The Backstory...

Sometimes, our journeys take us to unexpected places. For me, that place was home.

As an 18-year-old who had just graduated high school, I found myself on a plane to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip. I expected it to be a rough week for my middle-class self, who was used to predictable food options and air conditioning; I ended up falling in love with the country and feeling a call to the mission field.

I returned home, excited and ready to do what it took to become a missionary. But as we all know, there's always a process that requires patience as we are developed for our calling.

I went to college. I joined the workforce in the social services field. I volunteered at church and took on a part-time ministry role. I tried seminary. I moved to Tampa. I completed one semester of an MSW program. I spent lots of time in churches, in prayer rooms, and in spiritual formation programs. I took each step that the Lord asked me to take, though it was never an actual step onto the mission field...

Until it was. In late 2022, the Lord invited me to step into missions by signing up for a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth with a mission (YWAM) in January 2023. I was beyond excited; this was the big step into the calling I had received nearly a decade earlier. The finances fell into place, I got rid of everything I owned except for what fit in a suitcase and a backpack, and I hopped on a plane to the YWAM base in Kona, Hawaii.

DTS was incredible but also difficult. Being surrounded by so many other like-minded people and getting to spend most of my time focused on the Lord was amazing; it was such a sweet season! But I was also a decade (or so) older than most of the other students. Between my age and the chronic illness I didn't know I was dealing with at the time, it was sometimes difficult for me to keep up with the energy of all the young people surrounding me. But the Lord carried me through it all, and the experience was truly incredible. I am so grateful for that season and every person who made it possible!

One of the pervasive questions all DTS students ask the Lord is, "What's next?" DTS opens the door to all of the YWAM bases all over the world. There are opportunities to complete more advanced education/training programs, as well as opportunities to train others or to serve as a missionary in one of the many ministries. DTS truly opens the door to every other opportunity with YWAM.

Throughout DTS, I asked myself that same question. "What next, Lord?" I dreamt of joining different ministries at various bases around the world. I sent emails and asked questions and learned more about the different opportunities. I looked into further training programs that would bring me back to the base in Kona. I felt like there were so many options on the table now that I was "finally stepping onto the mission field."

But those who know the Lord know that he often leads us where we least expect to go. I finally heard him speak the words: "hometown missionary." He was sending me back to Fort Wayne, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. He had led me on adventures to places like Tampa, Hawaii, and Norway. We had been on a trajectory where he was often asking me to give him my "yes" and take these leaps of faith.

But now he was asking me to go back home?

It took me awhile to realize that, just as my "yes" had to be big enough to give it all up and move across the country, it also had to be big enough to go back home. Just as my "yes" had been big enough to take on big adventure, it also had to be big enough to do the thing I really didn't want to do.

After coming home, I kept the excitement for awhile. I was living with my parents and serving at the church where I had grown up, working with the youth. I loved the kids very much (and still do!), but with time, I entered into a state that I wasn't able to articulate at the time. All I knew was that I wasn't where I was supposed to be and that it was time to step away. It was hard and it hurt, especially since I couldn't articulate what was happening, but again, the Lord was faithful to lead me through.

At that time, I had let go of the words I had been given, "hometown missionary." I felt lost, and I just focused on work and rest, as my chronic illness was giving me problems.

But what I didn't see was what the Lord was doing in the background. The job I was working at that time had me out connecting with ministries and social service agencies in the community. A relationship I made through that job led to a different job that allowed me to step even further into serving those in need in Fort Wayne. I had more freedom and was able to help the community in greater ways.

After awhile, the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to move into my own place. I moved from my parents' home in Huntertown (a suburb where mostly upper middle-class and the wealthy live) to an apartment that was actually in Fort Wayne, not far from the people and places where I was serving (and still serve).

And he led me to an inner-city church. I had been out of church for awhile as I focused on rest, but the Lord highlighted a church that ended up being not only my home church, but a place where I serve on staff with the youth.

When I didn't even realize it, the Lord was making moves and putting me around the right people to begin living out this calling as a "hometown missionary." What I thought was stepping off of the mission field was actually stepping right onto it. It's not that anything was wrong with Huntertown or the church where I was initially serving; it's that he had a specific place for me to live out what he has asked me to do, and that is in the heart of the need in Fort Wayne.

So here we are. This isn't what I thought being a missionary would look like, but this is the hard work he has asked me to do. Right here in my hometown.

The Lord asked me to launch this site and start this blog to share about what he is doing in and through me, but also, to invite you to do the same. How is he asking you to be a hometown missionary right where you are? I hope you'll join me on this journey, as we work to change the world one hometown at a time.

--Ashleigh, The Hometown Missionary