Hijacked.

Hi. I’m Lex. I’m a student ministry leader at Redefined. I want to tell you a story.

Less than a year ago, a couple young ladies pulled an anxiety intervention on their friend.

Miko is graduating this spring and she’s kinda freaking out. She doesn’t want to talk about it … but she needs to talk about it.

So we talked. She graduated a whole year early, which is exciting and impressive … and also a little bit of a rude awakening.

Oh ya, by the way, you’re an adult now. Don’t mess it up.

We talked about community college, and universities, and jobs, and apartments, and cars, and all those things. And then, on a whim (or maybe not—hindsight being 20/20 and all that), I said, “Or doing something cool. You kind of have a whole extra year. Go overseas! Do missions work for a year! Do something crazy!”

To which Miko quietly shrugged and murmured, “Ya.”

“I’m serious. We know people. I could safely send you to India, or Cambodia, or Mexico next week if you wanted to go.”

To which Miko quietly shrugged and murmured, “Okay.”

But it was enough of a seed, and she is enough of a young woman of prayer, that she came back some weeks later and said, “Mexico.”

I said she should go for a year. She thought six to nine months. Pastor Simon said if she was going to go, she should enroll in their ministry school, which is a one-year program, so pretty much I’m 2 for 0 and Miko has to just do what I say from now on. 😉

And before either one of us really knew it, we were here: pricing airfare and figuring out the best way to handle donations and setting up social media platforms. What had been a long running joke (“See? This is why I’m trying to send you to Mexico for a year!”) is suddenly very, very real. 

And I am so excited for her.

Because an opportunity like this would transform any suburban-bred teenager. A new environment, a new culture, new people, new ministry. She’s going to earn a year’s worth of college credits (the school at La Fuente is accredited through Christian Life College in Mount Prospect), learn legit Spanish, and get to work alongside people who have given their lives to plant churches and care for orphans in Jesus’ name.

An opportunity like this would transform any suburban-bred teenager, but I’m especially excited for what God is going to do in, and through, Miko. Because let’s be real: this girl is talented and hard-working and open to God’s leading.

I have seen a lot of teenage girls come through Redefined in eight years

—a lot of teenage girls with easier lives than Miko’s—and I’ve seen almost as many drawn away by boys, friends, and popularity contests. I’ve seen a lot of teenagers give in to the the identity that society scripted for them: the dark and troubled teen, the hyper-focused model student, the super cool rockstar with no vulnerabilities.

A few push through, and Miko is one of those. No matter what life has thrown at her, she’s always surfaced for air. She’s always been found standing when the dust settled. She has the heart of a servant and a quiet, gentle humility that I know God is going to use for great things.

I’m excited for her because I know that a year on the mission field is going to teach her how to rely on her Father. It’s going to teach her how to hear His voice, how to follow His leading, how to love His Church. It’s going to open her eyes to the huge world we live in and the enormous possibilities it holds, to the size of the mission field before us, and to the love and grace of our God that makes it all look so small.

It’s going to be big, and it’s going to be difficult, but Miko can do it. She needs to do it, and I think she knows that.

I’m going to miss her tremendously, but I’m so excited about sending her that I’m not at all timid or shy about asking you to help me send her.

First, pray. A lot of missionaries like to say, “If you can’t do anything else, please pray.” I’m gonna say, no matter what you are willing to do, also pray. Pray for the finances to come in. Pray for peace (for Miko and for her mom). Pray that Miko would have ears to hear His voice and the courage to follow it. (Pray we can find cheap flights.)

Then partner with her. Getting the girl to send support letters has been like pulling teeth. She doesn’t want to ask for financial support. She got a job for a few months so she could save a big chunk of the money that she needs, but the fast food industry is not a place to earn $4000 in a few months. She needs help, and I don’t mind asking for her.

How can she go unless she is sent? It’s not about donations or gifts, because this is the gospel and we are the body of Christ. We all have a part to play and a job to do. Miko’s job is to get on a plane and throw herself into the unknown. Our job is to pay for her airfare at the end of the month, or her tamales next spring. Our job is much easier.

So leave a comment on this post if you can commit to praying for Miko for the next 12 months. And click the red Donate Now! button if you’re willing to partner with the work in Mexico.