What if moving to a new country is just like kindergarten all over again? Nervous? Excited? Don’t know what to expect?


Did my Mom pack my lunch? What if I don't like my teacher? What if the other kids are mean to me? Am I sure I have all my school supplies? What if I get lost?

















Time to put on my big girl pants and be brave. I'm going in!!! Who's with me?

I'm slightly paralyzed with the idea of moving to another country...

How do you even start? What do you do first?

Here's my well thought out and brilliant strategic plan:

- Save every dime I currently have or will ever have.
- Fundraise. My friends love me... right?
- Make every moment special... I'm short on time
- Pray
- Continue to seek God's direction
- Ask 10 million questions
- Obtain a lifetime supply of certified copies of passports and birth certificates
- Operate an international cell phone
- Do they even have bank accounts in Africa?
- Hmmm....health insurance. Yeah, gonna need that.
- PACK my life into two 50lb suitcases
- Yard sales in January are lovely... right?
- Can you buy 8 gallon tolietries?
- Complete my training with my pastor
- Which doctor can I can convince to prescribe me a years worth of medications?
- Update my computer as this will be my lifeline to the outside world
- Prepare for special events while I'm away like friends birthdays and babies and weddings and...
- Call my Mom five times a day because I can
- Remain Calm
- Cry. Hug. Repeat.
- Trust
- Obey
- Pray.

And the list goes on....

I'm moving to Africa. To be a missionary.

There. I said it. It's official. I can't take it back.

I've committed to at least a year of living overseas and I couldn't be more excited! I'm sure you are asking, "How did this happen?" I'm still asking myself that same question!

Should I back up a bit and fill you in? My story of missions starts a long time ago...

I've known I was going to be a nurse since I was six. I have it written in my childhood journal.  At age ten I can remember listening to stories of missionaries, home on furlough, knowing that someday my story would sound like theirs. I remember asking God at a very young age to give me the call for missions even as I served as a "missionette" in our local church. As a teenager I dog eared the brochure sent to me by mission organizations for teens. During college breaks I worked for the Christian and Missionary Alliance in their accounting department, making sure missionaries got their paychecks and that their children's boarding school tuition got paid. I always assumed that at some point God would call me to overseas ministry.

In following good friends to Nashville, TN, my world became saturated with social justice. I watched my best friend and her husband fight for clean water and health care in rural African communities. I read book after book detailing the needless suffering of people around the world. I heard artists weaving stories of poverty into their songs. I listened to sermons on God's response to poverty and His heart for orphans and widows. Over the course of a few years, my eyes were slowly opened to the injustices and hardships being lived out around the globe in my own lifetime. I became convinced that our call as Christians, was to care, to move and to act.

Starting in 2007, I took several short-term missions trips with Sweet Sleep to Moldova & Uganda, deepening my desire to use my nursing skills overseas. I attended conferences, researched non-profit organizations and applied to several missions organizations. For whatever reason I was never able to find where I fit.

It was mid-2009 when I began to hear rumblings of an organization in South Africa that needed a nurse. My church partnered with this organization and it's founder often came to the States, and to our church to visit. Over the last year and a half, I've gotten to know Pastor John Thomas, and his ministry, Living Hope.

In just a few short years, this small organization has grown into a force to be reckoned with. Living Hope now plays a vital role in Capetown, South Africa in the prevention, care, treatment and support of people infected and affected by HIV, AIDS, and other chronic illnesses. They practically wrote the book on holistic  treatment initiatives.


I've always told God that in order for me to commit to any one particular organization, or group of people or country, I would need a VERY specific call. Well, He answered my prayer in March of 2010.

The first time I ever officially met John Thomas, as he was still shaking my hand, he half-jokingly asked me a question in his adorable SA accent... "Have I told you that God has a plan for your life, and that His plan is for you to come work for Living Hope, in South Africa?" I laughed it off, and told Pastor John I would consider it. Later I came to realize that it doesn't get any more specific than that.

From that point on it has unfolded almost without effort. Each little step seemed so insignificant, that I barely  registered what they meant to the whole process. "Sure, I'll put in an application. Why not attend that missions course?" Suddenly, I found myself in a position to be forced to make a decision. Would I really leave my home, sell all my belongings and move to Africa? Would I trust God enough to provide for everything? Would I actually answer the call I believed He had placed in my life?

