annual financial partners who help me continue the ministry. I ask that you consider being one of my financial partners. Please connect with me if you are interested in becoming a financial partner. I have also left the details of support below.

ONE TIME GIFT

If you cannot commit to being a financial partner, please consider giving a one-time gift that will help cover the outgoing cost of a visa, paying off school debt and health insurance.