CAMELLBACK

My Mother was the most philanthropic, innovative, entrepreneurial, missions-minded, others-oriented, generous, visionary woman I have ever known! She was energetic, tireless, creative, and full of life! She lived life like an exclamation mark! Always on mission! Always for others! She was an eager, constant learner. She was always, as Longfellow states, "up and doing, with a heart for any fate"! Marching into the future, whatever future that was. When she got knocked down, she would spring right back up! Nothing held her back----not even her mistakes and regrets, weaknesses and inadequacies. She was full throttle---right up to the end! 

Because of her enthusiasm and energy for life, she attracted many incredible people. I still have close contact with an array of wholehearted, brilliant, God-and-people-loving friends of Mother's who helped shape me and continue to encourage me! I am grateful!

Everything Mother did (which was just about everything!) she did wholeheartedly and entirely! She started a food co-op with our friends, so we could buy good food in bulk at better prices. This was in the early 80s, before Whole Foods and the like.....She started home schooling my brother and I at the same time she started the Iowa Home Educators Association, putting us at the forefront and in the middle of the modern-day  "home schooling movement" overnight. This was in 1983, when I was 10 and my brother was 5. She was passionate and pro-active from day one! She managed a congressional campaign. She served as an assistant to the attorney general of Iowa. She started a law practice when we moved back to Arkansas, and her focus became representing truck drivers. She got her CDL and drove truck! Her handle was "Lady Lawyer" and everyone loved her! She was always up for adventure! These are just some of the outstanding "things" Mother did "along the way" --she was a trailblazer and I am grateful for her "take the bull by the horns" approach to life. Mother knew how to weather a storm, and come out swinging and singing! She was always looking for the onward and upward way in life, and she lived with so much HOPE. I have a little framed needlepoint that I got from my friend Ruthie which has become one of my favorite possessions. It simply states, "We are Hopers" and I cherish it because my Mother taught me, by the way she lived her life, to always HOPE.

Mother reminds me of those blow up characters that have sand in the bottom. You punch them, and they bounce right back up! She was a true Enthusiast and lived life Full-E!

"Count it all joy!" she must've said a thousand times, as quoting James 1 was usually her response to any kind of trouble or disappointment. I cannot tell you about Mother without sharing A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I wish you could hear her recite this! This was her-exactly! and you could feel it when she spoke these words:

A Psalm of Life BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem!

Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world’s broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act,— act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead! 

Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time; 

Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.

In early 2003, I asked Mother to partner with me to carry out my vision to bless the nations and of course, she said YES! Unequivocally and enthusiastically! We were both eager and ready and it seemed "everything" was "coming together" and the timing was perfect!

But just weeks after our high-fiving, hand-clapping, "Let's do this!" celebration, Mother began having crazy symptoms, was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, fought it creatively and bravely, per her usual, but breathed her last breath on Sunday morning, March 13, 2005, 11:55am. She lived on earth 60 years 6 months 3 days 11 hours 54 minutes. I shared 32 years 1 month 13 days with her. 

A few weeks before she passed away, I asked her something I never wanted to ask, "what do we do if you don't make it?" Without a pause, in full Evelyn mode, she threw her face upward with her finger in the air to signify a rally cry, and enthusiastically declared, "CARRY ON!" One of the last things I remember her saying, through great difficulty, was, "I need to see Cedar. I need to talk to Cedar." Cedar is my nephew who was born 2 months later, on May 21st, in Alaska. Oh, Mother! This isn't AT ALL the way we imagined it would be! But we will CARRY ON!

The amazing thing about the promise and presence of eternal life is what we do in our lifetime lives on into Eternity, and lives on through others on Earth! Mother lived her 60 years FULL-E! She has left us with Fullness! Enthusiasm! Perseverance! Joy! Looking to Jesus! IN Everything! We CARRY ON! By faith, with hope, in love.....every step moving toward the City we cannot see, knowing we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken!

I love you, Mother! It's finally happening! We are going to bless the nations! To the very ends of the earth! I can't wait to celebrate with you, and people from every tribe, tongue and nation forever! Ta Ethne Alleluia! Ta Ethne Alleluia! is Greek, and means "All Peoples Praise the LORD!"

Along with Mother, her mother, Mama Sisson, was my main influencer. I was born Thursday, February 1st, 1973, just over a week before Mama Sisson's 53rd birthday, February 9th. It has always delighted both of us that our birthdays are so close!

My Mother was enthusiastic, entrepreneurial and forward thinking. Mama Sisson was patterned, rhythmic, and steadfast. There was an order to everything in her mind, her life, her calendar, and her home. Mother was all about missions. Mama Sisson was all about children!

Mama Sisson (Dorothy) married Papa Sisson (Charley) in the Methodist parsonage, Hinton, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, April 8, 1941. She was 21 and he was 27. Papa Sisson was born March 17, 1914, in Hinton, Oklahoma, the great-grandson of Menonites who had immigrated from Prussia to Nebraska, and then Oklahoma, to plant churches. Somehow along the way, Papa Sisson's family that he grew up in became Methodists. 

Mama Sisson was born in Wauzeka, Wisconsin, on February 9, 1920, and her sister, my (Great) Aunt Mary Evelyn, was born exactly 16 months later on June 9, 1921. They also had 5 brothers, something Mama Sisson would always tell children, displaying her 5 fingers on one hand "I had 5 brothers, and I lived to tell about it!" When Mama Sisson was 12 (1932) her family moved from their 80 acre farm in Wisconsin, to Arizona, and Mama Sisson was the reason for the big move! She had what she always called a "rheumatic condition" and her family had been advised to move to Arizona, away from the cold, wet climate, where her body could heal. Sure enough, she said "the Arizona sunshine baked it right out of me!"

Mama Sisson's parents divorced in a time when that wasn't as popular as it is now. Her mother later married many more times, while her father remained single the rest of his life. I don't know much about either of them, except that her mother loved horses, and both her parents were hard working, neighborly, and very musical, as they could play any instrument they got their hands on. Her Dad played violin for parties and dances, they both played guitar, and her mother played the pump organ. (Mama Sisson learned to play the harmonica, and often bemoaned not learning any other instrument.) 

