Thursday, May 4, 2017

Big News!

One of the things that I love about stories is that each story’s beginning isn’t a true beginning. Likewise, most story’s endings aren’t really endings. For example, I’m going to tell you a little bit of my story, but my story, if I’m being thorough, doesn’t start with me. I would have to tell you about my Mom’s and Dad’s lives and maybe even their parents lives. Because my story didn’t start with me. Who I am, is, in a large part, because of how I was raised and how my parents were raised.

And we aren’t even talking about geography or cultural events that shaped me. You get the point. Stories, no matter how detailed, leave a lot to the imagination.

And hopefully my story doesn’t end with me. Hopefully my story trickles down into a lot of other people’s stories.

So, with that introduction out of the way – that flimsy excuse for a story that starts in the middle and ends in the middle – would you mind if I tell you some news by way of a story?

The most honest place to start is by telling you that I grew up as the son of a pastor. I was the nephew of pastors and missionaries. Basically, in my family, going into ministry was normal and for me at least, it seemed expected.

So, in high school, when I started doing leadership stuff, when I took an internship at my church after high school, and when I became a youth pastor for a couple of years, it wasn’t a huge surprise. I was almost continuing on in the family business.

I realized shortly after taking the job at the church that being a youth pastor, and probably being a pastor in general, wasn’t for me. I did however really enjoy the inherent counseling that is part of being a pastor. And so, after several long years of detours, I went back to school. I finished my undergrad in psychology. And then I jumped right into the master’s program in counseling.  I started my master’s in 2012. Now, as we are closing in on mid-2017, the end of school is in sight.

Even though it might seem like I love being in school – seeing how long it’s taken me to complete a three-year master’s degree – I am thrilled to be wrapping it up.

 Here is something that life has taught me both through firsthand and through secondhand experience: life is tough. I have had my share of setbacks and trials. And for those around me, my friends and family, life has thrown a lot of curveballs at them too.

So, I go into counseling with my eyes wide open. I know that life is tough. I know that we are all broken in some way.

That’s where I want to be. Right in the middle of that brokenness.


Throughout my life I have had the privilege of knowing a lot of people in ministry. A lot of these people, like my dad, some friends, and mentors, have been pastors. A lot of these people, like my Uncles and Aunts, and friends, have been missionaries. And a lot of these people have been people who work in “regular” 9-5 jobs, but give of their time to lead Bible studies and youth groups, or volunteer with homeless people.

And here is something else I can tell you: ministry has its own special way of being tough. Really tough.

Everywhere I look I see people who have been chewed up and spit out by being in ministry. I don’t totally know why that is. But, it’s the truth.

Let’s jump back into story.

When I was growing up my family would read books together. I don’t know the final count, but I know that at one count we had read over 100 books together. Sometimes, sitting at the dinner table, listening to my dad read whatever book we were plodding through was torture. I was off in my own world, thinking about anything but the book.

But sometimes I would be completely intrigued by what we were reading. For certain reasons, the books that we read about Jim Elliot always kept my attention. I also specifically remembered a book called, “Bruchko.” That book told the story of a man who was a missionary and went through a ton of hardships to tell a savage tribe in Colombia about Jesus.

From an early age I connected with the stories of missionaries. People, like my aunts and uncles, who gave up their American lives to serve people in other countries. And I wanted to be like them.

And so I’ve gotten out of the country at any chance I’ve had.

Fast forward to the summer of 2014. I was Mexico for a couple of months and talking to a girl that I had met online. For all of the usual reasons (and some unusual ones as well) we stopped talking. But, in the time that we spent together, we talked about one of the dreams for her life.

She wanted to move to the English countryside, buy a house, and use it as a retreat center for missionaries. Missionaries could come and stay for a couple of weeks to recharge their batteries, and then return to wherever they were working.

It was a neat idea. One I liked. But, like I said, we stopped talking and I forgot about her idea for a while.


Jump forward another summer. A missionary couple I know were close to burning out. They came back to the states and went to a retreat center for missionaries. They left the retreat center, three weeks later, ready to reengage.

