A Stirring Why...

You are part of God’s calling for missionaries. What calling, you ask? You’ll find it in Matthew 9: 37-38. It goes like this…

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest field.”

So now what? That’s easy! Be obedient and pray for laborers! For some of you this will mark a time when God uses your prayer life to support and encourage a missionary. For some, this will mark a time when God uses you to meet the practical needs of a missionary. For others, this will mark a time when God stirs you up to become a missionary. Whether it is in Aurora, like me, or across the sea, it is a blessing to follow.

Please allow me to share my heart with you so that you can become part of God’s call on my life as a missionary. It has grown over the last 9 years from working with at-risk teens to building relationships and community for my East Colfax neighborhood, my ministry to small groups and individuals just like you.

But first, some background on who I am as a Christian & a missionary…

I became a prodigal living along East Colfax by the age of 10 and proceeded to make uninformed and simply bad choices which led to crime and abuse. My story could have ended there, as a victim living in fear and emotional isolation, but for the grace of God.

Nothing fancy changed my prodigal perspective. I just began meeting some everyday Christians, just like you. People that prayed, chatted, invited me for a meal, or simply treated me with quiet respect. Steered back to reconciliation with my family, my parents and I worked to rebuild trust and friendship. The Holy Spirit did the rest and I discovered that I could find healing for my body, mind and soul through Christ. No longer a victim, I am a survivor, and through Christ, so much more.

Now, a missionary to the very streets that tried to brake me. I’m passionate about sharing God’s plans for building relationships, and for community development with church partners and champions. Now I am a point person for agencies & churches serving our community. Additionally, I facilitate our church partners in offering their congregations safe & enriching opportunities for them to serve God as they serve His marginalized people & at-risk children.

As Christ is faithful to bring alongside me pastors to instruct me, a willing team of Champions, and most importantly a prayer team (that would be you! Yes, you!) I want to thank you in advance for your prayers, for the gifts and support as you become a partner in building God’s kingdom, and the time you will take in asking God to lead you to what He has for you.

In faith,           

Vicki Ekberg  

Give us this day

Asking a small group of teens what they think about 9/11 is not as different as you'd expect:

"I think it's stupid!  We should have just dropped the big bomb on their a**es. Nobody should be messin' with us!"

"I think the government is stupid.  They could have stopped it.  They just wanted a reason to crack down on everybody.  My brother says they just want to read our email and listen to our cell phones and lock us up."

"I think you're stupid.  I'm glad that they are doing a memorial so people have a place to come, like a headstone at a grave.  It's important to have a place to go when you miss someone."

"But not everyone one gets a memorial, not everyone gets remembered." (His father had been shot and killed in front of him just 2 month ago by a police officer.)

So I asked her, "Why do you think it's important to have a memorial where we can go to mourn?"

"Because we need to feel close to them.  And maybe close to others that lost, too. Like when you talked to us about God wanting us to know people instead of just judge them.  That it's harder to hate a group when you know someone in it that gives you a different story."

"That doesn't mean that group won't still kill you, though."

"No, but I don't want to live like I'm afraid.  I want to count the good things, the things I can control, like my friends, my family, the people in my life.  I don't want no lairs, or players, or crooks in my life anymore."

"But it's bigger than that!  If I want someone to respect me, than I need to look them in the eye.  They have to see me, not some gang, or school, or group.  They need to know my name."

I asked the group, "What do you think would change if that were true?"

There were no great big solutions that night.  No earth shattering revelations.  Yet, we all shared our points of view, learned something deeper about each other and our world.  I felt the Spirit moving from one to another, to another.  These are the conversations I cherish, because I know if we don't communicate and create community together, we all lose.