Passion, Love, and a Call.

To Gulu,

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

Let’s address the elephant in the room.  You may be asking yourself, “Shelre, why in the world would you move across the world?!”  Well, this blog will answer that question.

It all started before I was born.  I come from a family that has a very big heart for missions.  On my dad’s side, my Papa has traveled all over the world, but has primarily worked with northern communities (literally, as far north as you can possibly go).  On my mom’s side, my grandpa has also traveled all over the world, but has primarily worked in Africa for over 30 years.  In view of this family history, I was raised to be missionally-minded, and I have always wanted to do something that would make a difference in someone’s life.  On top of this, both of my parents have gone on many mission trips.  Two of these trips particularly impacted my life, and continue to do so today:

Mission Trip One: Mom Goes To Africa

My mom had a chance to go to Africa with the church we were attending at the time, leaving my dad in charge of the 5 Prankard kids for a month.  I was about 8 years old at the time.  She returned from the field heartbroken, and went on to recount the story of a little baby who had stolen her heart.  This baby was an orphan, living with his grandmother and several other cousins and siblings.  Many times the grandmother would ask my mom to take the baby back to Canada, out of the desire to give her grandchild a chance for a better life.  My mom knew that she couldn’t take in another child, as she already had 5 kids at home.  With a sad heart, and with tears running down her face, she was forced to say no.  Every day for the rest of the trip, my mom would go to this grandmother’s house and hold, play with, wash, and feed the baby.  She still cries every time we mention the experience.

Many memories were brought to the surface by Darlene Zschech’s song, “Change Your World” ( song below)  It made me wonder a lot about this baby: his name, what he looks like as a teenager, if he went to school, and a lot of “what ifs” enter my mind.

My mom has a crazy amount of life-changing stories about that trip.  I remember her bringing me a doll that some locals had made, which I still have.  Pictures of Africa are still on display in her bedroom, and she mentions the baby every once in a while in “what if” statements.

The impact of this trip lingers on because this experience was the tool God used to plant a seed in my life.  Ever since that day, I have always wanted to go to Uganda.  However, when I got to the stage of life where college was the next step, I stopped dreaming about Africa.  I was going to Bible College to become a Children’s Pastor, and nobody could change my mind.  Africa came to mind once or twice, but it only seemed like a childhood dream; almost like a little girl dreaming about living in a castle. (Yes, I imagined a lot about being a princess, haha!)  At the time I thought that there was no way that I was going to move to the other side of the world; the idea was completely unrealistic!  But here I am, getting ready to move to Gulu!

Mission Trip Two: My Parents and Brother Head up North

Again, my family leads a life that is very missions-focused.  My little brother (who isn’t so little anymore) inherited my Papa’s heart for the North.  He traveled a few times to the different communities in northern Ontario and Quebec, and (if I am not mistaken) he has gone to the Territories as well.  He took his first trip when he was 11, so I would have been 14.  Upon his return, all he could say about his experience was, “I have to do something.  This is wrong; they are human too!”  This statement hit the whole family hard, and we all jumped on the bandwagon with him, building playgrounds, raising awareness for the rights of Indigenous peoples, attending speaking engagements, and so on.

My passion for missions had been reignited once again.  My heart broke for the kids who didn’t have a playground, and who didn’t even knew what a playground was!  I never went up north, but I helped out with everything behind the scenes, including managing all pertinent preparation, social media posts, fundraising ideas and more.  Who knows: maybe when I come back to Canada I will join my little brother’s organization again?  My brother is now almost 20, attending university and doing great things.

This impacted me because one little dude – my brother – made a big difference in lots of lives.  So if he can, why can’t I?  My little brother (believe it or not) is one of my heroes.  I look up to him, and he’s pretty cool.

So, back to the question: why am I moving across the world to Gulu?

At such a young age, God laid the burden for missions on my heart.  He gave me a like-minded family that would love and support me, enabling me to fulfill my calling.  God gave me a passion to see kids’ lives changed, and He gave me the love and patience necessary for children’s ministry.  I went from being in Kids’ Church to working in it!  God placed a calling on my life that I thought was a silly dream, but in less than 5 months I will be moving to Gulu, where I will begin to accomplish the mission that God placed on my 8-year-old heart.

I have a calling, and no one can stop me!

With love,

Shelre