Hi!
My name is Kristen Suzanne Pfund (p is silent). Some people call me Kris for short. I think the meanings behind names are really special, especially because mine helped me find my faith (story below). My first name is a Christian name and means, believer in Christ, my middle name is Hebrew and means graceful lily and my last name is Swiss for pound, like the weight (not the currency) 🙂
I have strawberry blonde hair and freckles, which always makes for good conversation with the kiddos. They usually want to know why I look the way I do. It wasn’t until my adult years that I grew to appreciate both, when I saw that the Lord made me beautiful and realized that I/we are His work of art.
I am ½ Swiss a ¼ Norwegian (that is where I get my whiteness from), lot of other little stuff and fully American. My friends always tell me that I need a lot of sunscreen and I have now fully accepted it. So anyone reading this, that would like to supply my sunscreen through Africa and Central America, I greatly appreciate you and wear 30 spf.
I love my family. All of them. I grew up with two loving parents who I call dad and mom, but you can call them Will and Paula, along with two younger sisters Kelly (middle child & married to my wonderful brother in law Kris) and Kalise (youngest & just finishing high school). These people are my support. They love me so much and have encouraged me in all that I do. They have given me a great example of Christ’s love and I am so grateful for them.
Fun Facts-
When it comes to activities, you should know that I am pretty much up for anything. I don't want to miss out on anything, which usually makes me last to go to sleep in a group. I try not to let my fears overcome me and live by the verse- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Love snowboarding- it's the only thing that gets me up at 4 am happily. I have a huge desire to snowboard someday in Argentina.
Surprise to me- I am naturally talented at air hockey.
I enjoy hiking, biking and exploring new cities &/ villages
I like to cook for myself and large groups of people.
I love loving people.
I like hearing people's stories and learning about their culture.
I wish I knew more than one language and hope to change that on the WR
I love connecting to Jewish traditions and culture. It feels a part of me.
I am super goofy. I really like to make people smile and laugh.
I have an itch to pet wild animals.
I love people, especially when they are themselves. Honesty is very important to me.
Styling outfits is my creative outlet.
I have dreams of being an international photo shoot/film producer.
I am looking mostly forward to praying for different people all over the world on this race.
How I Came to Follow Jesus/Yeshua-
I didn’t always call myself a Christian. At 19 I read a book called Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus (someone who I greatly look up to) that asked the question, “Why? Why do you believe what you believe?” Growing up in a Christian home I naively believed and never asked myself why? I specifically remember my whole world crashing down at that moment. Everything I once thought was undoubtedly true, might not. I turned to friends, saying I don’t believe in Jesus anymore. Some were greatly concerned and others said, “Really, neither do I (excitedly)!” This sent me on a search for the truth, which I think is something we are all on. I started from the basics. I rationally believed that there had to be a God, because where did all this come from? The big bang? If that is even true, who made the big bang and how likely is it that everything works so well together (ex: creation, our bodies and how they can self heal, the fact that the earth is perfectly positioned to hold life, etc.). So I went to “God” not knowing where else to go. I asked Him one night, "Are you there?" No answer. "Are you there?" No answer. "Where are you?!?! What if you are not there?!?!" Silence, eerie stillness. Immediately, whatever protective force was covering me from the moment I was born (which I didn’t even know existed) fell away. And sitting in my room I had never felt more terrified and alone than I did in that moment. I couldn’t even tell you what I was afraid of. Whatever it was, it was not seen. I felt naked and unprotected. After maybe 30 sec to a minute. I said with extreme need and exhaustion, “OK! You are real!” Immediately that protective force returned and I no longer had unexplainable fear. I followed it up, with, "But I still don’t believe in your Son." It didn’t matter. God was after my heart. I kept reading the Bible, to find truth/contradiction, told my parents, who I thought were going to freak, but really just loved me through it and said to take my time and ask them any questions I needed to. I search and search, prayed and finally asked one of my dear Orthodox Jewish friend. “Do you even believe Jesus existed?” She responded, “Sure his existence is written in history.” At that moment I realized that she had more faith than I did. After 2 months I finally believed He was a real human.
But is He God? Why would God send His Son to die the most shameful death? It is so unlike a God to do such a thing. If fact, it's been recorded that no other God has done so. I continued reading his teaching, prophesy about His life in the Old Testament and matching it up to the New. I couldn’t make a decision. It all came down to faith and just saying yes. I remember the final conversation I had with my mom, asking her, “How do I know and how do I decide?” She said “It comes down to asking the question- Do I agree with what He is saying and what He is teaching? Does everything line up? If you don’t agree, don’t follow it.” I couldn’t disagree, and I liked what He spoke about and who He was as a person. So with fear and trembling I said “Jesus, I choose to follow you.” After 3 antagonizing months of what felt like torture, going up and down, I took the step of faith to finally chose to follow Him.
It took a little faith for my eyes to open up.
About a month later, a friend of mine came up to me and asked, "Do you know what your name means?" "No," I responded without thinking anything of it. So he went on and told me that it meant believer in Christ. I immediately looked that up for myself and asked my parents if they knew the meaning of my name? They didn’t. They just picked it because they thought it sounded cute. 'Really?' I pondered. Thinking back on all the stories I read in the Bible of God specifically picking out people's names, I knew at that moment that God was after my heart from birth, knowing that my name would one day minister to me. This is why I love names and the meaning behind them.
That was just the start of God showing His lightness to me. Since them, I have started to write down the many miracles that have happened in my life. Ones from the past and ones current. In times of struggle/doubt, they have helped me continue to believe.
THANK YOU FOR READING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING THIS JOURNEY WITH YOU.
GOD BLESS,
Kristen
