My "Mission Field"

Patch the Pirate could be heard being played in our home, growing up, on many occasions. (Along with the favorite Adventures in Odyssey)  My very favorite story was:

The rule for our house, growing up, was usually 1 tape 1 side.  (yes, I am getting old this was before a lot of Cd's) The very last song was my Favorite..."Here am I Lord, Send me!" I usually would just listen to the 2nd side just so I could hear this song. 

 

Hear Am I Lord, Send Me

Written by: Ron Hamilton

 

 

 Lord I give my life to you
Take control each day
I will follow anywhere
Near or far away

  Chorus:
Here am I Lord, Send Me
Here am I Lord, Send Me
I will serve you faithfully
Here am I Lord, Send Me

 

Lord I want your perfect will
Be my faithful Guide
I will never be afraid
You are close beside

Chorus

Let me see my mission field
All around each day
Fill my heart with Jesus’ love
Use me Lord I pray

Chorus

 

   There were many nights tears would roll down my face onto my pillow as I would be singing very quietly these words.  Wondering "God...What am to do?  Where would you have me go?" My mom fell in love with this song too so much that she had my brothers and I sing it as a trio many times in local revivals that our family sang in.  I truly sang this song from my heart every time....always wondering "WHAT AM I TO DO?  LORD, I AM WILLING!"  

 

 I have always had a heart for missions...as a young child I thought I would be a missionary nurse to Japan. (I remember feeling that way after a children's service at God's Bible School during camp meeting.)   I was willing to go to a foreign field, even took a trip to Mexico City in High School. Still I wondered what was my "Mission Field?"

 

Let me break from this thought and tell you a short story that will fit in shortly. 

                  As a young teenager I went on a youth group outing with our teens from Noblesville Pilgrim Holiness Church....to a church downtown Indianapolis  "Central Wesleyan Church" to meet up with several other church teens and several community teens involved in a ministry with Larry Poe. I remember being WAY OUT OF MY ELEMENT!!!  I was a little white girl in the big city and TERRIFIED!!!!!  Standing in the middle of the parking lot of the church I remember saying to myself..."I could NEVER attend this church!!!  I would be scared half to death every time I came to church!"

 

 

Ok, now back to the main thought.....After I turned 13 I began helping out in our Jr.Church, I had already been calling on occasion with my dad or Sis. Lisa Randall (that was a story in it's self when I was sure this large man that answered the door was going to kidnap Sis.Randall and I!)  I was beginning to fall in love with this line of ministry.  I had already (At a younger age) turned my coloring books into flannel graph stories with pieces of flannel graph that I had gotten from church.  When I told my first story I think I was 13 or 14.  I loved it!

 

SO flash forward 8 years...I am newly married, recently moved to just outside Downtown Indy. What church do I find myself at???  Central Wesleyan Church!  (remember my short story!)  It wasn't long before I found myself involved in the children ministry.  I had already knew in College that some sort of Children's ministry was to be my "Missions Field"...and I was finding my place at the very church I THOUGHT I could NEVER attend!

 

Flash Forward ANOTHER 10 years, this past summer we had our first group of teens ( 3 girls and 1 boy) go  to IHYC (a church youth camp)  Most, if not ALL, of them came back home with spiritual help!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!   

L to R: Arisha Shaw (one of our assistants in our Jr. Church), Chyanne Crockett, Abby Crockett and Kayla Luster

Sisters having fun

 

Meeting with their team

(For some reason I never got a picture of Kyle Brown. I did not stay the whole camp but Arisha Shaw was the kids go to person from our church that was on campus.)



 

 

It was July at our annual VBS that God gave me TOTAL and COMPLETE confirmation that I was in the "Mission Field" He had made for me! 

    Brad and Cassandra Gookins were conducting our VBS...they had choose the song "Here Am I Lord, Send Me". I was listening to the kids sing and had a flashback of my life and what brought me to this moment. I couldn't stop the tears....these where MY KIDS on MY MISSION FIELD...that the Lord had prepared me for all those years ago as a young girl laying in my bed singing from my heart "Hear Am I Lord, Send Me!"

Kyle Brown and Natalie

Christine

Destiney

Nevaeh

 Meghan, Mackenzie,and Melanie

 Kayla

 Chyanne and a new friend for VBS

 Kara (a new one for VBS, sadly she has not been back)

 A new contact for VBS

 Faith (Destiny above is her older sister)

 

This last Sunday something happened that excited me...my assistant Judy Alcorn, has taken the older kids Sunday School class and has really been doing an excellent job with them and encouraging them. With an extra boost of encouragement....Kayla (13) led the children in opening prayer.  I was so proud of her!  I really know God is going to use each and every one of our kids. I love them each one and pray for them weekly if not daily!  They are teaching me so much about what a "Mission field" is all about.  Reach out and touching them with Jesus!  I pray I do not fail!!!! 

 

So there is my "Mission Field"...would love to hear about yours!!!



A new blog, a new start to becoming the Mom/Wife God wants me to be

 Welcome to my new blog.......you might previously remember me from Just being chatty.  I have several posts from the past, but I wanted a fresh start.
                             
          A new "canvas" so to speak. 

    Writing is something I love to do,  I write out my thoughts better then I speak them.  Anyone who knows me well, knows I LOVE to talk. In all honesty, as much as I talk, I am NOT a good communicator. The last few years my life has been
                                CRAZY
                                          WONDERFUL
                                                                FULL
                                                                      ABUNDENT! 

