“His” - by Alyssa Willms

Some four year olds know exactly how they are going to save the world when they grow up. No doubt the little world changers are going to do just that. Me, I aspired to drive a limo, because who doesn’t want to be in a limo every day!? It wasn’t until later on in high school when I “discovered my calling” as some say. It was during a presentation on Mercy Ships at my church’s mission’s day that God first started putting nursing on my mind. Perhaps my young spirit was primarily enticed by the adventure of it all, but He has such a way of speaking to us in a way that we respond to. This was it.

After graduation I did a discipleship training school with YWAM which gave me the opportunity to be on a medical ship in Papua New Guinea. I was living the dream. God did a lot of confirming in my heart that this was the direction He desired for me during this time. Coming home from my time with YWAM I was PUMPED to start studying to be a nurse. 

University hasn’t been nearly as exciting as learning about Jesus and health care from the jungles of PNG. Some days limo driving still seems like a viable option, but God knows our hearts so well. I remember the exact moment He spoke it. “I lead you into nursing because I knew you would love it.” He hadn’t brought me to this place because I’m a tool for Him to use, but rather He brought me here to enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, I want God to use me more than anything, but that isn’t His intention. Nursing isn’t my “calling”. He calls me His daughter. We are created for love, not to complete a task or role.

You’re probably not four anymore, but what do you want to be when you grow up? No matter where you go, or what you do, remember that your highest calling is love. That has always been His plan for you. With nearly 22 years under my belt I certainly haven’t figured out life yet, but I have decided what I want to be when I grow up. I’m going to be His.  

Winter Favourites

For the record, winter is not my favourite but here some of my favourites from this winter:

My favourite category will always be books:

1. No More Faking Fine by Esther Fleece - This book blew my mind. It talks about grieving in a way I had never considered. It talks about the term “lament” and why it is important to our walk with God. It has helped me learn to grieve things that I previously wouldn’t let myself feel. More than that, this book taught me to let God into those dark and hurt emotions and help heal my heart.

2. Strengthening of the Soul of your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton - I should premise this by saying that I was supposed to start reading this book months ago for a small group I am a part of, but only recently started to catch up. I am only a few chapters in and this book is so good! It is one of those books that you can't always explain fully because of how it seems to speak right to your soul. I have been craving solitude for months and this book finally put into words exactly why. So excited to keep reading.

Next, music:

I have been really enjoying new worship music the past few months (credit to Joel for always introducing me to great music), here are a few of my favourites:

1. When You Walk Into The Room by Brian & Katie Torwalt - Whenever this song comes on in the car when I am alone, there is a 90% chance it will make me cry.

2. Not in a Hurry by Will Reagan - I am usually not a huge fan of Will Reagan, but this song is so good for me (especially when I am driving and people are going slow).

3. Sails by Pat Barrett, Steffany Gretzinger, and Amanda Cook - The bridge though?! Ughhhh so good.

4. Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble by Upperroom - oldie but a goodie and their version is so powerful

5. I will exalt you by Hillsong Worship (the live version) - I have sung this song so many times at The Storefront and I loveeee this song.

6. Surrounded (fight my battles) by Upperroom - This song has a bit of a story to it. I first heard of it in Indiana where someone told me about it while praying for me. Since then it has become a go to song for me when I am having a hard time worshiping or am super overwhelmed.

7. Seasons by Hillsong Worship - OH MY GOODNESS if you have not heard this song, you are seriously missing out. This is the perfect song for someone who is in a tough season of life.

I recently made a worship playlist with all of these songs and more. If you wanna change it up, feel free to give it a listen: https://open.spotify.com/user/lgalenkamp/playlist/0H62GJQ4Y0vMVAqbQoBAMg?si=QPzqAd4XQ8ybGlkx2hiyHw

One thing I learned about myself: Rest is a normal and good thing. Also take vitamin D pills in the winter especially if you are deficient.

One thing I learned about God: Winter is hard, but God is still good.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Kiva - Empowering Real Individuals

Photo taken by Michelle Sypkes.

Every year for Christmas, my grandma gives each of her grandchildren some Christmas money. Every year she tells us to spend it on something special. I always had a hard time thinking of something special. For most of high school, I was not a spender at all. I bought food and that was most of it. It wasn’t because I was broke or even that I was saving for anything in particular, but I didn’t see a need to buy much. In grade 11 or 12, I was introduced to Kiva and I finally found my “something special”.

Kiva is a way to give microloans to people around the world who are in need. It can be for medical expenses, household expenses, education expenses, business expansion expenses, or other expenses. You can also choose what category of people you give to (eg. women, single parents) or which country you give to. The best part? It is not a donation; it is a loan. They have a 96.8% repayment rate. Each individual is working to repay you and once they have, you are able to reloan those same funds to someone new. And it is so easy! The minimum loan you can give is $25, which is around the same price as a gift exchange gift.

Why is this needed? As illustrated in the documentary “Living on one dollar”, banking systems can be very difficult institutes for the average person to benefit from in most third world countries. They usually require documentation that individuals don't have. They also often have extremely high interest rates and individuals can become stuck in debt and not able to get themselves out. This can also result in individuals losing everything in order to try and pay those ever climbing debts.

I should also note that this plays on the empowerment piece that I have mentioned before. By providing someone with a loan instead of a donation, you are empowering them to invest in their quality of life. When someone’s quality of life goes up, it benefits everyone (them, their family, and their community). They are also then able to take more pride in their work as they are better able to pay back the loan.

