When I arrived in Raleigh, full of nervous excitement, I didn’t know what to expect, but looked forward to the ways God would transform me in this place. Service Adventure proved formational in my life in so many ways: broadening my view of God, of the world, and of how I fit into this big picture. I began to see that my image of God was very limited. Through conversations with my unit and through the ways I saw Raleigh Mennonite Church interacting with the community, I saw that God (and particularly God’s love) was truly much bigger than I could ever imagine. I was honored to worship with a congregation that, every day, showed me that "church" meant more than a building, that "church" is a people called to carry God’s love to everyone, especially to those on the margins of society.
In my work with Kathy Boos at Growing Together Preschool, I grew to love kids that fell through the cracks of an unjust system. I saw how laws and institutions formed structures oppressive to these kids and their families. I saw that the White, middle-class, small-town worldview I grew up with was vastly different from the worldview of the kids I served. Serving customers at Ten Thousand Villages helped provide balance to my shifting worldview as I worked with a much different population of people and served the global community.
Through the encouragement and unconditional love of my unit and RMC, I grew in confidence in who God was forming me to be, and it was in Raleigh that I first heard a call into ministry. When Todd first told me I should be a pastor, I thought he was crazy; there was no way God was calling me to ministry. I continued to hear this call echoed in the encouragement of many others in the congregation, and I slowly began to accept and hear the “inner call” as well. During my next year at Hesston College, several classes affirmed my love of the Bible and a passion for ministry. Several summers working at a Mennonite camp further developed my sense of call and leadership. I have followed this calling to Eastern Mennonite University, where I will be finishing up a degree next year in congregational and youth ministry. This summer, I am serving at Whitehall Mennonite Church, near Allentown, Pennsylvania, as a pastoral intern with the Ministry Inquiry Program. Service Adventure set me off on this path for my life, and for that I will be forever grateful.
So, thank you to Service Adventure, and particularly this unit and church community in Raleigh, for helping form my faith journey and sending me off to where I am today. I think of many of you frequently, and would love to hear from you and hopefully visit in the near future!
