August, 2012
I dug my bare feet into the cold sand while the wind whipped my hair
into a giant knot. The sun warmed me enough to remove my jacket for the
first time in days, but the two sweatshirts underneath remained firmly
in place. It was my last day in Jeffery’s Bay South Africa. The Winter
rain finally decided to take a break so Brandon, my friend who I was
staying with, and I waisted no time getting to the beach.
The sandbar we walked along was breathtaking, on one side steam rose off
a bright blue lagoon and craggy, verdant mountains stood in the
distance. On the other side decisive waves pounded the sand, sending
foam spraying onto the sky. It was beautiful.
As we walked Brandon started to tell me that it was rare, but sometimes
you could see whales breaching near the shore. I really wanted to see a
whale, so I asked God, out loud, “Jesus, can I see a whale today?”
Immediately something small started splashing in the water, because of
it’s size I though it was a dolphin. The creature continued to play,
while next to it a giant sleek dark body surfaced. I finally realized
what I was witnessing, a baby whale and it’s mom. God had answered my
frivolous prayer. WOW!!!
September, 2012
This morning my friend Jane Register and I got together to work in the
same room. I jokingly called us, “friends who work alone together.”
Before starting in we spent some time praying. Since returning from
Africa, I’ve been struggling with jumping back into support raising. As
Jane was praying for me God brought to mind that beautiful day in J-Bay
and assured me that He wants to meet my every need and answer my
frivolous prayers as well!
I’ve had a lot of people ask lately, “Now that your back, what are you
doing?” I’m called to disciple people through short term mission trips
and this season is all about preparing to do that, which means raising
up a group of people who support my ministry through prayer and/or
monthly giving. I am a full time missionary, for me that calling just looks a little
different.
At the moment I am at $900 in monthly support – my goal
which covers my living stipend, insurance, overhead, all trip costs and
ministry expenses is $3,000 a month. This means I need to find 21 more
people who can give $100 a month or 42 more $50 a month sponsors. As
Jane and I were praying God reminded me again that I don’t need to
stress over support. Work towards it, heck yes! Stress, no! If you
want to partner with me by giving to this ministry monthly click on the
“Support Me!” link on the left side of the page.
Right after we finished praying I opened up an e-mail from a friend who
recently decided to partner with my roommate Anne, who does college
ministry, and me. My friend wrote, “I have to say we enjoy donating
money to this cause because I feel as though there is a more personal
effect… It’s great to know the specific effects of donations. Not to
mention, you and Anne are fantastic and talented women in your field.
Must be why God has called you ladies here. Good news! I got a job
here… so we will be donating more per month! Yay!” Again, WOW! Her
words beautifully confirmed what God has called me to in this season.
For the next few months raising support is my main goal but here is a
list of the other projects I’m currently working on – all of which are
very exciting to me. I would love your prayers for these endeavors.
• Mexico Mission Trip – I’m leading a Mexico trip in November for the Thirty/Forty group at North Coast Calvary. I’ll be going down to Mexico
in early October to work with the missionaries there and help get
things set up. I even have an opportunity to lead a small group about
missions to train the trip participants.
• Swaziland Projects – I’m working on putting together a Swaziland
trip for the Spring as well as coordinating Steps Over Swaziland for
next Summer.
• Recruiting for Mission Trips – I’ve been networking with different
churches and ministries to bring together people who want to participate
in mission trips.
• Fill-A-Belly – Now that I’m back I get to attend our weekly F.A.B.
gatherings for the homeless. It’s been such a gift to be part of that
community again.
• Speaking – Last weekend I spoke for the Junior High students at NCCC
and soon I’ll be speaking for the Womens Christmas Brunch. I love to
speak/preach and am excited that a lot of doors have been opening for me
to use that gift.
• Blogging – I’ve been blogging for almost 6 years. It’s something
I’ve grown to love. This summer I started blogging for Live58, “a
global initiative to end extreme poverty.” They have been re-posting
some of my old blogs along with my recent posts. Check out my posts at http://post.live58.org/author/morgan-mckeown/. The Live58 website is awesome, www.live58.org.
Leading trips is one of my favorite things in the world! I love setting
things up, finding the best ways to partner with ministries, training
people, and helping participants use the skills they developed to do
more local and global ministry. I believe that a good mission trip
blesses everyone involved, local people, long term missionaries and trip
participants.
Almost 10 years ago I knew I was called to lead short term mission trips
and today I get to step into that dream. Thanks so much for being a
part of sending me into this new season!