Mama Sisson and Papa Sisson moved to Gila Bend, Arizona, when Mother was 4 and her brother Robert was 2. They lived at the cotton gin, and worked the family cotton ranch. Mother and Uncle Robert earned 10 cents a row for picking cotton! They swam and played in irrigation ditches (which scares me) and they had a friend, Marge Stelzer, who played ragtime on their piano when it was delivered in the back of a truck----she jumped up in the bed of the truck and played before they unloaded it, and they all danced outside! 

Mama Sisson took Mother and Uncle Robert to church every week at the First Baptist Church. Mother played the piano for church and was also secretary of her Sunday School, but she wasn't a Believer. She told me she was always bothered playing the hymn, Almost Persuaded.

Mama Sisson was an accomplished seamstress, having been hired by families in her younger years to sew "Shirley Temple dresses" for their daughters. She passed this talent handily on to Mother, who designed her own patterns and made her own clothes from a young age.

Mother attended Gila Bend Schools from kindergarten all the way through her graduation from high school, on Thursday, May 22, 1962. (Alistair Begg's 10th birthday!) Mother was chosen Valedictorian and Most Likely to Succeed. What was unique about her high school graduation is that it was ALSO Mama Sisson's high school graduation! Mother was 17 and Mama Sisson was 42!

The summer that followed their graduation collided with construction of the Painted Rock Dam in Gila Bend. This development condemned their land by the government. So with a (75% property value) settlement---they packed up everything and headed to a dairy farm in Viola, Arkansas, which is how my family arrived in the Land of Opportunity, also known as the Natural State! 

Mother started her college years at Arkansas State University, and then transferred to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she graduated with a degree in home economics. She often told me the best thing she learned in college was "a better way to put in a zipper".  She was in law school when she met and married my father, Dick Drake. They married December 6, 1971; for both of them it was a second marriage. My father had a son, my brother Chris, who was 4 years old.  Mother was admitted to the Arkansas Bar the following August 16, 1972 and I was born on February 1, 1973! 

Mother had rejected GOD for the first 30 years of her life----she even became an atheist for awhile in her college days---- but on Resurrection Day in the Spring of 1975--She said YES! to Jesus! Her favorite song in those days was "Because He Lives" (by Bill & Gloria Gaither) and she said singing it over and over, with her new perspective--eyes on the prize of the upward call of GOD in Christ Jesus, kept her going through the challenges she faced, which were many. Mother made the decision to nourish her heart through her faith in Jesus, pour herself into knowing Him through the Bible, and become stronger through her suffering. And she did! I always think of her when I read these words, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed...."

I was 2 years 2 months when Mother said YES to Jesus---When I was 4 years 4 months old, I said YES! to Jesus! to love and follow Him with my whole heart for my whole life! I mark the day as June 1, 1977, and celebrate the whole month, every year, as I do with my birthday for the whole month of February! Loving Jesus with my whole heart for my whole life has shaped me into what I call a Lavish Love Come'pass!onary! 

When Mother was growing up in Arizona, she dreamed of having her own cattle ranch. When I knew her, her dream was to be a Missionary and a Philanthropist. With Evelyn as my Mother, it's no wonder God gave me a vision for missions and philanthropy! Not sure about the cattle ranch! 

Before I share any more about Mama Sisson and Papa Sisson, I need to introduce you to Sharon! Sharon is Mother's sister who was born on Mother's 27th birthday! Since Mother was 28 when I was born, Sharon and I grew up together, and she is more like MY sister, rather than Mother's. The way Sharon arrived in our family is one of my favorite stories ever in the whole wide world, because GOD and picked Sharon for us, and directed all the details to put us together!

Sharon was born in the Yellville, Arkansas hospital, and my mother's then-husband was the doctor who delivered her! Sharon's biological mother stated that she did not plan to keep the baby, but give her up for adoption, which lit a fire in my Mother, who knew that Mama Sisson and Papa Sisson were wanting to adopt--so Sharon became their daughter! Sixteen months before I was born, GOD put Sharon in our family--and I can't imagine my life then or now without her!

My brother, Charley Daniel, was born seven days before the summer I was 5, his birth bringing joy into our home that had experienced the recent pain of divorce. My father left right around my 5th birthday, having decided to return to his first wife and their son, my brother, Chris. The absence of my earthly father in my every-day life pressed both my Mother and I closer into our walk with Jesus. GOD truly is a Father to the fatherless, and my faith became deep and wide from an early age, and I am convinced this is a big reason why.

My brother Daniel and I spent every summer with "Mama Sisson, Papa Sisson, and Sharon" in their home on Highway 113 in Arkansas, which was my favorite place in all the world. Mama Sisson was always FUN and FUNNY! She often said, "fun, fun, fun under the sun, sun. sun" and she aimed for this for all of us! Mama Sisson believed in children working to do "their part" around the house. Ironing, washing and drying dishes, hanging clothes on the line, making our beds, and all in a very particular way. She taught us to make up our beds "behind us" meaning, as we got out of bed, before we did anything else. Mama Sisson set the tone, but Papa Sisson was just as vital to the operation and flow of life.

Those days were filled with:

*swimming at the Best Western in Morrilton where Papa Sisson worked as a hotel clerk

*driving up to "Petit Jean Mountain" aka Petit Jean State Park, and picnicking and playing

*Mama Sisson pushing us on the swings in the back yard while she would sing hymns and talk to us ("Heavenly Sunlight" was a favorite "swing-song")

*Mama Sisson pulling us in the little red wagon, around and around and around, circling the outside of their house

*Papa Sisson coming home from work, with a brown bag of groceries, a bunch of bananas, the sound of the carport door and his cowboy boots announcing his arrival

*Papa Sisson driving us (yet again) up on Petit Jean so we could play and picnic

*Mama Sisson and Papa Sisson dressing up like Raggedy Ann and Andy, visiting the local nursing home to cheer the residents--All of us dressing up like bunnies to do the same

*Making cookies with Mama Sisson, for every holiday--sugar cookies or molasses cookies, depending on the season, beautifully decorated with frosting, but always some for me without. I liked the pretty ones, but only ate the plain ones. If we weren't there to make them WITH her, we could expect a package in the mail! 