I have more stories like this. Stories of missionaries having a difficult time while overseas. I have too many stories like this, and, my guess is, you could add one or two of your own.

Then I returned to Mexico last year. A lot of stuff happened while I was there. Too much to tell in this format. While a bit grotesque, I can’t help but think of the term, “trail of dead.” My heart broke for the difficulties of the people who I worked beside while in Mexico.

I hope I’ve painted the picture well enough.

When I returned to the states it was time to finally take the last steps to complete school. I found a neat counseling center in Columbus to complete my practicum. The only remaining piece was to also find a place to complete my internship. And I started thinking outside of the box.

I should back up a little bit.

I love kids. I love hanging out with them and getting down on their level. When I was working through school I told people, and I actually thought, that I would use my counseling degree to work with children. I imagined working with kids in another country. Kids in orphanages or kids in tough spots. And I hope in some manner that I will still be the case.

However, while in Mexico, God replaced my heart for children with a burning burden to work with missionaries. I saw the pain. I saw the need. I saw how God had put me, all throughout my life, in contact with people in ministry. And, I knew I had to at least try.

So, while I was in California I started calling and I started emailing. I googled and then I contacted. I think I either called or emailed 35 different missions organizations.

After all was said and done, I received one, “maybe.” I applied and four months later that “maybe” became a “Yes” and a “let’s see if we can find you a place to counsel.”

Again, one possibility came through. One chance for this longshot idea to become a reality. And that longshot became a reality.

So, that was a longwinded way of telling you this really big news: In August I’ll be moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand, as a short-term missionary with SIM, to work at Cornerstone Counseling Foundation!


SIM is the missions organization that said “yes” to me. They have missionaries all over the world – including my very own Aunt and Uncle!

Cornerstone is a counseling center primarily designed to work with missionaries in Southeast Asia. Missionaries come from all over the region for a week or longer to receive a time of respite, retreat, and counseling.

While there, I will be counseling missionaries who are having a hard time and need a little help. I’ll be living in Thailand for eight months and I’ll be working with, and underneath, about ten other counselors who are there for the exact same reason.

I am so excited I could burst! This is a direction that I have been moving towards for quite a long time, and it feels really great to know that things are starting to come together.

I wanted to take the time to tell you all of those stories to try and answer the question “WHY?”

And now, if you’ll read for just a little while longer, I want to try and answer the “HOW?”

I will be going to Thailand as a missionary. Even though it is a part of my schooling, I will be there as a missionary as well as a student.

I will be paying for a portion of the time in Thailand out of my own pocket, but I won’t be able to do it by myself. I will be spending these next several months, until I leave for Thailand, fundraising so that I can work beside these missionaries.

If you read this far (a true feat!), would you consider supporting me in this time?

I need your help, your support, on two fronts.

Financially. I have to raise a bit of money to do this internship. And as the saying goes, “no gift is too small…” If what I am going to Thailand to do, to work alongside missionaries, is compelling to you, would you consider supporting me financially? Or, if you aren’t completely sold on what I am going to be doing, but you believe in my heart, would you consider supporting me in this fashion?

Prayer. I know how money works, and I know that sometimes giving money isn’t always an option. But, I want to be very diligent in building up a group of friends and family who will support the work I am doing in prayer. Would you consider praying for me while I am Thailand? I will try to send out weekly prayer/update emails that you could receive.

So, that’s it. I sort of feel like all of my experiences have been leading up to these coming months and I’m excited to see what God is going to do!

If you are interested, I would love to tell you more – to fill in some of those blanks that storytelling doesn’t always answer. If you are local, I’d love to have dinner and tell you more. If you aren’t local, I’d love to make a phone call or skype with you.

I’ll finish this longest blog post in history with a couple of links.

http://www.simusa.org/ - This is the missions organization that I am going through
http://ccfthailand.org/ - This is the counseling center that I’ll be working at in Thailand
https://www.simusa.org/get-involved/give/ - This is the website where you can support me financially.

Thanks for reading!