Being Stretched.

    I have always been a fan of yoga. This morning I woke up craving a good stretching session, so I let the kind lady on YouTube direct me through my morning yoga time. She introduced a pose that I remember being able to do with ease as a child and now it was causing me excruciating pain. I have always been a pretty flexible person so it came as a shock that this pose caused me so much pain. Then I remembered...I have steal rods in my back. When I was sixteen years old I had scoliosis corrective surgery and two steal rods were fused to my spine. After some healing I got right back into dance and sports, I didn't let it keep me down for long. Every once in a while though I am reminded the hard way that I can't do every twist and turn that I used to be able to with ease.

So there I am laying flat on the ground, letting my back recover from the pain I had just caused it. I started thinking about how it was ok that I couldn't conquer this pose, I am allowed to have limits. I am human, and as humans we are made to have flaws, and shortcomings. This thought stuck with me all day as I encountered the trials that today brought. I am not made to be a perfect, self-sufficient person, I am the daughter of a Perfect King, but that doesn't mean that I will ever reach perfection, and I don't want to. I welcome my limits because I want to live a life that continually depends on the strength that my Father offers me to push through the trials this life throws at me. I will always need Him because I will always find the limits where I end, and He begins. Next time you feel let down, or disappointed in yourself for not succeeding, or not meeting someones expectations, just remember that God is there, and He is asking you to lean on Him to help you through. Limits are good. 

I am always reminded that God makes beautiful things out of dust. He takes our limitations and stretches us until we find Him in the dark places of our lives. He makes beautiful things out of our trials and out of us. We just have to open our eyes and let Him do His work in our lives. 

Postmarked.

The postcards are out!!!

     Today is the day that all of the address searching, stamping, and counting were all worth it! I have mailed out a TON of postcards to family and friends asking them to support to my mission. These postcards will hopefully be a token that reminds you to keep LCC University and I in your prayers this next year. 

I have included donation information (you can give before I leave on July 31st or anytime during the next year online). I have also included the link to this blog so I can share all of the miracles that God is showing me. Please spread the word, tell a friend, share this postcard. This is the part where God shows me how powerful He is, and how much control He has. This is the part where I watch Him move peoples hearts to give, and send me to Lithuania for a year! To be honest I am no where near my goal and need all of the help I can get! Hope you all receive your cards in the mail soon! Let me know if you would like more or if there is anyone else I should send one out to. :)

Staying grounded.

     I uttered the phrase, "I feel like I am in limbo" this week. When it came out of my mouth the only emotion I felt was shame for catching myself in a moment of ungratefulness for the present moment. I just left an incredible job, in the best city, that also includes a ton of people I love. I am now being hosted and cared for my my loving family and working a job that I am lucky to have gotten (due to  the strange amount of time that I have left in the states). I am looking forward with excitement and anticipation to my big move to Lithuania, and the new life I will start there. So telling a friend that I am in this massive in-between in life might sound accurate, but I want to fight that thinking. I want to fully enjoy my time with family, and friends because this will be the last time I have this opportunity for a WHOLE YEAR. I need to ground myself and learn to be extremely grateful for the moment and even the trials that I am living in right now.

In this season I am feeling a bit unstable, but I am trying my best to find stability in a season of moving and short term jobs. I have been challenged in many new ways recently. I am learning to lower my pride, and take what is handed to me. People aren't always going to know what kind of a person I am, or that I am friendly, and trustworthy right off the bat. I am in a time of proving myself to people, showing them the qualities about myself that everyone in San Diego already knows. This is a hard place to be, but it is one of the best places to see growth, to make new friends, to be obedient, humble, and graceful for yourself and others.

No matter what situation we are in, no matter how much you feel like you are just waiting for the next phase of your life to begin, STOP. Take a moment, look around, tangibly count your blessings, and realize that you are in the exact location that God has meant for you to be in.

Budget.

      I know that $14,000 for a year of living is a lot to ask for. I also know that there is no way that I can afford to send myself to Lithuania. I need my people, the ones that believe in me and the path that God has me on to help me get there. I have want to be completely open about my finances because really, they are yours too. So here is the breakdown of the budget that the University and I agreed my donations would fund this next year.

Housing- $0 (supplied by the University)
Living Allowance- $4,200/yr   $350/mo. (household, grocery and personal needs)
Travel- $200/yr
Resettlement- $2,000/yr   $166/mo.  (optional expense)
Visa- $165 (one time)
LCC donation fee- $640 (one time)
Flight- $1500

*This optional expense is in the budget but if I find myself lacking donations I can cut this item from the budget for the year.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns :)

Resources. How to help.

