Family and Friends,
Each journey begins with a single step, each step followed by more steps. Your path continues directly until you reach a divergent point where you must step out on faith again to travel down another path. My life journey continues with my most recent divergent point coming in the form of a letter saying, “Congratulations, you have been accepted to Northern Ireland.” All I could think was that I didn’t even apply for a stint in Northern Ireland.
Although secretly in my heart, I hoped the letter was not a mistake, I wanted to make sure the letter was genuinely meant for me. If the letter was true, then it meant that I would be spending a year in Northern Ireland. Yes, a full 365 days in another country. That brought my heart extreme joy. For those who know me well know I love being in other cultures and countries. From the first time reading my letter, I began to pray for the will of God to be done in and through my journey. If God wanted me to go to Northern Ireland, He would make the way clear-and He has.
As soon as I could, I spoke with my professor about the program and my acceptance letter for something I had not sought. I never actually applied for the program, yet I had received an acceptance letter. So I inquired if there had been some mistake. He informed me that he had placed me in the program because he thought I was a perfect fit for the team being sent to Northern Ireland. Wow, was I stunned. I asked him why he had placed me in the program. His response was simply, “Your desire and passion to serve people through leadership development would be a vital asset to the team going to Northern Ireland. When I was determining people for the team, your name came to mind.”
As you can imagine, I was dumbfounded. I needed time to pray about my decision. Honestly, I was in a state of shock that one of my professors would place me in a program without even knowing of my interest in the first place. After three weeks of fervent prayer, I felt lead and confident to say yes. I am now committed to a path leading to Northern Ireland for a year.
Starting in August 2010, I will be spending a year in Northern Ireland doing the following
- Church planting
- Ministry in Dundalk, Bray, and Gorey
- Living in Dundalk, which is in Northern Ireland
- Working in 13 church locations throughout all of the North of Ireland
- Preaching and friendship building in local areas (specifically around Dundalk)
- By the end of our time in Ireland, there is a hope to have weekly prayer meetings functioning in Dundalk, Bray, and Gorey with the potential to become churches
So my path sounds like a full year filled with plenty of experiences and numerous opportunities. No matter how prepared I feel now, I know nothing can fully prepare me for each step ahead so I have faith. Going down a path to Northern Ireland is extremely exciting to me because this path allows God to work in and through me to better mold me into his purposed creation. I can only commit that I am willing and able to let His change happen through each succeeding step of mine.
I ask as I begin this new journey to Northern Ireland that you would help by partnering with me in prayer. Prayer is a vital part of ministry and something I feel very strongly about. My prayer is the people of Ireland will be open and willing to hear the gospel through our friendship, testimonies, and shared experiences. So please be praying for God’s work already being done in Ireland and our work that lies ahead. Please pray for my teammates and I as we prepare for our journeys that will help shape the rest of our lives. During our time overseas, I will be updating a blog that you can follow at: lifeistooshortnottolive.blogspot.com. There will be pictures and weekly updates about the ministry being done in Northern Ireland. Thank you so much!
Not only would I seek your prayers but your financial support if you feel lead. This is a huge financial endeavor. Since I will be living a full year overseas and will not be able to work while I am there, I need to raise money for my year long ministry. May I ask you to pray about financially investing in my year overseas? Cost of this journey is over $10,000 for the entire year. Many of you have already contributed to my spiritual and personal development through supporting previous mission trips, and I am forever grateful. My previous life steps confirm God takes care of me-always. I find myself extremely grateful to, and blessed by, those whom God has prompted to support me financially. Thank you in advance for your prayer and financial support. Your contributions to my endeavor in Northern Ireland will be thankfully accepted and wisely employed.
If you feel lead to financially support my journey to Northern Ireland, please see the following contribution details:
Please send all contributions to the following address:
Global Ministry Center
Attn: Molly Cole
17001 Prairie Star Parkway
Lenexa, Kansas 66220
(Please be sure that contributions indicate the following on the memo line: “Hannah Beers 365M Northern Ireland”)
My goal is to keep in contact with as many people as possible who want to know my life steps since I believe God is pointing me towards fully time ministry overseas. My 365M steps are a big part of that journey. If you would like to be placed on an email list to get updates from my adventure, please email me at hbmiss@gmail.com. If you are fans of snail mail, I will gladly write letters as well! Please just let me know how you would like to keep up with my life steps in the journey God has me on for him.
Hannah
