I am SO excited for the opportunity I have to learn and
serve in Uganda next semester! As long as I can remember, I have had an
unexplainable desire to go to Africa. If I, in fact, get on a plane
for Uganda in a little over a month, it is going to be a dream come true!
I’ve shared with some of you my passion for ministry, but
I would like to elaborate on why I feel called to pursue missions. When I was
about 8 years old, the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade,
I had a revelation. At the time, I didn’t realize that what I was experiencing
was God’s call in my life towards ministry— I wasn’t even familiar with the
concept. But over the years I have realized that’s what it was. When I was
younger and would go to VBS every summer, I was most drawn to the time when we
got to hear about a missionary. It was this summer when I was eight that I
thought to myself “Man, I want to be like them someday!” I was so intrigued by
their stories, and they touched my little heart. I now know that this was God
pulling on my heartstrings and giving me a passion for ministry.
(There were many other things that added to this desire, such as Mexico mission trips in high school, and going to Peru after graduation. But for the sake of keeping this short, I won't elaborate on them [ask me if you want to know!]. Each and every one of them definitely had an affect on my heart towards missions, and were building me up for what happened next.)
(There were many other things that added to this desire, such as Mexico mission trips in high school, and going to Peru after graduation. But for the sake of keeping this short, I won't elaborate on them [ask me if you want to know!]. Each and every one of them definitely had an affect on my heart towards missions, and were building me up for what happened next.)
Fast forward about 13 years when I went to Australia to
do my DTS. There were many moments that stuck with me, but I will keep one in
particular with me forever. One evening while I was on outreach in China, I was
standing in our bedroom in the apartment, 20 stories up, looking out the
window. The sun was setting, and there was a beautiful orange glow on the
horizon. Just below and behind our apartment complex was a construction site
where they were building more apartments. A t the base of this new construction
was the shacks in which the workers lived in. I was really struggling with
that. There was so much social and economic division! Here, we were living in a
30 story, gated and guarded apartment complex; where we entered the gate, we
passed by the walkway where the others would walk to their shacks. These shacks
had no running water or toilets. How could there be so much poverty, so close,
and yet we’re not doing anything about it?? As I was thinking about all of
this, a verse reference came to mind. It was not a familiar reference, and it
was also the first time a reference had come to mind out of the blue like that.
I felt like I was supposed to read the verse, that it had some sort of meaning
for me. As I opened up the Bible and read it, I began to cry. I knew that God
had given me this verse, and in that moment, I knew He was giving it to me for
a reason. I feel like this verse is a ‘life verse’ for me. Isaiah
61:1-3 says,
“The
Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow
on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be
called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his
splendor.”
I felt like this verse
spoke directly to me, particularly because it mentions people who have been on
my heart to work with. It encouraged me that the people on my heart were not
just my own desires, but God’s desires for me and my life.
Since this time, I feel like God has brought me to
Simpson. As you might know, it hasn’t been an easy path financially, but God
has really blessed and encouraged me this semester. With my major,
Cross-Cultural Studies, we are required to do an international internship. As I
was figuring out my classes that would transfer from studying abroad in Uganda,
I discovered that one of the classes transfers as my internship (because I will
also be partnering with a local agency and serving with them every week). When
I met with the department head of my major, he told me that they really
encourage students to raise support for their internships. I was hesitant to do
this; as I do want to go into ministry after college, I didn’t want to be
repeatedly asking people for money for the shorter trips. I didn’t want to burn
people out when I’m going to be raising a support family for a more long term
situation. But then I realized that all of these opportunities that
God has opened up doors for me are giving me the experiences that will be
useful to me for the long term. I would like to ask you now to
come along side me in this journey of faith and consider supporting my trip to
Uganda. The truth is that I would not be able to have all of these previous
experiences if it were not for supporters like you!
I have just under two weeks now in which I need to come
up with the remaining funds for the trip. The date to withdraw from the program
is December 5th (if I don’t have enough finances). I sent a
request in for a reduction of the program fees, per my study abroad
coordinators advice, and am waiting to hear back Monday. I have applied for as
many scholarships online that I could find that would be applicable, and if I
win any, should find out near the end of November/beginning of December. I am
doing as much as I can on my end, but in total, I still need $4,200 to pay for
tuition and room and board, plus roughly $1,700 for the plane ticket. In all honesty,
it is hard to keep having faith that I will go. But I am reminded of God’s
provisions for me this semester and in previous semesters and mission trips,
and I am encouraged to keep having faith!
With all of this to say, I know that I can trust God in
the unknown, even when it goes against my human nature. I know that He has
called me to a life of ministry; what that means in its fullest I do not know.
I don’t know all the steps that I need to take to get there, but I believe God
will guide me in the right directions. I believe that my time at Simpson
University is what He has for me right now, and I believe that in that, I am to
study abroad in Uganda. I would love your prayers over the next month while
things get finalized for the trip, as well as the trip itself! If you feel
called to partner with me financially to help cover my airfare and schooling
costs, you can send money to:
Jessica Heryford #212
2211 College View Drive
Redding, CA 96003
(Checks can be made in
my name.)
Thank you so much for
taking time aside to let me share with you what is on my heart!
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