*Papa Sisson could do "long math" in his head, and would rapidly come up with phrases or acronyms reading license plates that passed us along the highway. I see his influence in my thinking, every day. It's amazing to me how we become a mix of our forebears and the people we spend our time with--especially in childhood.

*Kneeling down to pray before climbing into bed was a nightly habit at Mama Sisson and Papa Sisson's house. "We pause again, Heavenly Father, at this the close of another day...." Mama Sisson's nighttime opening for her prayers.

*Sharon and I practicing and playing the piano, and Mama Sisson reminding us that though both her parents were naturally multi-talented musicians that could "pick up and play" any instrument, she and her siblings didn't get a "lick of that talent" which she referred to as "disgusting".....but she could play the harmonica! 

Mama Sisson loved to read, and read she did! I can still almost hear her quiet, playful voice, reading the words and turning the pages of the stories we loved the best. One of her favorites was Dr. Suess' AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET. She was always delighted when she read that one, making it one of our favorites too! 

We didn't watch much television growing up, and we were only allowed to "have the tv on" at certain times. Always selectively. Little House on the Prairie was by far my favorite show. Few others were approved, and the only one I remember Mama Sisson actually sitting down to watch with us was Mr. Rogers. I can still almost hear my childhood voice, eagerly hollering for Mama Sisson to stop whatever domestic affair she was engaged in, to join us in the "front room" for her favorite show. "Mama Sisson! Mama Sisson! Mr. Rogers in on! Hurry, Mama Sisson! It's starting!" and she would come sit with us, usually on the devan while we were on our bellies on the floor. 

The older I get, the more I see the connection she had with Fred Rogers. They were so much alike in almost every way. Rhythmic, patterned, ordered, fun, playful, serious, intentional, childlike and yet so very grown up, to understand the sacredness of childhood and the responsibility they bore to  properly captain those little ships before they set sail. Am I crying as I write this? How can I not?

Mama Sisson loved children. She called us "little people" and she made us more important than anything else in her life. But not in an indulgent, let the kids do whatever they want and spoil them kind of way. She was doing important work--guarding and guiding us through the mysterious and serious formative season called childhood, so we would be ready for the days ahead. "We live in a troubled world," she would often say, and she would talk all day long of Jesus, and how we all needed Him. "Trust and obey, for there's no other way," was not just a hymn, but it was the way she lived her life, and taught us to do the same.

Church was part of the routine. Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings, with the middle of Sunday reserved for a special lunch and quiet time. We didn't have to take a nap, but Sunday was the day the curtains would be drawn, and we were allowed to play or read quietly in the afternoon. We have all kinds of denominations in our family tree, but Mama Sisson and Papa Sisson had landed as Baptists, and so it was a Baptist church that we attended, faithfully. I have such good memories of those days! We sang from a hymnal, something I have spent much time doing in my lifetime. Hymnals aren't popular now, but I almost always have one within reach! 

Mama Sisson was surrendered and devoted. It was hard for me to believe as a child, but she told me often, because I was a question asker, that she wanted to her leave her marriage many times, in the early days. Instead, she got down on her knees and prayed. She knew that "divorce is not God's way" as she told me, and she became persevering and steadfast, "leaning on the Everlasting Arms".... She would pour out her heart and cast her cares on Jesus. And she (and we) were blessed for it. Papa Sisson lived over 83 1/2 years, leaving Mama Sisson a widow the last 17 years of her life. Anytime she spoke of Papa Sisson, which was often, she would call him "my beloved husband of 56 1/2 years" and neither she nor we could imagine their lives without the other. Faithfulness has its own rewards. That I learned from Mama Sisson. Mother divorced twice, the first one, her doing, and the second, not. There is grace for every path. Ultimately, it is the faithfulness of God that keeps us. I will always be grateful for what I learned through both Mama Sisson and Mother's lives.

There is so much more to this story, to my relationship with Mama Sisson, and with Mother. Both were my cheerleaders. Mama Sisson was constantly fascinated by me, and never disappointed when I showed her or told her anything that I had made or done, or that mattered to me. Mother took a little more coaching, but she too, was an eager supporter. My brother and I still laugh about Mother's "you're making progress' comments regarding something for which we were seeking praise.

This is somewhat of an introduction to the people who helped shape me. They are precious to me and I want you to "know" them, at least a little! I make more sense when you do!

From my earliest memory, I have loved people and biographies. Missionaries and their stories were my favorite. I grew up in a home that hosted missionaries and heavily supported missions. I was captivated by the missionaries who stayed with us, and felt honored to have them in our home. They were always rich with stories, and sometimes gave us gifts from around the world! Our closest missionary friend was a Bible translator! She was a beautiful woman, and I loved her!

Missions conferences were the best! In week-long or week-end events, an array of nations and peoples from around the globe--all under one roof, with a whirling variety of foods and clothing and colors and stories and pictures would explode into my heart and take over my imagination long after those parties were over! At home, our bookshelves were crowded with more stories than I ever had time to read, but their presence was a beckoning to live life "FULL-E"---for what mattered most---loving GOD and loving people--and sharing the Good News of the Gospel with the whole wide world---living by faith---each day an adventure!

 

Amy Carmichael, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Corrie ten Boom, Brother Andrew, Jim & Elisabeth Elliot, John Wycliffe...Child Evangelism Fellowship, Wycliffe Associates, Operation Mobilization, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Youth with a Mission, Mercy Ships......my heart and mind were alive with the wonder of GOD's ongoing story of creation, love, and redemption! 

