From Pam McCray Mitchell
04/07/06 16:34 Filed in: Messages From
Alumni
I would like to write
and say I'm out here lurking in the shadows. The
dialogue back and forth (on the email list) has
really given me a lot to think about. During this
time one of our local churches was hosting a Vacation
Bible School program. The church had arranged with a
ministry called New Life Drama Company out of
Tennessee to come during that time. (Any one out
there familiar with them?) Two summers ago, we
offered housing to 2 of the girls when they came so
this summer they needed a place for 3 of the guys on
the team.
Having them stay with us was like being caught in a time machine. The ministry sets out some guidelines for them so as to assure they will be pleasant guests. I asked one of them about time limits in the shower and toilet paper count and he responded with an amazed "How did you know?" In light of our AF site, I was really watching them, looking for 'problems'. I was relieved to hear that they believed in humanely traveling..... they stopped somewhere at night to actually sleep! They did dishes, cleaned house, did laundry and were ever ready to help..... bring back memories for anyone? I am ready and willing to have them stay with us again. They were a real blessing to my children, especially to my 9 yr old son. Their visit high lighted for me all the good things that happened through our years in AF.
I don't think of myself having suffered terribly during my years in AF but it certainly was difficult to leave and find a home in any church. And then the experience of having lived in community with others made it really hard for my friends to be there for me as I expected that same intense relationship.
I finally got settled in a Vineyard church in Salinas where I met my husband. We adopted 2 children, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, did chemo, etc., had a double mastectomy and remain cancer free to this day. A few years ago we moved to the mountain community of North Fork, Calif. near the south end of Yosemite. I now have a part time job with a nearby Christian camp that acts as a campus for Azuza Pacific University's High Sierra Program. It's hard for me to think of myself as old enough to be the mother of a college kid but I love making sure they are fed and happy.... I have rediscovered ministry.
I have come a long ways from the shy, quiet, terrified girl from my AF days and have discovered in myself some very creative talents and gifts which I am able to use. Surprisingly I have found myself to be quite the ham... VBS has brought that side of me into play. (The last 4 years I have been Scuba, Survivor Sal, Serengeti Betty and Freida Johnson from Wisconsin.) Breast cancer has made me look death in the face and helped free me from fear.
Sorry this is so long, I have put off writing anything for so long and am using this opportunity to say quite a bit!
I am so grateful for all the training and discipline poured into me thru AF.... I will forever remember Lynne Nicodemus and her lessons in Bible study and meditation. (I am discounting the bad things) The best fruit I have seen from my time in AF has been the launching of countless missionaries from my original home church. Most don't even know who I was but I know I was the first one to go out, the example that has started many others in the path to missions and ministry.
Having them stay with us was like being caught in a time machine. The ministry sets out some guidelines for them so as to assure they will be pleasant guests. I asked one of them about time limits in the shower and toilet paper count and he responded with an amazed "How did you know?" In light of our AF site, I was really watching them, looking for 'problems'. I was relieved to hear that they believed in humanely traveling..... they stopped somewhere at night to actually sleep! They did dishes, cleaned house, did laundry and were ever ready to help..... bring back memories for anyone? I am ready and willing to have them stay with us again. They were a real blessing to my children, especially to my 9 yr old son. Their visit high lighted for me all the good things that happened through our years in AF.
I don't think of myself having suffered terribly during my years in AF but it certainly was difficult to leave and find a home in any church. And then the experience of having lived in community with others made it really hard for my friends to be there for me as I expected that same intense relationship.
I finally got settled in a Vineyard church in Salinas where I met my husband. We adopted 2 children, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, did chemo, etc., had a double mastectomy and remain cancer free to this day. A few years ago we moved to the mountain community of North Fork, Calif. near the south end of Yosemite. I now have a part time job with a nearby Christian camp that acts as a campus for Azuza Pacific University's High Sierra Program. It's hard for me to think of myself as old enough to be the mother of a college kid but I love making sure they are fed and happy.... I have rediscovered ministry.
I have come a long ways from the shy, quiet, terrified girl from my AF days and have discovered in myself some very creative talents and gifts which I am able to use. Surprisingly I have found myself to be quite the ham... VBS has brought that side of me into play. (The last 4 years I have been Scuba, Survivor Sal, Serengeti Betty and Freida Johnson from Wisconsin.) Breast cancer has made me look death in the face and helped free me from fear.
Sorry this is so long, I have put off writing anything for so long and am using this opportunity to say quite a bit!
I am so grateful for all the training and discipline poured into me thru AF.... I will forever remember Lynne Nicodemus and her lessons in Bible study and meditation. (I am discounting the bad things) The best fruit I have seen from my time in AF has been the launching of countless missionaries from my original home church. Most don't even know who I was but I know I was the first one to go out, the example that has started many others in the path to missions and ministry.