By Tina Boyles Bailey, CBF field personnel
This season has truly been about letting roots grow and blossoms appear organically! I must begin by saying sometimes I do not feel as strong as I may appear or as I am rediscovering I actually am. Although it is not without stress by braving the unknown, the adventure of ministry wherever God leads is never dull.
I am still often surprised at the places I find myself, strange as that may sound since I have been doing this for so many years. But I am glad I can still be surprised. The past several months have been filled with these moments.
I have taught several art workshops at The Mosaic center in Vienna, a ministry that cares for the needs of internationals and will do another one soon! Helping people find joy and safely to explore being creative is divine work because is helps to heal so much negative baggage of shame and not feeling good enough to even try.
I was invited to give a talk to International Women In Graz about my life in Bali. It was a special time of weaving two very different places together in my life. This same group IWA Graz (International Women’s Association of Graz) also just elected me as their president. I am very excited that it will open up more doors in the local community!
Most recently I have been invited to be part of several meetings in Europe regarding ministry and missions. Of those meetings, the most unexpected and inspiring was a meeting with Italian Baptist and IBTS. I was asked by the leadership of IBTS to go and represent the Learning network and co-facilitate a participatory learning method called “learning cafe.” It was so exciting to be part of this and to get to spend a weekend with some inspiring people. We all learned from each other. These are only a few of the moments of roots and blossoms happening.
Being available, taking risks, showing up when you do not have all the answers and even making some embarrassing mistakes along the way is all part of the adventure. The more I can do this, the less lonely I feel.
I was preparing to have surgery to remove a new malignant melanoma skin cancer, and was so blessed to have community both very close and very far away. From far away prayers and messages ministered to me to up-close friends stepping up to go with me to appointments, drive me to and from the hospital and to even carry my groceries and walk my dog Balu. This expression of community ministered to me helped stabilize my roots more than they will ever know.
Who is this community? They are Austrians, Germans, British, Polish, Iranian, South African, Indonesian American, Australian, Dutch, Czech, Hungarian and probably a few that are I am missing. One of these friends said it is nice to be able to help because sometimes it is hard to help people. This is real ministry- it is never one sided but is about being open to not only give but to also be willing to receive!