Followers of Jesus are called to love GOD and love our neighbors, and to make the Gospel known among the nations, as Goers or Senders. The strong desire God placed in my heart was to SEND! Send everyone, everywhere, with every resource they needed to carry the Gospel to the very ends of the earth, and to bless every family on earth, in every way, with everything!

I imagined my life filled with leading Bible studies, praying with friends over cups of tea, (funny I always had this idea because I never liked tea!) writing encouraging letters (I love to encourage and cheer hearts!) filled with money (I hadn't thought about where that would money would come from!) for missions and missionaries..... and, I imagined I would travel, not to establish Kingdom work, but to encourage those who did. I knew I was a Barnabus. An encourager and supporter, and I wanted to be the best! I knew I was blessed to be a blessing, a daughter of Abraham, and joint heir with Jesus, by faith.

I see things differently than most of the people around me. I became aware of this when I was in 4th grade, so I was 9 or 10 years old. Our social studies teacher, Mr. Babcock, was teaching us that people can look at the same thing, but because of their perspective, see very different things. I was about to become his "case in point" star of the show! He put up his first image on the overhead projector. "What do you see?" he asked our class. One by one, the answers came, as he called on us, each child would say "I see 2 faces!" or "I see a candlestick!" until he came to me, "I see a little Indian boy!" He wasn't expecting that. "A little Indian boy?" Everyone was quiet. I pointed out what was as plain as day to me, and they began to see what I saw. Mr. Babcock was delighted. THIS was exactly his point! 

My first "ministry career" lasted 10+ years, beginning when I was just 10 years old. I cared for children in their homes, and I loved every minute of it! Children have always been top priority for me, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to spend so much time with them in those years. 

Since I had learned from the best, both Mother and Mama Sisson, I did things differently than most babysitters, although I was just doing what made sense to me. We never had the tv on when I was babysitting, because I didn't want to waste my time with the children! We would play inside or go to the park, and oftentimes would do something special to surprise their moms, like clean out the refrigerator, do the laundry, or anything else we could find that would bless their homes. Sometimes, of course, the children would ask why they couldn't watch television while I was with them. I told them they could watch tv any time, but time with me was special, and we should do special things, like read, and talk, and sing, and play. I laugh every time I think of one little guy, Ryan, when I told him that I don't even have a tv in my home. His eyes grew wide and he hesitated before asking me, "Are you poor?" He couldn't imagine any other reason for not owning a picture box. 

When I was 19/20, I knew it was time for the next season, and I led my first Precept Bible Study, LORD, Is It Warfare? Teach Me To Stand, and when I was 20/21, I led the Precepts' Spiritual Gifts Bible study. I imagined this was the beginning of a lifetime of leading Bible studies, but it wasn't! I still find it significant that the two studies I DID lead were Spiritual Warfare and Spiritual Gifts. 

While leading the Bible study on spiritual warfare, I flew to India for a mission trip with my neighbors, a trip I had wanted to take for as long as I could remember. The story of Amy Carmichael traveling from Ireland to India, had captured my heart when I was very young, and I have since wanted to visit both countries. (Ireland is still on my list.) It happened suddenly, as many things do in my life. December 10 was the "Day of Prayer for India" and I went, with Mother. Our neighbors across the mountain, took trips to India every year, and hosted a Day of Prayer for India before each trip. One of the needs we prayed over was "more people" to go! Nothing like being the answer to your own prayers! I signed up that day and raised the support to go-quickly! I flew out on January 29, and my 20th birthday (February 1st) began while I was in flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, en route to India. We spent most of our time with children on our trip. I was invited by the orphanage to stay, and I wish I had pushed harder to take them up on their offer, but I didn't, so it was just a 3 week trip.

The following year, while leading the Precept Bible study on Spiritual Gifts, 2 significant things happened (1) I was in a car accident (right after leaving the Bible study) and the two things that helped me recover: massage and prayer. Already a firm believer in prayer, I fast became a believer in massage, and (2) I came across a brand new Moody Monthly magazine that someone had pitched (at the church for the Bible study) I retrieved it and all I remember about the content is a small ad in the back for the Institute of Biblical Studies in Bellmawr, New Jersey. IBS was a one year program that included a 3 week study tour of Israel--good training for me as a Bible study leader, and the trip to Israel sealed the deal! It was a fantastic year! 

One of my fellow Bible school students invited me to go to a massage class she was teaching one evening. I went just to get off campus and spend time with my friend, but GOD answered my prayer for a "tent making" skill I could use to support a life of ministry and missions. Massage was my answer!

I moved to Hot Springs in late November of 1995 for massage school, and earned my massage license on June 22, 1996. It's been a long journey but I've kept my eyes on the prize, as GOD has faithfully prepared me every step of the way. I have gained His vision for how He wants to use me in ministry and missions, FULL ON, FULL TIME!

Being a massage therapist has given me great joy! Working with people one on one, refreshing their bodies and spirits, which in return refreshes me, points me to the Bigger Picture of what GOD has put in my heart for the nations. Nations are people!

Massage and "tent-making" was just the beginning!

The desire to give ridiculously more than I could ever make, marry into, or inherit, became very real for me while I was in massage school, and God confirmed this desire through John Piper. I can still "see" where I was--driving down Grand toward Malvern in Hot Springs, listening to John Piper (on tape!) when I heard him say "make as much money as you can and be a pipeline for the Kingdom of GOD! If you have the desire and the skills to make money, make money and give it away!" My heart almost burst with YES! The image of money surging through me like water through a pipeline has been there since that day! I didn't know how I would make pipelines of money as a massage therapist, but I knew this was God! And the idea to be a pipeline came from John PIPER! Fun! (Side note: my favorite John Piper book is LET THE NATIONS BE GLAD! Absolutely encourage you to read this book!)

I was in my twenties with a "heart for the LORD" a strong desire to "bless the nations" and an active mind-----but absolutely no energy to get through each day! I had what felt like a stronghold of addiction to sugar, which was bewildering to me, since I had always preferred "pickles and popcorn" over anything sweet. I slept for hours during the day and willed myself to work through massage sessions, which left my body entirely depleted. A  3 hour drive from Hot Springs to my family home in Northwest Arkansas would require a pull-over-nap-time as I couldn't make the "whole trip" in one leg. Obviously something was terribly wrong. 

