Upon returning to the US after a year and a half of living in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I had no concrete ideas about where God was leading me. I had a vague notion that He was going to keep me in LA for a while, but I didn’t know what that would look like. I’d heard stories of missionaries needing time to heal from their travels and to fall back in love with their home culture. Suffice it to say, I felt like I was being called to a season of waiting.
I moved in with some friends, got a job to pay the bills, and started going back to my church here in LA. While there was much that I thought of doing, I felt a check in my spirit every time I got close to actually following through with an idea. The reason for this was two fold.
First, it gave me time to heal and to rediscover my relationship with God. It helped remind me that simply resting in His presence made Him delight in me as much as anything I could do for Him.
Second, it motivated me to seek the Lord so much more as I searched for what was next. I kept asking Him for a partner in ministry and an organization with the same values He had instilled in me, namely the incarnational approach to ministry.
Thankfully, God answers prayers, and about six months after returning from Brazil I connected with Clint Baldwin who is now the Executive Director of Word Made Flesh. Over the last few months we have been on a step-by-step journey of learning and growing together. I’ve gotten to know Word Made Flesh and their ethos; they’ve gotten to know me and have helped me through the steps to make launching a field in Los Angeles, CA a reality!
God works on His own timeline and in His own ways! I couldn’t have imagined this future for myself when I first got back, but I know this is exactly what God had in mind.
Maybe you’re like I was, searching for your next steps. If that sounds like you, consider taking a look at the open positions in the WMF communities around the world. You never know where you could end up in a year.
Blessings,
Kimberly Farnham