My Calling into the Church

Living in a strongly religious community, I was given many opportunities to provide service to fellow church members and also under privileged youth of the community. When I began high school I was given the opportunity to become a counselor during Vacation Bible School and

Last Sunday at church Father Ron said something that hit home for me. He said that a mission begins with an invitation. I grew up in a rural area in the highlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Life was not easy and I always made a point of maximizing the opportunities I got. I grew up knowing that I wanted to be in a profession that really helped people improve their wellbeing. When I got the opportunity to go to university I choose to do Biomedical Science because I was very good at science and I thought that being a scientist was my calling. However, becoming an adult and having varying experiences like volunteering in a children’s home, working in the field doing research, working in a laboratory and currently working as a nurse aide has taught me

Beginning just before my senior year I went through a series of trials that continued through most of my senior year. I wanted to do something for myself, and was encouraged to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). I decide to go, and so in January I set off for Indianapolis. Once at the conference, I listened to music, met other catholic high schoolers, and participated in workshops. I learned a lot about my faith, and about different forms of worship. This was something that I had not previously been exposed to, as while I was a member of one of the largest parishes in Central Ohio, it is a very traditional parish that had not exposed me to much more than the basic teachings of the church, and also had not demonstrated

Through these activities, I have gained crucial skills to interact efficiently with others, and learned how to meet others needs as well. Involving yourself in church activities can help you learn these important skills, as well as empathy and modesty; as you see your own community and yourself grow. And by interacting with the public through artwork is

Mid-2014 our family business required that I devote myself full-time to business rather than school and I withdrew from the program hoping to return when our lives settled to a manageable routine. Most recently my husband and I added real estate investment and property management, to our resume. Our crowning accomplishment (besides raising three awesome young adults; 21, 19 and 16) has been the restoration/renovation of an historic building into an event and live music venue. I am running the facility/venue – The Lark & Sparrow Historic Venue – booking acoustic groups and renting it for weddings, private parties, and corporate and non-profit events. Life & Faith As a child I was raised in the Catholic faith and attended 12 years of Catholic school. Because of my upbringing, in the church, I have always known that God created me to sing, that He created me for music, and to worship him. I found my greatest joy in life in singing in children’s choir as a youth and eventually being involved in worship leading and songwriting. Fortunately, after high school I left the church and subsequently, my

I’ve always found some strange sort of pleasure exploring humanity—and helping humanity-- outside of my own social boundaries; beyond my narrow peer group. And I’ve found great knowledge in not only reading books—but reading people; knowledge which leads me to my life’s calling.

My faith and how I lived in my faith made serves as a lasting example to believers in Christ (Lindslay, 3). In life, I believed that all work that I did was spiritual work for the betterment of the Lord’s kingdom. Whether I was writing, ministering, eating out, or simply talking with friends, all work, all things, all I did was for the advancement of the Lord’s kingdom. For the work of “a Beethoven” or the work of a “charwoman” were all the same in my eyes; for both the workers, their work should be “offered to God” and done “humbly” “as to the Lord” (Eshlemen, 2). Although I struggled with cynicism, this way of living life challenged and brought new meaning to my life (Lindslay, 3). This idea on the life I lived and how I lived the life I was given serves as an example of Colossians 3:17 for Christians who wish to live and long to live in similar fashions (The Holy, 237). This way of living my faith truly required me to be quite public and open with my thoughts and beliefs. My faith was not always outright and public. When I was young, my family was my first spiritual influence (Eshlemen, 5). My faith started when I was young, but was shattered with the death of my mother when I was ten years of age (Lindslay, 1). This tragedy shook who I thought God is. The death of my mother affected me deeply. In fact, in college, I denounced the protestant

Growing up, my life was somewhat sheltered compared to the lives of other people my age. I was raised by both my mom and dad in a Christian household, in which I was taught morals based upon our faith. As a result of this upbringing, my parents and I made the decision to enroll me in a private Christian school in sixth grade. In this setting I was protected from the influences of the outside world. All of the language, violence, and temptations were around me, which I began to recognize as I entered my freshman year of high school. Even the walls of the highly respected establishment could not keep the real world out.

“For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.  People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.” Charity provides people deliverance through suffering.

The naivety of my childhood caused me to believe that I was not good enough, that I had to change myself in order to gratify the people of my church and maintain my dad’s good image. Whenever I went to church, I felt that I had to completely change myself in order to keep everyone happy, everyone but myself. As I got older and figured out that it is impossible for anyone to fully fulfill the expectations of others, I realized how restricted I had been my entire life. I finally came to the realization that people were putting me in a box unsuitable for me and expected me to fit in

My parents divorced when I was five, so I was raised in a single parent home by my mother. My aunt and mother both instilled in me what it means to be a strong, independent, God fearing woman. From the time I was born I attended church regularly, praise dancing and singing in the choir. Being able to touch someone while ministering the word of God is one of the greatest privliges I’ve had.

My call to ministry was actually not my own doing. At the start of my Christian life, my mother and grandmother raised me in the church where I would sacrifice my life to be a part of ministry. I participate in different ministries as a child. I became a choir member at an early age. Then, I became a praise dancer, a junior deacon, and a Sunday school teacher. This transition to different ministries became a part of my true purpose for God: to fulfill His purpose in my life.

Describe your past and current experiences of leadership, whether in counseling, administration, teaching, ministry, coaching, or learning. How have these experiences contributed to your decisions to apply for this program?

Since the day I was born my parents took my sister and me to church ever Sunday. I grew up in a loving Christian home and was encouraged at an age where I could fully understand, to purse a relationship with Jesus. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was in the second grade and was baptized in the fourth grade at age 10. Growing up I have always been super involved in Church. I have a heart for people and love serving. Since 3rd grade until now, my senior year of high school I have been on the leadership team with my youth group. I can not imagine my life without Jesus as the center. I have been pushed to step out of my comfort zone and because of that I have grown in several different ways. For example, I am an extrovert and enjoy getting new people, but never liked public speaking as I felt nervous and intimidated. By the many adult leaders, and pastors coming along side of me and encouraging me to step of on my comfort zone I now highly enjoy speaking and spreading the truth about The Lord in big groups of people. I am so thankful for the many God loving people that have come in my life and helped stretch me. Jesus is my entire life and I am nothing without him.

Growing up I always lived in a religious household. We always prayed before we ate, prayed before we went to bed, and always went to church on Sunday and Wednesday night. While I never questioned these actions and never tried to rebel against them, I still didn’t understand the importance of them either. I was merely walking in my parents footsteps, doing what my parents told me, singing along to the children’s songs in Sunday school, gave a tithing of my allowance every Sunday, but my life was void of the real meanings of my actions. This went on for years. Because I had not yet read through the Bible to understand why these actions had any meaning, they were just things I did all the time and I thought that was normal and that was what it meant to be a Christian.