March
Hello Community,
It is lovely to write to you from so far away, sharing the beauties, challenges, and things God is doing in Kenya. Guess what? If you read this, you are a part of what God is doing. You are partnering with God in working here by supporting me and this ministry through presence, prayer, and financials. For this, I am so grateful for you.
Thank you to those who helped with the go-fund-me to let me come home this summer. I will be home to celebrate a wedding and a special birthday (my mom's 60th) and participate in some training in Vancouver. As I am currently interviewing for the missions counselling centre in Nairobi, they have requested that I participate in more specific trauma training to support missionaries on the field. One purpose of coming home is to go to Vancouver for this training so that I am ready to return and start with Tumaini in August. I will continue online counselling for my current clients through the summer.
Another exciting thing that I am currently putting together is an "Emotional Tools" class through our church. The class will be held weekly for five weeks. We will cover tools such as "How do I sit with and regulate my emotions?" and "What does listening to myself and my needs look like?" and “How does stewarding my emotions create a deeper relationship with God and a greater impact on His kingdom?” These are topics that I am passionate about, and I feel God is continuing to grow a hunger for in our community.
Finally, a good friend, Claire & I teamed up to talk about cross-cultural living on my mom's podcast. We discuss practices that are helpful in developing resiliency while living in a different culture. While we share about living in Kenya, these practices can translate to many situations. Visiting family members, being married, living with roommates, or even visiting a city, province, or country that is not your own. How do we stay curious, compassionate (to self + others), and intentional within the spaces we inhabit?
Thanks to my mom for interviewing us and being a rockstar podcast host!
Podcast: https://www.aresilienceproject.com/.../ep108-breanna...
Prayers
Please pray for me to have wisdom and that I may have the mind of Christ. Recently, I have been struggling with others' opinions of my choices and the journey that the Lord has me on. Through the journey of fundraising and putting my faith openly on social media, some have reached out to tell me how they disagree with me. I rest in the truth that I have only shared when I have felt the Lord calling me to do so. However, if I am being honest, these types of comments are shaking to me. I regularly encourage my clients to choose whom they give the pen to determine their identity. When we give the pen to God, he writes the truth about us with grace and compassion, in understanding the holistic picture of who we are. I think what happens is I give the pen away too quickly to people popping into my life, people who don't see the complete picture of how hard I am trying or knowing my genuine heart before God. My prayer has been that I will continue to be saturated in scripture, in God's presence, and with genuine community where iron sharpens iron. Please pray for wisdom on how to walk the narrow road to bring about God's kingdom here in JOY. Pray that only the voices He has intended me to hear will stick and that the other voices will be taken, considered, and set aside without profound impact on my heart.
Please pray that the emotional tools class I will be leading at church will go well and be fruitful.
Pray for continued intentionality and discernment in how to bring God’s truth into counselling sessions.
Praises
I finish my Master's officially in April! Horray!
I have raised the needed support to come home this summer. Praise the Lord!
I love counselling. Truly. Witnessing people's lives, walking with someone, and pointing them to God's goodness are beautiful blessings.
I am grateful for how the Lord continues to grow and shape me through challenges that arise. Someone reminded me a while back that each emotion is an invitation from God to go deeper into him, his healing, his intimacy. That intimacy is "into me see." The Father has been reminding me of this lately. My prayer has been that I would not miss an invitation from Him.
As always, thank you for following along with me here,
-Breanna