Our family is more "Whole Foods" than "mainstream medicine"--so Mother found a naturopathic doctor with the answer. He assessed quickly and clearly what was going on with me, and suggested a strict diet and two quarts daily of intense tasting herbal tea, which had to be freshly brewed every day. (I've never liked tea, and this was the worst!) 

I did everything he recommended and it worked. I had energy again and no cravings. But....this solution only lasted as long as I was home and my Mother was at the helm. The regimen and expense of custom herbal tea making and drinking, along with a diet that was as difficult to adhere to as the tea was to get down, just wasn't practical. Doable, but not practical.

Back in Hot Springs, I quit. This added guilt on top of the lack-of-energy-sugar-addicted cycle that was becoming normative to me again. Guilt because I knew if I did the "right things" I would be better. It was disheartening, and even maddening. If you've ever been deeply disappointed with yourself, and at the same time, entirely unwell, you know what I mean. I cried out to GOD. How in the world was I going to be a conduit to bless the nations and spread the love of GOD to the ends of the earth if I couldn't even get out of bed, or, when I did make it out of bed--I couldn't exercise control over my choices? 

"I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." Psalm 34:4-5

Mother found the answer again. One day she drove to Hot Springs to visit me and load up her truck with jugs of Hot Springs water. (We have the best!) She set some acemannan supplements on my kitchen counter and told me they were from GOD. She spoke the truth. The very next morning, there are no better words than those from the old hymn, "Up from the grave (she) arose!" I sprung out of bed, alive with energy, and my life was changed! GOD had answered my prayer! Not only was I better, I wasn't bound to an impossible lifestyle! This new energy empowered me to make better choices and I was free at last!

When the opportunity came up just a few weeks later to gather with the international "acemannan company" in Chicago, I was there! I was there with people from all over the world, and what I saw that weekend was GOD at work in the world of business, just like I had seen Him at work in the world of missions! When I heard stories that centered around supporting ministries and missions as a family, or funding their own ministry or mission work full time to share the gospel, because of their renewed health and increased finances, I knew what was God was doing! I was completely captivated! This was so much more than tent-making! And it was a perfect fit with massage! Massage therapy and acemannan supplements are both for the wellness and support of the body, and I didn't miss the double meaning of BODY!

With my new, bigger understanding of business and missions together, married by wellness, I could see how God was going to use me to bless the BODY and bless the nations as a pipeline-conduit-resource-and--missions-money-mobilizer, all at the same time! My desire had increased and officially become a vision! God had given both, so I knew absolutely that this would one day come to pass........I just had no idea how long I would carry this vision!

For reference, this was the end of 1998. 

It had been 9 years since my desire turned into vision, and on July 13, 2007- I Googled "how to change the world"........

The cover of a book by David Bornstein, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, popped onto my screen, and I knew in that moment I had found my answer! I was a SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR! I knew this discovery was significant. I was so energized, I stayed up the entire night, ordered 19 books suggested to me by Amazon, and marveled and wondered at the bigness of the vision God had given me. That is the night I "met" Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor, who established micro-financing for poor women in Bangladesh who had never had access to capital, so they could create businesses that flourished, rather than being exploited by their poverty. This was brilliant and revolutionary! That night the world of Social Business was flung open for me, and I could see this was the framework for the vision God had given me.

As I write this, that was almost 15 years ago. I didn't have any idea that GOD's timetable would put the vision He gave me coming to life this far down the path, but His time is always the right time. In the last 23, almost 24 years, I have gained a much deeper understanding of the power and magnitude of the vision GOD has given me. He has continued to grow the vision in my mind and heart, and He has continued to grow me. He always does His work IN us so He can do His work THROUGH us, and I needed a lot of preparation for the task ahead! 

And so, apparently, did my friends, Sam and Linda Caster. It was through their faith infused lives that I first caught the vision to bless the nations by marketing supplements. They had founded the company whose products changed my life. Sam and Linda are "salt of the earth, boots on the ground" people from Texas, with a heart for God and the nations. 

In 1997 Sam and Linda supplied a Romanian orphanage they had been supporting with their supplements. The orphanage was amazed by the transformation in their children and reported to the Casters that for the very first time in many years, not one child died during the winter months and they had far fewer illnesses all around! Many of the orphanage's contacts were wanting the same help for their children, so in 1999, Sam and Linda started a nonprofit organization named MannaRelief, for the purpose of nourishing children around the world.

About a year after I discovered the language and framework of Social Entrepreneurship, our world experienced a serious financial crisis, and MannaRelief lost much of its donated revenue. This meant there wasn't funding to nourish all the children that had come to depend on them. Sam and Linda cried out to God, and guess what He showed them? YES! The very same book He showed me!

August 6, 2010, I was in a small gathering in Missouri (the "show me" state!) and Sam got up to speak. It was his 60th birthday. I almost combusted in my seat when Sam began to share what the Lord had been SHOWING him!.....Sam threw up a slide with the cover of David Bornstein's book, HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS AND THE POWER OF NEW IDEAS!

It was all I could do to stay put while he spoke. When he finished, I bolted from the room and rushed to find him. I poured out words like water from a fire hose, waving my arms and cheering to him that THIS WAS GOD! I told him about my calling to be a Sender, my desire to bless the nations, my vision from 1998, my Google search in 2007, Muhammad Yunus......I hit him like a train with my exuberance! But I just had to tell him because now he knew! He KNEW what God was doing through social entrepreneurship and social business, and I saw that night, God was making clear I was right where I was supposed to be, and that He was leading Sam and Linda the same way He was leading me. 

Two years later, I traveled with Sam and MannaRelief to Mexico to see first hand the difference that MannaRelief was making in the lives of children.