Support Letter: I’m going to be a missionary in Lithuania!

Where God is calling me. 

 Last year at this time I was about to graduate from college and was applying to be an
Assistant Resident Director (ARD) at Point Loma Nazarene University. After being an RA in
the dorms for three years I thought working in Student Development would be a good fit for me. Training dates ended up overlapping and I had to choose between the ARD job, and my
missions trip to Malawi. I couldn’t imagine not going to Malawi, Africa for the summer so I
chose the missions trip, leaving me with no job to return home to but I had faith that God
would provide. Malawi was an incredible, life changing experience, it was the right choice and
I pray I’ll get to go back one day soon. When I arrived back to San Diego the job hunt began,
and I wasn’t having much luck. I started an hour a day prayer challenge and through praying
for a job instead of just worrying/complaining, things started to happen!

After feeling so useful in Malawi, being back in San Diego was tough. I found myself asking
God to show me my purpose in San Diego. Why did He call me here? After a few weeks of job
searching I got a call from the Dean of Students at PLNU asking me to step in as the Interim
Resident Director (RD) for an on-campus dorm. I had no hesitation; this was an answer to my
prayer! I have been the RD of Klassen Hall for seven months now, and I can confidently say that this
was God’s plan when He sent me back to San Diego. The silver lining comes in when I realized that
if I’d taken the ARD job instead of going to Malawi I would have never gotten the RD position that
God had prepared for me!

Fill us up, and send us out Lord… 

 Looking forward I have decided to continue my work as an RD. I deeply enjoy investing in the
lives of students and pointing them towards Christ. I applied for many different schools but really
felt called to LCC, an International Christian University in Lithuania. After applications, Skype
interviews, and much prayer I was offered the position of RD for the 14/15 school year! All of
the staff and faculty at LCC are missionaries; they donate their skills, and time and live off of
monthly support from friends back home. Not only do I need prayers and support for the journey of
moving to another country for a year, I also need to secure monthly donors.

Asking for support is always a truly humbling task. Recently, I had the opportunity to support a few
friends going on missions trips. Being able to give them financial support brought me so much joy.
God was showing me the joy HE gives people when they invest in the lives of others doing His work. Please visit LCC’s website, to better see the work they’re doing, and if you feel called to
support me you may chose one of the “Ways to Support” listed below. I would love to talk to each
of you more about this new adventure, and how excited I am to follow God’s call to Lithuania.
Please keep me, and my new students in prayer as we face the opposition that comes with doing the
Lord’s work.

With love, Kelsey Bergstrom


Ways to support: Total Budget: $14,000 / Monthly $1,166 

LCC's Website: http://www.lcc.lt

Donate online: Online Donation Link  (One time giving)
         
                         Form for Monthly Giving Plan

Mail checks to: 1309 Birchnell Ave. San Dimas CA 91773

Thank you!!!

Preparation.

Hi,

   My name is Kelsey Bergstrom and I am moving to Lithuania in August to serve as a full time Missionary at an International University. My hope is to show compassion, and Christ's love to the college students at LCC International University. I will be serving in the role of Resident Director in an on-campus dorm. My prayer is to be used where God needs me, in the lives of those who need to find Him.

This summer I am preparing for a big move, and life change. I have come to terms with all that I will be leaving behind, and the special events that I will miss, but through that I have realized all of the wonderful opportunities I will have available to me by simply going, and allowing myself to do God's will. In preparation I am saving up, and slimming down. I have found a summer job and am doing everything I can to find ways to fund this trip. I am working, as well as seeking out donations from friends and family. The slimming down comes into play when I realize how much stuff I have, and compare that to the harsh reality that I can only bring one suitcase with me for an entire year! This sounds crazy but I have done it before and I will do it again. It is a wonderful reminder that our comfort is always found in the Lord, not in our material possessions.

Also in preparation, I am spending time in the word every morning, contemplating what the Lord is showing me and journaling about it, and I am writing this blog, which I plan to keep going throughout the next year of my life. My hope is to keep my people informed, and share the God stories that I encounter during my time in Lithuania.

Thank you for checking out this blog and for being interested in my new adventure. Please keep me and the University (LCC) in your prayers. I will be posting my support letter with more information about my trip, my budget breakdown, and links to the Universities donation page soon!