Take a Moment to Remember

Take a Moment to Remember 

“Do you guys think being in Chicago and Wisconsin were a waste of time?”“…its not that I necessarily believe that it was… but now that we’re finally doing international missions… I feel like I may fall into this idea that it was a waste of time, when I know it wasn’t… ya know?”

    Everyone nodded their heads to acknowledge my thoughts and question as we ate dinner together at the Adventures in Missions base in Guatemala.

     I knew the answer to the question… but, I needed more than a one-worded answer. I was yearning to remember and discover what God had done in all of our lives in Wisconsin.

   And so, I was teleported back to my life in Wisconsin as I listened to my squad mates answer the question.

  Wisconsin Life: Intimacy, 
     Community & Mission

   First, I know God put me on this mission route, formed my team and my squad for a great purpose, which includes Him impacting us, us being impacted by one another, and us impacting those around us.

———Intimacy———

   I learned that I have to fight for my intimacy with the Lord, and that as I am juggling my time with my team (family) and missionary partners, there needs to be a balance. What is there to pour when your cup is running empty?  Jesus is the Living Water, and as I continued living with my family, this became even more evidential. There were great days but also very hard days with emotional, mental, and spiritual hardships, and if I didn’t go to God with them, it affected my family and I.

———Community———

   I was learning more and more, from my experience in Chicago and in Wisconsin that opening up to my team was part of doing life with God too… because it wasn’t just about Him and I… but Him, us, and I. Community living includes spending time together, going deep into topics you might not want to touch on, but are necessary for our growth. It involves love and sacrifice, and vulnerability like most have never experienced before.

In Wisconsin, we had sweet times together, like spending

Thanksgiving,

Christmas, 

and New Years together! 

We cooked together,   connected together as a squad,  and laughed a lot!!  Community is such a beautiful thing, and I learned as time went on, that it only gets harder and easier… all at the same time.

———Mission———

  My squad and I worked with Bella Goose, a lovely cafe in which they use their profit to fight against human trafficking. They have 3 locations: in Wisconsin Dells, Thailand, and the Philippines, and let me tell you, the staff are just such incredible, spirit-filled people. We spent a lot of time with Jay Heesch, the founder (along with his son, Jordan) of Bella Goose, and pastor of Bridgepoint Mission Center in WI. He gave us incredible training on… spiritual gifts, our personalities,  and how to fight for unity as the church of Christ.

    We were also so privileged to have worked with Beyond Blessed Food Pantry run by such an incredible woman of God, Shannon Howley. As Shannon and Ms. June, (Shannon’s right arm, and incredible woman and leader at the pantry), told us the mission of the pantry, Shannon also said, “This is my passion, but it was given to me by God,” and “we’re here to serve and not judge.” I knew we were in such great hands; her leadership team and volunteers were incredible. Would you believe it if I told you that the pantry went from serving 300 families a month to 300 families a week due to COVID-19?! It’s crazy amazing! We also had a fun manual labor time where we helped with the reconstruction of their building… by breaking the FLOOR! 

     Please pray for our missionary partners for extra hands and financial support as they support and love those in their community!!! It was so sweet working with them…

 and so, yeah, it was worth it. I am so thankful for having been in Wisconsin. Thank you for reading, and until next time… stay tuned on the experience in LEAVING Wisconsin… it was crazy. Love you guys,

J <3

                                                  Lake Delton, Wisconsin

 Photo by Katy Koser, Jan 4th