There is a lot of life that happens along the way, isn't there? I remember working diligently in 2012 and 2013, researching nonprofit organizations that I aligned with and would like to support. I was inviting them to give me the opportunity to market and sell supplements on their behalf to create another stream of income for them, through social business, rather than donations. Some were intrigued. Some were bewildered. A few said yes. More than that said no. But I knew this was the right thing, and God was leading the way. 

In late 2013 and early 2014, a season of turbulence and darkness overwhelmed my life and blocked my efforts to move forward. I was in the fire. I tried to carry on, but all I could really do was hold on. Hold on to God and His promises. Hold on to God, who was holding on to me. God never stopped speaking to me, and showing me that He was in control. He assured me that what the enemy was intending for evil in my life, He would use for good. 

God was with me. By the end of 2015, He had brought me through some very rough seas, and given me some very amazing promises. One of the most vivid is the day He gave me Psalm 110. It was 61 months TO THE DAY following Sam's 60th birthday. He gave me clarity through Psalm 110 that has kept me every day since then. "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." When I read those words, I was flooded with relief, peace and joy, the kind that comes from the deep friendship and trust I have with God my Father. I knew I didn't have to figure anything out, and nothing needed to make sense. I was in a serious spiritual battle, but my word was simple. "Sit at my right hand." and He would make my enemies my footstool. That was the one thing I knew how to do, was stick close to Him, and when I would find myself trying to understand "things" again, I would go back to that day, almost 7 years ago, and remember His word to me, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." His right hand represents His strength, and His strength has carried me, and carries me. His presence and His promises---and His assurance and confirmations along the way, make for a delightful adventure, and make the hard places sweet!

Sam and Linda were trusting God in their own battles, and had made the decision to leave the company they founded. That was a shock to me, and I couldn't see what in the world would happen with this vision. I will write a book some day, because the story is so rich--but for now, I'll just say that God had so specifically crafted this vision that it wasn't like I could "copy and paste" it anywhere else. I knew every component that He was putting together mattered. And now it was all torn apart, as was my life. But---He continued to confirm His purposes for me, and I continued to hold on to him, and remember that this same God is the One who promised Abram, childless Abram, that he would be the father of many nations..........

I sent Sam a text on his 67th birthday, Sunday, August 6th, 2017, and that was my last contact with him, until "out of the blue" exactly 143 weeks (1001 days) later....

But first, here are a couple significant things that happened after my birthday text to Sam in 2017. Just 11 days later, GOD led me to rent a cottage on the lake in Hot Springs. It was an answer to prayer (in one day!) and it was what I had always imagined for a place of ministry. Not just an office space, but a place that provided the warmth and welcome of a home, complete with fireplace! It became the Cosy Christmas Cottage. 

In 2019, GOD gave me "Comepass!onarey" to name my calling. I threw a party on February 9 to celebrate being a Comepass!onarey, as that would have been my maternal grandmother Mama Sisson's 99th birthday. C-omepass!on-arey is spelled intentionally to show a "carrying on" of the vision and pass!on of William Carey.

I hosted "Unplanned Hot Springs" 2 months later on April 9, when I bought out all 399 seats in the Behind the Mall theatre and invited the community of Hot Springs to watch the story of Abby Johnson, who once worked with Planned Parenthood and now is in ministry to support women and their babies. I donated the proceeds from the Love Offering to Change Point pregnancy center.

Christmassage

I remember watching the animated version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis, in elementary school, and later reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia, which includes The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. In Lewis' story, there is a land called Narnia which has been taken over by the "White Witch" who has made Narnia "always winter and never Christmas" but when the lion ASLAN, who is the True King of Narnia, returns, the snow begins to thaw into Spring AND Father Christmas appears, bearing gifts. 

Christmassage is my way of saying "I have good news! ASLAN is on the move! It will never be Winter without Christmas again! The birds are singing and the snow is melting!" 

Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!" Christmassage is about bringing Christmas everywhere there is Winter. It's "always winter" somewhere. Life is hard, and sometimes harder. But we live in hope and live to share that hope to the ends of the earth, so the nations may rejoice! The good news is for all peoples, everywhere!

Christmassage is Love, Hope, Peace, Comfort and Joy to the World! 

Christmassage is ministry, missions, and massage, through the picture of Christmas.

2020
GOD showed me it was time to move out of the Cosy Christmas Cottage. Not knowing why, and without a plan, I moved out, and put everything in storage. As always, He knew what I didn't know, and covid "hit" just a few days after I had everything tucked away!

During my move, I met Rebecca, who was renting the storage unit next to mine. I told her my story, in brief, and she said, "Come stay with us! We have a Bed & Breakfast with an extra room!" I told her I had plenty of places to stay while I prayed about my next step, but when I saw her phone number in a text, I knew I needed to follow up to see what might be in store. Her (then) phone number was 501.318.4923. 

501 is May 1st, 318 is the address of the Cosy Christmas Cottage that GOD had called me to leave. A favorite song of mine begins, "On the first of May, it is moving day!" and I had been holding onto Isaiah 49 for almost 5 years by then, and I knew verse 23 was special. Sure enough, when I looked it up again, I read "those who put their hope in Me will not be disappointed." 

Wildwood

And so, on March 9, 2020, I visited my new friend's Bed & Breakfast for the first time, a beautiful place called Wildwood. Built between 1878-1884, by Prosper & Sarah Ellsworth, Wildwood is a jewel in Hot Springs. And through my new friends, Wildwood was a gift for me, a holding place, where I could rest and work and wait for the next steps GOD would have for me.

Sunday morning, May 3, 2020

"Sam Caster" the Holy Spirit spoke to me, to wake me up. Sam Caster? I climbed out of bed and grabbed my phone. Just so you know, this isn't entirely unusual. I almost always wake up to His voice. A thought, word, song, idea, but this was different because as far as I can recall, this was the first for someone's name, and that's it. Just "Sam Caster." Checking my phone, I calculated it had been almost 3 years since we had texted. He's not at all active on social media. I Googled around......found a video that he had made less than 24 hours before, on Saturday afternoon, saying something about "this weekend" and "ALOVEA starting"......I had no context for what he was sharing in his video, so I texted Sam and Linda.

