God's confirmation
Welcome home to Kavi and Taylor. They will be having their third boy the end of June.
We the Yates family continue to prepare for our first departure. In this season of preparation, God has continually been reminding me of the ways he has confirmed our calling, as the preparation and the grief of "see you later" gets more difficult. It has been really good to remind ourselves (and I ask that others also remind us) of how we got to where we are!
In 2010, Adam and I started praying intentionally every week with two other couples from residency, the Simpsons and the Tinsleys about wisdom and discernment for the future and the possibility of serving the Lord together internationally. We felt God answered our prayers for the Simpsons and the Yates to serve together as God united our vision for ministry both in and around the hospital. Spring of 2011, we had a special bible study at the home of our friend and residency director's home where we learned about LifeWind International and the CHE model of ministry (Community Health Evangelism). Kavi and Taylor, our ministry partners, left the meeting that night saying "YES, this is EXACTLY what we want to do." It was almost the perfect example of what God had taught them and showed them during Kavi's Masters in Public Health. The more Adam and I learned, the more excited we became and thus our team was formed. We then began praying about the place God had for us where we could incorporate our new found passion for CHE while using our medical skills. The director of LifeWind International directed us to Soddo Christian Hospital.
In the winter of 2012, we received a word from a friend of ours while visiting our home church Pasadena Foursquare. Heather Richardson spoke boldly and said, "Michelle, I believe that God has already created a place for you to serve that stems our of relationship with your home church." At that time, we didn't know any international ministry at our home church and I, Michelle, sort of thought, well that sounds nice Heather, but yeah right? We then traveled to Chicago for the board meeting of Soddo Christian Hospital in March 2012. The board for SCH was still praying over the direction of the hospital, but they thought that a partnership with an organization called The Mossy Foot Project would be a great fit for our medical skills and our passion for CHE. In the middle of winter in Chicago, we googled this organization and found out that it's headquarters were less than a mile from our home. As we returned home, we were then introduced to the Mossy Foot Project president, Sharon Daly, and found out that she goes to our church! Heather's prophetic words over our lives rung true. The more we prayed the more we felt confirmed that this was the place God had been preparing for us.
The rest of the journey to Soddo Christian Hospital has a lot of ups and downs, but mostly a lot of patience and waiting on the Lord. Thus, in the many seasons of waiting and in the challenges that will come while we are there, it is so good to remind ourselves of God's clear confirmation over our process and over our service. Praise God that we directs our path, that he uses us to speak in each other's lives, like Heather. And Praise God for Heather that she took the bold step to share those words with us. They have been life giving and life changing.
We the Yates family continue to prepare for our first departure. In this season of preparation, God has continually been reminding me of the ways he has confirmed our calling, as the preparation and the grief of "see you later" gets more difficult. It has been really good to remind ourselves (and I ask that others also remind us) of how we got to where we are!
In 2010, Adam and I started praying intentionally every week with two other couples from residency, the Simpsons and the Tinsleys about wisdom and discernment for the future and the possibility of serving the Lord together internationally. We felt God answered our prayers for the Simpsons and the Yates to serve together as God united our vision for ministry both in and around the hospital. Spring of 2011, we had a special bible study at the home of our friend and residency director's home where we learned about LifeWind International and the CHE model of ministry (Community Health Evangelism). Kavi and Taylor, our ministry partners, left the meeting that night saying "YES, this is EXACTLY what we want to do." It was almost the perfect example of what God had taught them and showed them during Kavi's Masters in Public Health. The more Adam and I learned, the more excited we became and thus our team was formed. We then began praying about the place God had for us where we could incorporate our new found passion for CHE while using our medical skills. The director of LifeWind International directed us to Soddo Christian Hospital.
In the winter of 2012, we received a word from a friend of ours while visiting our home church Pasadena Foursquare. Heather Richardson spoke boldly and said, "Michelle, I believe that God has already created a place for you to serve that stems our of relationship with your home church." At that time, we didn't know any international ministry at our home church and I, Michelle, sort of thought, well that sounds nice Heather, but yeah right? We then traveled to Chicago for the board meeting of Soddo Christian Hospital in March 2012. The board for SCH was still praying over the direction of the hospital, but they thought that a partnership with an organization called The Mossy Foot Project would be a great fit for our medical skills and our passion for CHE. In the middle of winter in Chicago, we googled this organization and found out that it's headquarters were less than a mile from our home. As we returned home, we were then introduced to the Mossy Foot Project president, Sharon Daly, and found out that she goes to our church! Heather's prophetic words over our lives rung true. The more we prayed the more we felt confirmed that this was the place God had been preparing for us.
The rest of the journey to Soddo Christian Hospital has a lot of ups and downs, but mostly a lot of patience and waiting on the Lord. Thus, in the many seasons of waiting and in the challenges that will come while we are there, it is so good to remind ourselves of God's clear confirmation over our process and over our service. Praise God that we directs our path, that he uses us to speak in each other's lives, like Heather. And Praise God for Heather that she took the bold step to share those words with us. They have been life giving and life changing.
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