The Soup of it

It’s been a few weeks since I went public with my new adventures. I posted something the other day attempting to bring some clarity to the actual “stuff of” of what I hope to be doing. Even that felt like it left me wanting to communicate more and more. I’ve been having people ask me lots about how things are going and where I’m at in all of this.

As I think about how things are going, I think of soup.

Soup?

Yeah, soup.

Seems like I weird thing to think of.

Yep. But let me explain.

Essentially, right now, I’m sorta doing 3 or more jobs - or parts of jobs.

Job #1 - Starting a new job.

I’m trying to spend a good amount of my available time actually doing the “things” of this job. I’m making lists of people I have some network with, I’m reaching out to them, I’m trying to find ways to talk about Mission Adventures in ways that are approachable and communicate the things I’m so excited about. As I’ve said before, this is a new role. So no one has given me a job description or a strategic breakdown of what to do. It’s like I’m starting a new small business. I’m super excited, but also trying to give myself lots of time and space to develop and grow this thing.

Job #2 - Starbucks

I’m still working at Starbucks here in Welland. I ABSOLUTELY love this job. I get to work with some really fun people and get to play a fun and unique role in a lot of peoples lives. At Starbucks we wear green aprons and always are supposed to have a name tag on that apron. The name tag I wear is one that my coworkers gave me. It reads, “Jud Store Dad.” I wear that name tag with pride knowing it means a lot more than just the fact that they all think I’m old! I love the role that I’ve been invited to play in many young adults lives. As Job #1 grows, my plan is to have my role at Starbucks decrease. But my hope is that I’ll be able to still keep a foot in the door there and continue to be able to be involved in many of my coworkers lives.

Job #3 - Support Raising

I’m still working a lot at Starbucks because the truth is I can’t really afford not to. At least not yet. The nature of my role with YWAM is that it is a role in which I need to raise my own support. By definition, according to the CRA, I am a self-employed missionary fulfilling the mandates of the YWAM. As much as I work “for” YWAM, there is not organizational structure from which I collect a salary. That doesn’t mean I’m strictly a volunteer, it means I have to gather support from those who know me and see me and can see the hope for what I’m giving myself to and would want to support me financially in doing so.

I’ve done a lot of fundraising throughout my life, but never in this capacity. I love it though! I love the opportunity to tell as many people as I can about the awesome adventure I’m being invited to walk in. I love being able to speak of how I see this as an opportunity to maximize many of my skills and gifts and passions and to do so in such a way where I get to serve the church and step into Kingdom priorities in many awesome ways!

So why soup?

Again, I say I feel like I’m in the SOUP of it because I feel like all of those things could/should/do take up a lot of time and energy. I also say I’m currently in the soup of it because I don’t anticipate that all three of these things will always be such significant parts of my rhythms. But as I start things off, they’re all very big and important parts of what I’m doing.

That’s a bit of how things are going… I’m feeling like I’m in the soup of things. It’s all fun and exciting, but there’s lots.

I’ve been encouraged to take a view into this as though I’m starting a new small business. Any small business owner knows that it takes a lot of hustle to get things off the ground. It takes some season(s) of feeling stretched thin. But putting in the work to create a financial foundation to make things sustainable is so important. So I’m trying to really lean into that. At the same time, you start a small business or step into something like this because you’re passionate about something. I’m super passionate about something and I can’t wait to be DOING more and more of that.

Over the next weeks and months I’m excited be building out what I’m DOING.

And I’m super excited to be inviting others into this.

Inviting people to simply hear my story and get excited about the possibilities with me.

Inviting people to pray for me and with me, knowing that the real fruit and joy that I long for in this role comes not through my skills and strengths but through the Power of Jesus!

And inviting people to consider joining my financial support team. Not “giving me money,” but joining and forming the community that enables and empowers me to step into serving the Kingdom in this unique way.

That’s the soup of it all these days.

And if you’re reading this, know that I would absolutely LOVE for you to join me in this journey. Through any of the means I just mentioned, I’ve love for you to be a part of this. You can check out the “Join Me” tab on this site for lots of fun ways to be a part of this story!

Soup Photo by Piotr Miazga on Unsplash