I don't believe in coincidence. This is where the road has led. To this journey. To this calling. Where the need is great. Where my skills are required. Where my faith can be grown. I said "Yes." The rest is up to Him.

I first saw this video on a Sunday after the devastating Nashville flood that occurred on May 1, 2010. As you can imagine things were looking pretty dirty, dark, and damp for many weeks after the flood, as people began to assess the damage done to their homes and lives and as the clean up process started. I attended a church service that Sunday at a church in Nashville that was instrumental to the cleanup process. They played this video after hundreds of volunteers had come from all over Tennessee to tear down drywall, move furniture, rip up carpet, collect supplies and generally try to give encouragement to the thousands of hurting victims of the flood. This song spoke to my heart in ways I can't tell you, as I was asking where God was in the midst of my neighbor's pain. Can I encourage you in something today? Is your life a mess right now? Are you in the middle of something you never saw coming? Are you seemingly devastated beyond repair? Let me assure you, God is at work. He is who He was before this. He is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Right now and forever. He is still sovereign. He is still on the throne and He is making you new. He is making you beautiful right there in the middle of your chaos. And as a good friend reminded me, sometimes it takes a flood to end a dry spell.







Beautiful Things from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.

Dear Friends,

I hope this letter finds you and your family blessed as we begin a new year. I’m so excited to announce some really BIG changes in my life for 2011! I wanted to let everyone know that a job change and a move are ahead for me, as I’ve recently accepted a missionary nursing position in Cape Town, South Africa!!! God has been calling me to overseas mission work for many years now, and I’ve finally found the place where I can use both my nursing skills and my heart for people to know Christ as Savior. As my eyes have been slowly opened to the injustices and hardships experienced around the globe, I’ve become more and more convinced that our call as Christians is to care and to act, and this is my chance to do just that!

South Africa has a desperate need for nurses, due in part to the fact that they have the highest death rate of any country in the world from HIV/AIDS, and one third of ALL people infected with HIV/AIDS live in South Africa. My home church in Tennessee has a long-standing partnership with an organization called Living Hope, with whom I will be serving. Living Hope is a ministry that exists alongside a local church to aid in the prevention, care, treatment and support of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. One of the ways that my skills can be utilized in their ministry is to serve as a volunteer nurse, staffing their 500-plus home-based treatment program and staffing their 22 bed Health Care Centre.
My responsibilities will primarily consist of administering much needed care to patients enrolled in the home care program as well as taking 12 hour shifts in the clinic.

As of now I am set to leave for South Africa in March, for a minimum of one year, with the option to extend if desired. Friends, this is my dream job! I’m thrilled to even be asked to be a part of this hands-on ministry and excited for the new experiences ahead.

Like most missionaries, I am raising my own salary and cost of living. At first that was an intimidating thought, but I have now come to a place where I am moving forward with confidence knowing I have the support of my family and community of friends. God always has a plan to finance the gospel, and I believe that what He orders, He pays for. Many people have already been ready to give financially, but I am still in need of your help, and I need it soon! While most missionaries start fundraising a year before they leave, I have just under two months! I know that God’s timing is always perfect, and I’m choosing to trust Him completely to provide for my needs.

In order to raise the required funds, my goal is to secure 50 people willing to make monthly contributions in dollar amounts ranging from $10 to $100 or more. Would you be willing to give and be a part of this group of supporters? Many of you may never visit Africa, but you can still have a direct impact on many lives there, by helping to provide much needed health care. If you are willing, please visit Brentwood Baptist Missions to make your contribution. I assure you every amount helps. Your gift is 100% tax deductible, and you will receive a receipt from Brentwood Baptist for each gift.

For those of you who are already supporting me, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I am humbled by your generosity and so thankful for your friendship.

Thanks to all of you for being a part of my life and letting me be a part of yours! I covet your continued prayers as I leave home and begin this journey. I’ll be sending a monthly newsletter, but below are some other ways to stay in touch. I know God has many exciting things ahead for all of us in 2011 and I can’t wait to see how God is working in your life as well!

Many Blessings,
Amy