Yarn and Pins

I grew up with a missionary map at our church. With yarn and pins marking places around the world where we supported people. Yarn and pins made a huge impact on me. I am celebrating 15 years (since 2004) serving in Brazil with World Renewal. Yarns and Pins and a whole lot more.

My parents started going to Community Church of Greenwood when they announced they were planting a church near us: Southport. I don’t remember much about our first meeting places except for the steel factory that echoed and had horses next to it. I was horse crazy at age five. I remember my dad working on Saturdays to build our church on Stop 11 Road. I think I got to help hand out coffee because I was too little to build anything, not even a board with yarn and pins.

On Sundays, I got to be a greeter at the door. I lost my first tooth in one of the kids rooms, playing dodgeball. The grade school classrooms were behind the pulpit area, and back there I found my best friend and the love of my life, but he didn't agree. I wrote him an anonymous love note, but I couldn’t reach his family's "mailbox" to put it in. Those mailboxes are genius- just too tall for a short 4th grader. The mailboxes were right next to the missionary board with yarn and pins.

Mr. Headly in 5th grade gave us this huge hard test- but if we passed (and I think we all magically did) we got to go to Kings Island. I studied so hard, and that was the hardest test of my young life. At eight I was baptized. I could barely see over the rail, and pastor Tom had to put the mic down for me to say “yes.” I forget what the question was exactly- giving my life to Jesus or believing He was the way, truth and life- but I remember the answer was yes. 

I remember when the rosebud on the pulpit was for my sister. I remember the watching the choir- and then finally being old enough to sing in a Christmas cantata. In 6th grade, I was a big kid and got to go upstairs (for Jr. and Sr. High). Phil Jaskson sat me down and listened when I said, “but my testimony just isn’t interesting enough to tell” and told me it would get a lot more interesting as I lived life with Jesus.

I went to camp Hunt and so many other outings and events. We had missions conferences and special speakers and I became friends with some missionary kids my own age. I helped out at an inner city VBS and knew that was something I wanted to do more of in my life. But from the beginning there was this board with yarn and pins. These were our missionaries. They were real life heroes. I got to go to Laurel mission. I got to go to Wheeler mission. And then when I was 16, I got to go to Brazil with a missionary named Tele Moraes.

Now I’ve served in Brazil for 15 years- the last 5 years with my husband and now my two daughters. But it started with yarn and pins. It started with stories and pictures and a whole lot of people investing in me. Thank you.