It was Sunday morning, so I didn't hear back. They were in church. Later that morning, driving to meet family, I heard on the radio someone talking about Joseph! He said, "what you meant for evil, the Lord will use for good..." and reminded us of the verse, Genesis 50:20! My mind immediately flashed to Sam! He was born in 50 and the year was 20! and his next birthday he would be 70! He and Linda have what they call a "Joseph calling" on their lives! What was going on? I had to know! 

I called Sam. He answered and I excitedly told him, "The Holy Spirit woke me up this morning and said, 'Sam Caster' and then I was driving and the guy on the radio was talking about Joseph and Genesis 50:20 and you were born in 50 and this year is 20, and you are going to be 70! What is ALOVEA? What is going on?"

Sam blew me away, as he shared some stories of what God had been doing in their lives, leading up to that weekend, and the fulfillment of all He had been showing them. Icing on the cake was the name ALOVEA! I instantly saw LOVE in the middle of (2) As! "A" means MOST IMPORTANT!  ALOVEA represents (to me) LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength! LOVE your neighbor even as you love yourself! 

Have you ever waked up to a miracle? a promise fulfilled? Just like that? It's incredible! I called Lydia when I got off the phone with Sam. Lydia is Linda's sister, and she is an intercessor. I knew it was the right time, and I knew Lydia was the right one. I told her I wanted to open an ALOVEA account that day! I still marvel at this day. The date was 5/03/20, and it was weeks later it dawned on me that 2020 was the 503rd anniversary of the Reformation! God was confirming how BIG this all is, and how big things come to pass! "The just shall live BY FAITH!"

 

Guess what? ALOVEA is registered as a Public Benefit Company aka Social Business in the state of Texas, founded by 2 nonprofits, MannaRelief, and Nations Changers out of South Korea. Sam had discovered Social Business was the way to drive his mission to nourish children! ALOVEA follows a "Buy 1 Nourish 1" model of giving, and with each supplement sold, ALOVEA nourishes a child through MannaRelief! My dream was about to come true! God is faithful! But there was more to be made clear, and more waiting.

March 4th, 2021

For many years, I have had a strong desire to reach every family with the gift of clean water. Making Hot Springs National Park my home for more than half my life, I am blessed with access to some of the best water on earth. People from all over the world pour through Hot Springs to visit every year, and the reason they do, is because of our water. Our water is why we were set aside by the federal government in 1832 (April 20) as a reserve, and why we later became a National Park in 1921, on March 4th. For many years my prayer has been that GOD would use me to "Give to the world the gift that brings the world through Hot Springs: water!"

Many of the same people who lack access to safe, clean drinking water also lack access to good nutrition, and the Gospel. They are vulnerable to human trafficking. Many of these people are children. All of these people are poor.....Children...Unreached...Persecuted...Poor....all my prayers and cares came together in a simple acronym....CUPP, with the Unreached right in the heart! GOD could use me to shift "The Great Imbalance"! 

CUPP. Children-Unreached-Persecuted-Poor. You pour WATER into a CUPP. It all connects!

March 4, 2021 marked the 100 year anniversary of Hot Springs National Park, so on that day, I began walking #6keveryday (almost 4 miles) to pray and post my walks on social media. My audience was small, but I walked every day for 304 days in a row, the same average distance that women and children in Africa and Asia walk every day, simply to collect water for their families---from an impure water source that causes the death of many of their children. Walking is healthy, and I enjoyed it.

Every walk reminded me that the women and children I was praying for were oftentimes not walking in safe places, and not walking toward a safe goal. What came of those 2021 walks is yet to be seen. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that GOD answers in ways we can't imagine, and He is faithful to hear us. I see Him working to meet the needs of families, by providing access to safe, clean water, the joy and hope of the Gospel, and the surrounding blessings that come with water and the Gospel, through beautiful ministries like Lifewater International and Neverthirst. 

April 23, 2021

On the 3rd Friday of every April, there is a live 6 hour global simulcast event called SECRET CHURCH, led by David Platt. The name comes from the church that meets "underground" because of persecution. Many people in the world who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus, meet secretly, and when they do, they often study Scripture together for more than a handful of hours, because their time together is so rare. 

"The Great Imbalance" was the theme of Secret Church '21. David Platt emphasized this, "of all the money we (the Body of Christ) give to support missions worldwide, only about 1% (1 penny out of every dollar) goes to meet the urgent spiritual and physical needs of the "Unreached"-- people who have little to no access to the Gospel, who have never heard the name of Jesus, hence, "The Great Imbalance."

In January of 2022, as I was watching videos about the need to get the Gospel to the Unreached, the words "ta ethne", Greek for "all peoples" jumped out at me. In my acronym-wired mind, I saw "Ta Ethne All" which is TEA! Not only do you pour WATER into a CUPP, but you can't have TEA without WATER!

A few months later, as I was giving a massage, I suddenly had an Epiphany, while looking at the "Alleluia" hanging in my massage room at Wildwood. Alleluia is Greek for PRAISE THE LORD! Ta Ethne Alleluia! TEA! ALL PEOPLES PRAISE THE LORD! Now everything was REALLY CONNECTING!

That same month, I woke up one morning with my name all in caps in my mind KELLY, and I saw the LL turn upside down and become 77! I had never noticed before the word KEY in my name! And I knew 77 was KEY! And I knew why 77 was KEY! '77 was the year I was 4 and I gave my life to Jesus, to love and follow Him with my whole heart for my whole life. I had been holding tightly to Isaiah 49 and I was almost 49, which is 7x7! 

When I looked for a TEA company that made individually wrapped TEA bags, I came across Twinings TEA, and when I read their history, I was astonished to see that in 1749, they first began shipping their TEA to America (before we were the USA!) and I knew this was the TEA for me! 1749 was already meaningful to me, because my nephew Cedar was 17 the same year I was 49, Ohio is the 17th state and their motto is WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and Alaska (where Cedar was born) is the 49th state and their motto is NORTH TO THE FUTURE!

