Elisabet Kirkland Page 68

By Heather Colburn

I never stop being amazed at all the ways that God finds to answer our prayers. Most recently, He planned a huge answer to prayer for our family BEFORE we even prayed it. And He even did it with a sense of humor! 

At the beginning of this school year, I had gotten a teaching job that was online and very flexible. I was excited to have some freedom this year while our kids were back in school. I had it all planned: some working, some exercising, time for errands, maybe even a little free time once in a while.

Then just 4 days before school started, I got a call from a friend who is the principal at a small Christian school in Fort Collins. She still hadn’t found a teacher for one of her classes. She wanted to know if I would consider this last-minute position. Even though I had been looking forward to only one online teaching job, I asked her more about the position. Her answers actually made me laugh out loud! 

You see, I am an elementary teacher. God created within me the love of working with young kids. I like fourth grade and below, but most recently I have discovered a love of teaching Kindergarten. It’s pretty amazing teaching kids how to read! 

Well, guess what position my friend needed to be filled ASAP? It was teaching science, which was my very worst subject when I was in school. And it was for middle school students: grades 6th, 7^th, and 8^th. You really can’t get further from my abilities and experience than to ask me to teach middle school science classes! 

Long story short: I said yes to the job. I prayed and thought about it so much and felt in my heart with certainty that I was supposed to take this job. The funny part was that this didn’t make any sense to me. Why would God want me to take a job that I wouldn’t like, that was beyond my experience and what I love to do? 

I found out a few months later exactly why He placed me in that school at that time. I’m sure it was partly to help my friend and to help the middle school students, but even bigger than that, He knew that one of my own kids needed to attend this school. I would never have known that part-way through the first quarter, we would need to make a dramatic change for our son Carter because his school situation was not healthy for him. I had never even visited this new school before so it wouldn’t have been on our radar for Carter. We would’ve been stuck without a Plan B when Carter needed a new school option.

The beautiful part about this story is that before Rande, my husband, and I even prayed for an answer to Carter’s school dilemma, God had already provided an answer! He placed me in what I thought was the most absurd teaching position so that I could be ready to prepare the way for Carter to join me at that school. 

Carter has been at this new school for only a couple weeks now, and I have seen God’s hand in so many ways already. From the sweet kids in his class, to the teachers, the workload and schedule, this school was hand-picked for our son by God. The way that He led Carter here was not a path I would have ever chosen or thought of, but I can see now how He was leading us here all along … even before we asked. 

I hope this experience reminds you how God loves you so much, that He already has a plan for you and a solution before you even ask for His help. You can trust Him with what comes next! I have seen this year His incredible providence to be at least 10 steps ahead of me, always ready with what He knows my family will need next. We are so loved and tenderly cared for to serve a personal God like that! 

Isaiah 65:24: “Before you call, I will answer. While you are still speaking, I will hear.”

—Heather Colburn is a member of The Adventure Church, Greeley, Colorado. Article is republished by permission and appeared first in The Adventure Church eNewsletter, January 21, 2023. Photo from iStock.

RMCNews – Greensboro, North Carolina … January 8-11 concluded three intense years of leading the churches in each of the North American Division conferences in new ways of doing ministry. Several hundred church ministry leaders have had to get creative and think outside the box during the pandemic, as they could not allow the pandemic to stop them from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Under the theme Replenish, the Adventist Ministries Convention met in Greensboro, North Carolina, to evaluate their own ministry and learn how creative and successful other colleagues had been.

Among them was Vanessa Alarcón, a licensed therapist and ministry leader from Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC), presenting issues of faith and mental health.

“One evening after work, DeeAnn Bragaw, NAD women’s ministry director, called and invited me to present a seminar focused on mental health. She told me she couldn’t get me out of her mind as a potential presenter and felt impressed to invite me officially.” I was stunned. “Me?” I asked myself. “Of all the women across the division, women with more experience or a fancy ministry title, why me? I’m a licensed therapist with experience presenting these seminars, but a room full of Conference and Union directors sounded highly intimidating. During that call, I felt peace knowing God was behind this invitation,” Vanessa reminisced.

DeeAnn expressed that she wanted to create a space for younger and newer voices in the division. And she was right. As Vanessa looked at the program and other presenters, she wasn’t surprised to realize that she was, indeed, the youngest presenter at the convention. 

Reflecting on her convention experience, Vanessa said she spent months preparing for the seminar. “The day of the presentation was a whirlwind of adrenaline. I was blessed to have my parents, Rubén and Patty Rivera, attending the convention in their respective ministry roles at RMC. They prayed with me throughout the day, which helped ground me when my nerves began to increase. Minutes after I arrived at the room where my seminar would take place, I received a surprise visit from Doug Inglish, RMC vice president for administration. He came to give me words of encouragement which was a nice way to feel the support from the conference,” she explained.

Hearing reports from other participants, she sensed that they all had a wonderful experience presenting and chatting with the directors after the seminars as they met to debrief the content. Vanessa hopes more young people get to experience connecting with leaders across the division through experiences like she had. “It brings a new appreciation for the ministry happening in our church,” she believes.  

She looks forward to collaborating with the NAD leaders on creating relevant ministry material to further equip church leaders to provide trauma-informed spiritual care. 

Among other participants from RMC was Mickey Mallory, RMC ministerial director.

“The theme for this convention,” commented Mickey, was ‘Replenish’. It was a very timely topic for Christian leaders who sometimes spend so much time helping others that they don’t set aside enough time to be replenished physically, emotionally, and spiritually.” 

“It was great being together with ministry colleagues again after not being able to meet for a few years due to the pandemic. I found the morning and evening sessions to be very practical. My favorite was by Pastor Dave Ferguson from the Collegedale Church on the benefits of laughter. It is amazing how a little humor can make a big difference in your day,” Mickey added.

Doug Inglish shared his observations about the convention, saying, “The breakout sessions have been highly relevant for me, addressing some critical administrative issues that RMC is facing. But perhaps the most significant benefit is meeting with people outside the sessions who are providing possibilities for our future personnel needs,” he said.

—RMCNews with Mickey Mallory and Vanessa Alarcón. Photo by Mickey Mallory.