If you know me at all, you know that I love people. That is what I am most passionate about, so for me, giving loans to those who need it is my something special. What I think is really great about Kiva is your ability to invest in someone who is passionate about the same things that you are. For example, if you are passionate about the arts, you can invest in someone in that category, or if you are passionate about supporting women, then you can invest in women.

Kiva has been really great because of my rhythm. Every year between Christmas and the new year,  I log into Kiva and add my Christmas money to my kiva credit. By that time, many of my loans from the previous year have begun to be repaid. I get to explore the Kiva pages and find people who I want to invest in. It is a great way to either end my year, or start a new year. Are you interested in investing in real people? Check out Kiva here: https://www.kiva.org/

Be Filled

“God, I want more of you.”

Photo taken by Michelle Sypkes

For so long, it felt as though I was trying to convince myself that I was doing a good enough job in my relationship with God. But I have come to the realization that if you are trying to measure if you are good enough in a relationship, it’s probably not a very strong relationship.

Some of my favourite moments are of surrender. It shows vulnerability and usually expresses a moment when your heart is finally ready to stop holding tightly onto something that hurts you. In January of 2018, I had one of these key moments that I repeatedly prayed: “God, I want more of you.”

Story time:

Every year, my best friend and I ask God for a word over our year. I don’t even remember where we first heard of this concept, but it has definitely stuck.

In January of 2018, Alyssa and I decided to go on a road trip to New York City (funny story… we never quite made it there… we spent 5 days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania instead). We were both still waiting for our word and I remember feeling in my gut that I would have it before I got home.

On our way back from our trip, we still hadn’t figured out what our words were. It was a Sunday night, so we went to The Storefront (kind of like a young adults group but also not really). We walked in exhausted from driving eight straight hours and I remember feeling again that I would have my word before I got home. It didn’t come out of desperation at all, but rather from a place of peace.

As we began worship, a friend, Hannah, shared about how she wanted to have more of a hunger for God. I can’t remember exactly the words she used but I remember that everything she said spoke to a deep part of my heart.

I went and asked her if she would pray for me and expressed that I wanted more of God, too. She prayed and the song that was playing in the background and the words that she was praying suddenly came together and a phrase filled my head: Be Filled. That was it. That was my word.

In typical Lauren fashion, I had doubts. I doubted that I had heard right. I doubted that my heart was in the right place. I doubted everything. But as we drove home (FINALLY), I said to Alyssa: “I think I have my word…” to which she answered, “Me too!” And as we shared how God had worked in each of us, I had so much peace that this was the right word.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit – Romans 15:13.

So that’s what I am working towards. Being filled. I want to be filled by God and through God. A big realization that I have had is that in order to be filled up by God, other things need to leave and get out of the way. But in every instance of letting go, the prayer that stays in my heart is “God, I want more of you.”

Sole Hope - The Power of Empowerment

Photo taken by Michelle Sypkes

Sole Hope is among my favourite examples of empowerment in the nonprofit sector. In the western culture we seem to have a hero mentality. We are told from a young age things like “you can change the world” and “because we are fortunate we give to the less fortunate”. Neither of these statements are inherently bad, in fact they often inspire action. I just think that it also tends to create a mindset that puts you above those people rather than alongside them.

The hero mentality is very evident when you look at foreign aid. I sometimes like to think about how weird it must be to have people from a different country come into your community and start handing out free things. On a trip to Haiti and the Dominican, I was shown many different organizations that operated there. The most powerful thing that I saw, was organizations that were started by westerners, but operated by the people from those communities.

Sole Hope is a prime example of empowerment in so many ways. It should also be noted that they are not only empowering the people they serve in Uganda, but they also empower Westerners. They do this by their program of “Shoe Cutting Parties”. Let me break it down for you:

1. You start by getting old pairs of jeans that you don’t need anymore. (recycling)

2. Take out your party kit that you have ordered off of their website, and find everything that you need to host a party. (introductory videos, templates for tracing, ect.)

3. You then host the party. The videos provided explains their mission (this in itself educates about a different way to “give to others”).

4. You are given the opportunity to sponsor a pair of shoes. (Those who are still willing and able to give financially, are empowered to give thoughtfully.)

5. The traced out jeans are packaged up and sent to Sole Hope who sends them to Uganda. Those jeans are then created into shoes in Uganda for their own communities. (This creates fair paying jobs and also teaches them a the payable skill of sewing etc.)

6. It should also be mentioned that this all started because of the problem of “jiggers”. These are small bugs that burrow into the skin, often the feet, and cause pain and difficulty to live a normal life. The shoes being made are only one step of their mission.

7. As they go into communities where the shoes will be distributed, they teach the community about how to treat jiggers, how to prevent jiggers, and overall importance of cleanliness and sanitation. (This kind of education, can be key in stopping the problem because they are now empowered to take care of themselves, their families, and communities.)

I personally love the Shoe Cutting Parties because anyone can do it. I have now hosted 4 shoe cutting parties with totally different groups each time. My favourite part is teaching about how there are more creative and empowering ways to give. No matter the age group, the concepts are pretty straight forward.

Every single one of my Shoe Cutting Parties has happened near Christmas. At first, it just worked out that way, but now it’s my favourite time. Rather than a typical Christmas party where everyone brings a gift that you don’t really want or need, you can have a party where you are putting that money to put towards benefiting others.
If you are interested in learning more, visit their website: http://solehope.org/