Next Step In Mission Work- Broken Arrow Bible Ranch

In the spring of 2010, Steve and Ann Knox and their family came to give a report at my church about Broken Arrow Bible Ranch in New Mexico. They challenged us to think about coming to help. I remember seeing them interact with our students at school and being impacted by their enthusiasm and passion working with kids. When I heard a team was going for a week from our area I was thrilled and knew I wanted to go. God had other plans. I was approached and asked if I wanted to go for the whole summer in 2011. I prayed about it and felt God was calling me to go. God provided for me financially in an amazing way and things just fell into place. I wasn't sure going out what my responsibilities would be, but I was willing to help wherever was needed. It was a giant step of faith for me to go (and completely out of my comfort zone), but I knew God was walking with me every step of the way. I said the first week that God was going to turn my life upside down and inside out this summer and that Satan was going to battle to destroy what God was building up. That sums up a lot of what happened in the following weeks. I was a counselor for a cabin of girls- some junior weeks and some teen weeks. I'd have between 7-10 girls a week. I enjoyed getting to know each one as they opened up to me. I remember my first week of camp hearing one of my campers tell me stories of what happened at home. I wasn't sure that I could emotionally bear hearing these stories the rest of the summer. The staff hugged me and said, "You can't but God can! Sometimes all you can do is hold them, cry with them, make sure they know God, love them, and let them go at the end of the week praying God takes care of them." That was my basis the rest of the summer: I can't, God never said I could. But He can, He always said He would! The thing that the staff kept repeating to the counselors every time they met with us was, "Did God fill your cup today?" We were pouring ourselves out to these campers week after week and if we weren't meeting with God to have our cups refilled, we would run out. In my 2nd week of camp, I had a cabin of girls who would not open up. In sharing this at the counselor's meeting, someone said it might take a crisis to reach them. Less than 2 hours later, during the weekly water fight, I fell seriously injuring my head. God had a lot to teach me in the following weeks it took me to heal. God used it to show the campers that He answers prayers, because my injury should have been much more severe. Two of my campers prayed that week to receive Christ. We had roughly 935 campers total during the summer and around 81 accepted Christ with many more rededicating their lives to Christ. One of my favorite parts of the summer was campfire night each week. To hear camper after camper get up and give testimony of their salvation that week or in past camps and how their life is permanently changed is something only God could do. Many got up to share what God had done at home for them and to encourage others to make the decision to accept/live for Christ because it'd be the best decision of their life. Broken Arrow Bible Ranch is a refuge, a safe place, for these campers to come to have fun and encounter God. Not only was this a life changing summer for campers, I learned so much more about God and my relationship with Him. God broke down walls I'd built over years and healed places I hadn't fully let go of before. God allowed me to come to a point, time after time, where I HAD to rely on Him- physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I had to find Him to be my strength in all the times that I was weak. Also, I formed many friendships that will last a lifetime. These people became part of my family. They prayed with me, cried with me, encouraged me, and helped me grow.  This summer I clearly heard God calling me to this work- for now during the summers. I am very burdened for the Native children and teenagers. That each one would hear about God's love for them, how special they are to Him, and the relationship they can have with Him. Many years ago I knew God put on my heart to be involved in mission work, but I had no idea how he'd orchestrate events in my life like me switching from nursing to teaching to get me where I'm at today. I don't know what God will have for me in the future, but I know it's the best. When you are willing for whatever God has for you, whether it's ministering to people here or going to another state or even another country, He can work in and through you in ways you can't imagine. At times I had questions and it was scary to go where I've never been before, but looking back I would have missed out on so many things if I let those doubts keep me from stepping forward. I'm learning that wherever my mission field is at that time in my life, to give 100% to that work.

Past Missions- How It All Began

I graduated from college with a degree in Elementary Education in May 2004. God immediately gave me a great job at a Christian school the same year. As the school years ended in 2005 and 2006, I felt God calling me to more than spending my summers with no real purpose. I started praying the following school year how God would have me spend my summer. I was talking to the father of a friend who had moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to work. He said I should call the director of Kodiak Baptist Mission. I called in the fall of 2006 and left a message inquiring about summer opportunities, but didn't hear anything back. I assumed that was not the direction God wanted me to take and moved on. Several months later- not very many weeks before camp started- I got a call saying yes they needed help and asked if I was still interested. I was very surprised! I felt God was definitely calling me to go, so I quickly bought my plane ticket and started packing. I was a counselor for the Kodiak Baptist Mission day camp. It was for grades 1-6. I planned or helped lead activities for different camps: pottery, horses, tide pooling, trips to parks, etc. I worked with first graders for small group devotions- read Bible stories and went over memory verses. I volunteered some at the preschool. There were many hardships during these summers including a long flight to Alaska (I hate flying!), getting used to being on an island (no quick way off), Kodiak Brown Bears, lots of rain (we did everything even in rain), and sleeping when it's still light out. I learned that evil darkness still exists in many parts of the world, especially when we went to Native villages. It was very oppressive spending time in these places. We would plan activities for the children to do during the week we were in the village like painting, baking, kayaking, or just hanging out with them. My heart went out to these kids. My 3rd summer in Alaska I had a severe ankle injury that occurred a couple weeks into camp (while on our backpacking trip) and it limited me greatly the rest of the summer. I wasn't able to travel around with the kids as much, but it gave me a chance to help out around the camp with other tasks like helping in the food pantry. God taught me so many things during my summers in Kodiak. A small act of love can make a child's day. I learned how to do a lot of new things like kayaking and white water rafting. What hit me most was the awesomeness of God's creation- the mountains, sighting whales and other wildlife, the beautiful sunsets over the water, finding sea glass on the beaches. I met and was able to build relationships with amazing people. I learned how to depend on God instead of my church and family. I realized how much the enemy will battle God's work and the amount of time I needed to spend in the Word and prayer to contest this spiritual warfare. After the summer of 2007, I was drawn back the next two summers. I saw God do so much in my life, the lives of the campers I spent time with, and the other staff I worked alongside during these three summers! I still miss this place, but God had other plans for me the next several summers.....