Tag: missionary

Bon Voyage–in Less Than a Year

On By Nicole Corlew CurtisIn Uncategorized5 Comments
indigenous flower
an indigenous flower of SA (Please don't ask me the name!)

“Hello, Short-Timer,” greeted a colleague as we walked to our cars after work today. “When do you leave us?”
“Next . . . in January,” I replied.

Suddenly, it hit me. I have less than a year before I move to Cape Town! As I drove home, feelings of excitement, fear, and being overwhelmed hit me like waves. Sometimes I wonder how I am going to get everything done while still working full time and while still trying to have a life. Sometimes it seems impossible; at other times, all the factors of my transitioning life seem to operate like clockwork.

So why am I going through all this bother? Why am I giving up most of my material stuff, my way of life, my comfort zone? Why am I leaving my family and friends to move literally across the world? I think these are the questions most people really want to ask when they ask me, “Why are you becoming a missionary?” At times, it is even hard for me to imagine a life without Starbucks and my iPhone.

Since this blog is about my journey to become a Christian cross-cultural worker (missionary), I thought it might be helpful and interesting (and perhaps entertaining) to hear part of the backstory. So in the next couple of weeks, I plan to start a blog series that tells about my discernment process, how I was able to discern God’s call to mission work.

Stay tuned.

Placement Decision: Growing the Church

On By Nicole Corlew CurtisIn Uncategorized4 Comments

Drumroll, please.

After much prayer, discernment, and reflection, I have decided to serve with Growing the Church, an Anglican initiative of southern Africa that is committed to the spiritual and physical growth of the church. To put it plain and simple, I feel as though this is where God is calling me to serve. The vision of Growing the Church is to help the Anglican Church “be a vibrant God-centered church, which is clearly growing spiritually, numerically, and holistically.”

Growing the Church is a provincial ministry that serves the entire Anglican Church of Southern Africa, which includes the countries of Angola, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, St. Helena (where Napoleon was exiled and did not escape), and South Africa. The initiative began in 2007 and is still in the growth stage. One of their ministries is the “school of youth development,” and I will be helping to grow, shape, and develop this ministry. The details of my work are still to be fleshed out, but I think a lot of it will evolve organically overtime once I’m in Cape Town. I also have the opportunity to work on one or two publications while I’m there.

Katy, Trevor, and me
Katy, Trevor, and me

I’m super-excited about being a part of Growing the Church. It’s a small organization, but God is already using it in big ways. It will be a privilege and an honor to be a part of this team. I love working with young people, and to have the opportunity to help equip and empower young people to be leaders in their churches and communities is a dream come true! South Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world, and the church in South Africa is rightly concerned about the future of this generation, as they are faced with so many difficult issues, such as the lack of quality education, high unemployment, and HIV/AIDS. The young people of South Africa (and the province of southern Africa) are the church and country leaders of today and tomorrow. It’s very humbling and exciting to know that God has chosen me to come and walk beside them on this journey of faith.

local youth leaders, me, Estelle (far right)
me with local youth leaders and Estelle (far right)

I am also super-excited about the people with whom I will be working. Father Trevor Pearce is over Growing the Church and Estelle Adams also plays a key role in the initiative. Both Trevor and Estelle took such wonderful care of Jen and me while we were in South Africa, and we had an amazing time with them. I instantly connected with them; and when I move to Cape Town next year, I feel as though I will be moving to a city with family members waiting to welcome me with open arms.

I hope you will share in my excitement. Thank you for your continual prayers.

Preparing for Placement Visit

On By Nicole Corlew CurtisIn Uncategorized8 Comments

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” comes to mind when I think of all the preparations I still have to make for my placement visit to Cape Town. (Leave it to Dickens to say it best.) Getting sick last week threw me for a loop and got me behind in everything. I’m still not hundred percent, and I’m trying not to get overwhelmed as I begin to hash out my to-do list.

While I was sick, I started to think about the true purpose of my placement trip. I have been so busy with the preparations that I haven’t had much time to think about the reason why I’m traveling to Cape Town in the first place. Yes, I’m going there to visit four organizations–Scripture Union South Africa, Growing the Church, Anglican Youth South Africa, Anglican Students’ Federation–with which I may work for the long term. But what do these visits really signify? A lot, to tell the truth; and I’m somewhat nervous. My skill sets and personality needs to match their needs and vice versa; my placement needs to be a good fit.

I think my fears go back to the old elementary school fear with which we adults still struggle: Will they like me? Will they want me to be a part of their team? I’m praying for God to help me lay aside these fears and to trust him to lead me to the right organization. In the end, that’s where I want to be; there’s where I can make a difference, give, receive, learn, and grow. God has been guiding each step of my journey to become a cross-cultural Christian worker, and I know God will continue to do so. I just need to listen.