   I want to make this blog a virtual diary. I love Facebook, but I do not want to become one of those L-O-N-G status posters....so my options?  BLOG!!!  I am giving a HUGE warning....I am HORRIBLE at English and Grammar.  So all you English lovers and rule keepers this might not want to be a blog you read, because I am sure I will drive you crazy.   I will have no schedule and will post at whim.  This is a new step I am taking and am hoping it will be the therapy I need.  As you read my post's you may understand that last sentence even better.

My goal in all this???  To become completely happy with the Mommy/Wife God has designed me to be!  It will contain "Cobwebs" from my life, and my shining "Crystal" moments that I will cherish. 



My start: 
                 My name is Janella Rachelle Thompson. Born Oct 8, 1981 to David and Connie Hilligoss.

 I have 2 younger brothers Brandon and Justin.  I was born in Ohio but moved when I was about 1 1/2 to Westfield where my mother excepted a job at UNION BIBLE COLLEGE.   Life was good!

 

I had a typical childhood filled with happy memories:

 

 

 

Kindergarten graduation 

 

Many memories with some of the greatest friends ever!

 

Job's that I loved, most of them including Children!

*This is Cody and Leeza Price for those that know them.  I was a babysitter one summer for them while their mother helped her husband run their tree farm and needed the freedom to make and take phone calls and deal with costumers that came onto the farm.

A best friend that stuck with me thru THICK and thin



School functions that many will not soon forget.

 

Choir tour memories

The Best Senior trip!

CLASS OF 2000!!!!!

 

And then we entered a whole new phase of life COLLEGE....



as a proud graduate of Union Bible Academy I choose to continue my studies at Union Bible College.

I also choose to stay in the dorm, just as a new venture for me.

 

(look how skinny I was!!!)

 

Then GIRL MEETS BOY!!!!

                         Enter Jonathan Thompson.....he was a graduate of Triton Central High school in Shelby County. (Shelbyville, IN)  Jonathan and I had met before at Southeastern church and had talked for some time with our Boyfriend/Girlfriend standing right beside us.  And also another run in we had was after Youth Challenge when my friend Teresa Lee and I accidently locked our keys in her car and were stranded there in Shelbyville Arby's until her dad came all the way from Westfield with extra keys.  He had been at Youth Challenge too, but he worked at Arby's and had just stopped by to pick up his check.  He checked to make sure we were ok, and went home to tell his mom how worried and bad he felt for us and that he had just left us there.  His mom assured him there was nothing he could have done and to not worry. (I on the other hand barely remember him being there!)

Ok...so where was I? Oh yeah....Girl meets boy. It was freshman orientation and lots of new faces...and I was most interested in the new handsome young men!  (Just being honest folks)  He was a familiar face and we became friends.  JUST FRIENDS!!!!  It wasn't until 2nd semester and Valentines day was coming up...My friend Jill (Thomas) Murray and I had just finished practicing in the music studio. We were headed to the girls dorm and Jonathan was in the parking lot along with another one of my friends Jesse Hales.  We started talking about the upcoming Valentines banquet and Jonathan  said he didn't think he was going to go...just because.  We were at the end of the conversation and (ME AND MY BIG MOUTH) I said "You're a BIG PARTY POOPER...just be my date!"  Let me STOP here and say I was TOTALY JOKING!!!  And not even for a minute did I even think of going with him as his date let alone being the one to do the asking!  So back to my story...After I spit that out I turned around and walked away.  I was oblivious to the looks on anyones faces until Jill who was hurrying to walk with me asked if I was serious?  I started laughing then got VERY nervous and said, "Why did I sound serious???"  She told me, "I would have taken you has serious"  Honestly my heart went to my throat and thought "GREAT!!!!  Now my friend (Jonathan) is going to think I am some BOLD girl who asks guys out and just walks off!!!!"  What I didn't know is Jonathan was worried he had been rude and ignored my "invitation to be my date"!!!  Well we had over a day to see one another because of his class schedule and when we finally ran into each other between classes, I was a nervous wreck! After we cleared that mess up...he turned around and asked me to  be his date anyway! And Jesse and Jill actually decided to just to go as friends with us. (Let me just digress here and say both are happily married to OTHER people but they were a blast to be with and since they were there at the beginning it only seemed right!)

And after this first "Date" He asked to see me again.

And so it began!!!!!

Choir tour



Staff appreciation banquet

 

 

Oct 6, 2001  Jonathan asked me to be his wife

 

 

Our engagement pictures

Feb 21 2003 the Happiest day of my life!!

 

And the rest is history!!!!

 

Now 10 years later and 2 beautiful little girls we are living the dream!

 

 

 





 

 

So there you have it...My first blog post...a new start. I hope this works as I want it to. I sometimes will probably blab on and on so I apologize NOW.  I have a lot on this Stay-at-home-mommy plate...and what is even all on it I really don't know.  But I do know I need this blog as an outlet.  I will do my best not to make this a RANT or just a VENTING blog...but to make it about me and my "exciting" life!  I love to craft, cook and just be a MOMMY!!!!  My girls are my life so I know you will hear about them all the time!  Ok, before I make 2 closings I will sign off!

Blessings!