To top it off, 1 Samuel 17:49 records the defeat of Goliath at the hand of David. "Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground."

By the way, this is an incredibly edited version of the story! I would have to write a book, or perhaps chronicles of books, and you would be wowed and blown away by the myriad of details and direction lavishly given by the Holy Spirit! AMAZING. I am living it and I am constantly amazed! No longer surprised, but always amazed!

The vision GOD had given me was becoming clearer and closer, but I had no idea how or where--all of this would come together? The Cosy Christmas Cottage was all wrapped up in storage, and my massage business had never recovered after my move and covid in 2020. But GOD continued to speak and confirm, and I continued to follow by faith, longing for roots so I could really get my "boots on the ground" and GO! 

February 2022
My 49th birthday was February 1st and it was a day to remember! I collected (2) huge bags of BIG pinecones (88 in one bag and 113 in another= 201 total! 201 is February 1st!) which filled my heart with great joy! Pinecones are the symbol of my life motto "Pour IN Everything! Cheer ON Everyone! Seed-Seek-See GOD's Kingdom Come ON Earth!" That evening, Mark and I ate at Olive Garden and when I asked about the type of pasta I was considering ordering, our waiter said, "It's round like water pipes" and I was overjoyed and ordered "water pipe pasta" to celebrate!

A couple weeks later on February 13, I was hiking and ran into some old friends who invited me to Garage Church, which is right across the street from Samaritan Ministries for homeless men. "The Shops at Samaritan Crossing" are right next to Samaritan Ministries, built as spaces to rent out to support their ministry, and Suite 132 was available! (My birthday is 132, as February 1st falls the day after 1/31!) Though the space was small, I knew it was for me, and I signed a lease on the 50th day of the year, February 19. 50 is Jubilee and Pentecost! 

The Greenway walking path is right across the street from Suite 132, and would be a perfect location for Water Walks!....I was excited! Only a fraction of what I had in storage from the Cosy Christmas Cottage fit into Suite 132, and while the Holy Spirit continued to speak to me and assure me of His purposes and plans, I also experienced some very hard set backs, difficulties, and obstacles, that knocked me so far down, I knew only GOD could bring me up out of it. 

By the end of the year, my heart was crushed. 49 was supposed to be NORTH TO THE FUTURE! and it appeared to have gone in the opposite direction---south! As one does when things go dark, I questioned how my circumstances lined up with GOD's promises and continued assurances, and whether it was my fault, or part of the process, or if I was all wrong. I know enough to know GOD works in times and circumstances like these, but it was tough. Tough to hold on. But I kept believing, even though it felt foolish and I had no idea how to continue carrying such a big vision, let alone carry it out!

The last week of 2022, the 4th day of Christmas, and the 4th day away from the New Year, December 28, I opened a Christmas letter from my dearest of friends and I wept. Hard. It was a beautiful letter, and I was genuinely rejoicing over every square inch of it. The delightful photos, the endearing familiarity of the writing, the victories and joys that were shared, the success and hope that rang throughout. But it also highlighted the hard, seemingly impossible, place I was in. I remember thinking, "I haven't sent out a Christmas letter in years, and I don't even have a dog."

Elisabeth Elliot often said, "Do the next thing," and in the midst of my tears, her counsel came to mind. I dried my face and set out for the library, to return the (4) books on the floorboard inside ASLAN, my Ascent. As I drove toward the library, a sign in the front yard of a place I had prayed over 10 1/2 years before, caught my eye.

Ten and a half years earlier, a newly married couple came to Hot Springs for their honeymoon and I met them when they came to me for massages. She had graduated from chiropractic school the day before their wedding! 

I was delighted when she called me a few weeks later to say, "We fell in love with Hot Springs and we are moving!" I helped them make some connections and welcomed them to our community. I talked with her about sharing a space for our work, but it in the end, it wasn't a fit. I well remember the day she called to announce that she had found "the" place and to give me the address so I could tell her what it meant! She said "It's 113 Nickels! What does that mean?" I was astonished. I told her that 113 is the highway I grew up on, in the summers, at my grandparent's home, it's the first "Hallel Psalm", Psalm 113, it's my husband's birthday and our anniversary (January 13) and if you look at it as 113 (November 3) it's Edith Schaeffer's birthday, co-founder of L'Abri in Switzerland. And Nickels! Nickels is CHANGE! Change the world!! She said, "Sounds like this is more for you than it is for me!" and I couldn't help but wonder the same. When I stopped by to see it, I thought even more that it was a perfect place for my ministry! So I prayed that if GOD wanted me to move in some day, He would keep it for me. 

She moved out in May 2022, and I asked then what the plan was for 113 Nickels, "It's going to be a VRBO" was the answer. So I was shocked and delighted and knew that GOD had kept 113 Nickels for me all those years! For His perfect Kairos time! 

The only challenge was I had no money and almost no business, as I had been hanging on by my fingernails, holding on by faith, to my dream. I called anyway. GOD is my Provider. He has everything I need.  

 

I have come to believe that my perspective is a gift, and that gift is given for a purpose. My desire is to use this gift to bring to life what God has put in my heart to do. The way I see things shows up in the way I say things. I've had to create new words to fit my perspective, or I have "re-newed" words with new spelling and/or new meaning!  

Thank you for reading my BACK Story! Now have fun with the rest of the website! Thank you so much for your visit! 

AuntKelly Dayenu AshmoreShaddock
CameLLback Comepass!onaire 
BACKtheBought'tea! 
BlessAwakenCheerKeep

 

 

As long as I have known my father-in-law, I have known the song he sings to children. "One fine day in the month of May, I played a funny trick! Out in the yard behind my house, I planted a lollipop stick! I watered it well, and watched it faithfully, and then one day my lollipop stick turned into a lollipop tree!" Naturally, the first ALOVEA product that caught my attention was the bright red lollipops called Hope Pops! ALOVEA began in May!