Affecting Change

I recently celebrated my first year of service with the Union Rescue Mission on June 2. Coming from the world of academia, this has definitely been a year of transition for me. I taught writing at UCA for three years - mostly freshman composition; and I would teach an occasional Technical Writing class, depending on the need.

I prayed every day that I would make a change in a student's life somehow, someway. I was always open and honest about my relationship with the Lord to my students, and I never judged them for sharing different opinions or beliefs. In fact, those students brave enough to trust me to share their own beliefs would usually ignite some of our more passionate, classroom discussions. I miss them from time-to-time - the students and the discussions.

I left UCA because I felt a call on my heart to help people - to share the things that I had learned through trial and error in my walk with the Lord. So I took this ministry position with a tractor trailer full of excitement and a bucket full of apprehension. It would be my first step into "ministry."

My office was this 10' X 10' room with no windows on the second floor of the Dorcas House. I revamped the Mission website and the newsletter, helped organize Feeding the Multitudes, organized volunteers, and took several HUNDRED phone calls between October and November for 600 food box orders. Was this ministry? It couldn't be! Obviously, it's all ministry. It's not how I envisioned ministry, but what I do still affects this Mission. My ministry tools are a computer, some software, the Internet, and a telephone; and what I do with these tools reaches you in your home quarterly, monthly, and maybe even daily.

I still miss a classroom setting and probably always will. I may even return one day. However, my passionate, classroom discussions have now turned into so much more. You see, none of this was ever really about me. It's about them - the men and women we help at the Mission; and it's about Jesus and how he wants to reach them. I am the bridge in this Mission between you and the people we serve. I have the honor of sharing their lives with you, our faithful contributors and donors.

I now understand how God uses our skills and talents to expand His kingdom and to bring Him glory, and it's humbling to know that He chose me for this.

May the Lord anoint you where you are!
Blessings,
Denise Pote
Director of Public Relations