I became a Christian just before high school, and was
discipled at Franklin United Church in Franklin, VT. During these years I felt
a strong call to ministry, and pursued that call during my teen years through
participating in and leading different ministries at the church. After my
junior year of high school, I went on a program hosted by Gordon Conwell
Theological Seminary called Compass. Compass is designed to help students
discern their call to ministry through a wilderness program, seminary lectures,
and an international mission trip. During this time, I felt that God was
calling me to missions.
I continued to prepare for my call to ministry by studying
philosophy at Wheaton College (IL). Besides studying philosophy, I spent two
summers putting it into practice by participating in Youth Hostel Ministry
(YHM). YHM is an evangelistic and conversational ministry to the traveling
community in Europe. During this time I was able to dialogue with people about
the Gospel and experience Europe's spiritual atmosphere firsthand. The time I
spent in Europe on YHM created in me a love for the continent and a desire to
see the Gospel flourish there within the lives of the people.
With central and eastern Europe in mind, I spent a semester
studying in Russia to become familiar with the Slavic language family, to get a
taste of Slavic culture, and to see what it was like to live overseas for an
extended time. Encouraged by my experience and hungry to apply my Christian
faith to life outside of college, I applied to work at the Christian
International School of Prague in the Czech Republic and started work in
September 2011.
Throughout my first year at the school my conviction towards
the importance of this ministry has grown and deepened. The education we
provide witnesses to Christ and disciples students--two commands given by
Christ in which we are to participate (Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:28-20). It provides
a quality education for missionary families so that they can focus on their
ministry work and stay on the field, instead of home schooling or returning to
the States. It is also an opportunity to reach the national population of the
Czech Republic with an affordable, private school, English speaking education.
If we can reach the students of the Czech Republic with the Gospel, there is no
telling how great the ripple effect from these tiny seeds will be!
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