introducing a new columnist:: LaRAE

LaRae Coleman Papendick is our second new columnist. LaRae writes as a missionary wife and young mother serving in West Africa.

I was born into a family that was uniquely positioned to give me the best of so many worlds. I am the youngest of four kids by eight years, so I had the best of siblings and the best of being an only child. My dad is a pastor and  was a chaplain in the Air Force, so I had the best of pastoral ministry in its usual sense as well as the wonderful side of military life. 

We lived in many places but always visited our relatives who never moved, so it was like coming home every time we visited them, while still being able to see the world.

My whole life has been one of twists and turns so that at each new phase I start to see the fitting together of the jigsaw puzzle of my life. For example, I met my husband once while in high school. We had a half hour walk together and then did not meet again for seven years. Just under two years later we married. It will be five years here this May and I am increasingly thankful to God for working with my stubbornness to bring us together because we are a perfect match. He is also a pastor’s kid and we have many common experiences and friends from our growing up years, though we lived in different states and countries.

We have a two and a half year old 100% boy. Need I say more? He is super amazing and constantly amuses and frustrates me all at the same time! Why God would ever allow us selfish humans to raise another human boggles my mind. My constant prayer is that God will change my heart so I can be the mother He wants me to be.

My husband and I are Public Health Professionals currently starting a project in West Africa. It is a project the evolves from day to day as we learn to wait on God for His leading. Maybe someday I can share this aspect of my life journey with you. Though we are not exactly a pastoral team, we find that due to our upbringing and personal experiences we identify more with our friends who are in pastoral ministry than we do with being parishioners.

I have so many interests that sometimes it is hard for me to focus. I love piano, horses, beaches, sunrises, sunsets, reading, organizing, traveling, experimenting and my nephews and nieces. I'm also learning to love sewing, cooking, writing, and inventing. And I am taking up the new interest of language learning. French, Arabic and some tribal languages are on my plate for the next few years.

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