Monday, March 21, 2011

New Beginning.

Dear friends, 

Much has happened since the last time I wrote to you.

First, I want to apologize that it has been so long in between updates. The Lord has taken me through a ton of transition over the past couple months that, although good, was definitely not anticipated. I hope that you can all forgive me and rejoice alongside me as I share with you what has been happening in my life.

During the month of February, I literally felt as if my life went from a good and steady 45mph to about 100mph almost overnight.  At the Hope House, we were going through the state licensing procedure which was extensive, we were beginning to get leads for more referrals for residents, and our outreach ministry, Rahab’s Hope, was gaining momentum at an incredible pace. At Biltmore Baptist, I began getting more and more involved with the College Ministry and was also invited to serve on the core leadership team for the Singles and College Ministries. God began growing a strong desire in my heart to be able to minister with and through my new church family more and more. Lastly, I learned that I had been accepted into the advanced standing Masters in Social Work Program at Western Carolina! The program starts in July and will end in August 2012. As exciting as all of these things were, I began wondering how I would have balance in my life and began questioning if the Lord really wanted me to have all of these things on my plate during this particular season of my life.

As these things began unfolding I was surprised that the thing I felt my heart being pulled away from the most was my involvement with the Hope House. These feelings were confirmed recently through a situation that shed light on some differing views of how the ministry should operate. I also realized how extremely burned out I am from working in Residential Care in general. I felt a strong tug from the Lord to take a step back, rest, establish some boundaries, and start pouring myself out into some other areas of ministry. Therefore, I decided to resign from Hope House a couple weeks ago. The decision was mutual and we are all on good terms. I have also not lost my passion for serving victims of sex-trafficking at all and I hope to continue to pursue that and possibly continue to be involved with On Eagles Wings in some capacity in the future.

I am in hopeful anticipation about this time in my life. Although so many things are uncertain and that can be scary at times, I know the Lord is going to refine me SO much. I have always had a plan, and now it is time for me to surrender my plans completely to Him. I know that I am supposed to be in the Asheville area and ministering in my church, so I am currently staying in the area because of the generosity and hospitality of a couple families, and looking for a job to support me while I minister to these college students. I may be starting Graduate School in July, but for right now, I know God is telling me to take a day at a time and trust Him to provide, so that’s what I intend on doing. Faith means living with uncertainty. Without a need there would be no reason to trust. Ultimately, I am grateful for such a tangible, obvious need and dependency upon Christ because I am going to learn to stand on Him as my provider and rock in ways that I never have before.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and for all of your love, support, encouragement, and prayers. I would love to continue to share what the Lord is doing in my life with you all and would love for you all to do the same with me!

In Him,

Shannon

Prayer Requests:
A Job
A stable living situation/good roommates
New relationships/friendships @ Biltmore Baptist
Wisdom in ministering to the college women of Biltmore Baptist
Clarity of vision for the College and Singles Ministry
Unity among leadership
Discernment for attending Graduate School