The Beginning of a Journey

August 4th, 2010

Dear Friends,

    It is my privilege to write to you this day and to share with you the contents of this letter. In the past four years I have attended Acadia University, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and recently graduated from my BA studies, majoring in French with a minor in Mathematics. I have had a passion for teaching for many years now and intend on pursuing a career in teaching at the elementary level. My time at Acadia has been a wonderful experience, both enjoyable and challenging. While at school I have had the incredible opportunity to live in a thriving Christian community and the pleasure of being a part of God's work in the Annapolis Valley. Though university is thought to be a time of struggle and godlessness, I have witnessed the power of an awesome God to heal, transform, and renew life. With great joy I witnessed two friends accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour. I was blessed with the opportunity to share my faith with students, professors, and also with international students who have never heard about Jesus and are unaware of the sacrifice He made for them. The Lord desires each one of us to know Him personally, and He will go to great lengths to bring people to Himself. It is because of this desire for each one to know the Lord Jesus that I am writing to you now. 

    Along with my love for teaching, the Lord has placed in me a heart for overseas missions. Though I did not grow up going to church, I came to know the Lord Jesus one summer in junior high, and my life has never been the same. I understood my calling at a young age and was eager to follow God wherever He led. When I was fifteen, I traveled to Jamaica with a mission's team for one week of outreach ministry. Though I love my home on P.E.Island, and have been hugely blessed by being a part of His work here, I continuously longed to serve Him abroad. I knew however, that it was important to wait for the Lord to open the doors and lead the way. What I did not know, was that I would be waiting for six years. Now I know that six years is not all that long, but with a burdened heart, and a broken spirit, at times the wait has been a painful one. In the book of Isaiah; however, there lies a beautiful promise: “ the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!”(Isaiah 30:18). The Lord is so faithful, and by His amazing grace, the doors have been opened to serve Him as a short-term missionary with Africa Inland Mission.

    On August 29th, I will be leaving for Namibia, Africa, until December 10th. My passion for teaching and overseas missions will be combined as I work at Family of Hope Services, a faith-based community initiative which assists orphans, vulnerable children, and caregivers affected by HIV/AIDS. Namibia's HIV/AIDS rate is among the highest in the world and many of its children are growing up in devastating situations with little hope for the future. Though I have not yet left the comforts of Canada, the Lord is already forming in me a deep compassion and brokenness for the people of Namibia. I ache for the children who have been and who are witnesses to their parents' agonizing death from the prevalent virus. I picture the pain and helplessness felt by infected mothers who know that one day they will leave their children far too prematurely to take care of themselves. I see a nation in desperate need of God's unconditional love. As the deputy prime minister of Namibia stated, her country is “on its knees”. They are hungry for food, thirsty for education, and crying out for hope; a hope which can only be found in the Lord Jesus.

     While in Namibia, I will have the great pleasure of teaching a remedial class for orphaned and vulnerable children. After school hours will involve teaching Bible stories through drama, puppetry, and a variety of other means, planning games, activities, and art projects. Though I never imagined my fondness for cooking playing a role in my ministry assignment in Africa, the Lord is full of surprises, and I will have the privilege of assisting with a nutritional feeding program which provides one nutritional meal a day for the children, as most suffer from malnutrition.

        As I prepare for this mission's trip, I would like to ask you to pray for me and for this ministry. For the Lord to prepare my heart for what is ahead, and to work also in the hearts of the children, and all Namibians, that they may be filled with hope through a true understanding of God's great love for them. There is much power in prayer; please pray as you feel led.      

    Thank you for taking the time to read through this letter. Your prayer, support, and encouragement are appreciated more than can be expressed.

    With much love and many thanks,

                                     ~Heather

“The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is maker of them all.”
-Proverbs 22:2