How I am a Missionary

by Katie Palumbo

Kenya, Maxwell Adventist Academy

When I started the search for missions call, I had in my head an image of what a student missionary should be. I equated service with suffering. I felt like I had to go into the jungle with no electricity or running water in order to really be a “missionary”. In my mind the people wouldn’t speak English or ever have seen a photo of themselves. I searched and searched but somewhere along the way God informed me that this was not going to be the case. A few emails and a phone call later and I found myself a call at Maxwell Adventist Academy in Kenya.

Katie with a student in Kenya.

Working at Maxwell is completely different from any call I ever thought I would take. Every stereotype that I had of missionary work has been broken. This is not a bush school. I live in a comfortable home with internet and running water. My students aren’t poor, they have good homes and parents who feed them and assist with homework. They don’t necessarily need or desire to hug me every day and they can’t wait to go home at the end of the school day.

I came with the idea that I had to suffer, that I needed to be broken and rebuilt in order to truly serve, but God is slowly erasing my preconceived stereotypes. I’m learning that God’s ability and desire to use you does not depend on your living situation or how poor the locals are, you just need to be willing. He is showing me how to serve in a practical way. The needs on the campus of Maxwell Adventist Academy are different. Students don’t need my money or a bag of rice, but they do need a good example, they need encouragement and unconditional love. I used to believe that the only way to challenge myself was to spend this year completely removed from anything and everything familiar or easy. But I am being challenged in ways I never expected. I’m learning to love and to give with all my heart. I’m learning how to be patient and persistent. I am learning how to be content.

This year is being spent planting seeds, trying to make a small impact on a place and people that in eight months will move on just fine without me. Proverbs 16:19 reminds me that I can make all the plans I want but it’s God who determines my steps. Despite all my protesting and reasons not to go, I am here. God hasn’t called me to the bush or to a hut; He’s called me to Maxwell. I am a missionary.