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The New Familiar

Posted on April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 by Pam

THE NEW FAMILIAR

by embracing the unfamiliar

I have been home one week and am still looking for the toaster. I had emptied some rooms to make space for a friend and it will take time to put my home back together. I did hang two pictures exactly where they had been last year. Then I wondered – have I changed? Has seeing the world and going to the nations made a difference or will I continue to hang pictures in the same place?

I think a bit like an accountant and that has sometimes made my faith more factual/intellectual and not always heart-felt, but in true form, I feel I owe an accounting to the wonderful friends who helped send me to study missions in Wiler, Switzerland. Then to serve at an afterschool program in Biel, Switzerland, for two weeks, then to serve in East London at churches, food banks, preschools, coffee houses, prayer rooms, door knocking, and anything else I was asked to do for five+ weeks. Oh, and did I mention I saw King Charles in person? Back at Wiler we debriefed for two more weeks of training then, on my own, I visited missionaries in Albania and hope to return next year if possible. On my own, I also checked Florence, Italy, off my bucket list and flew home from Rome. I had a small suitcase but did purchase a small ring at the Colosseum to remind me of the martyrs over the centuries. It is still a reality today. Six months is a long time and it was a wonderful experience but I’m travel-weary.

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Mark 4:26-34 reminds us that the earth produces crops by itself. The Kingdom of God is like an unattended mustard seed. Life and growth are beyond our control. DTS was a focused time of sewing seeds. The sewer works and then rests. I am in a resting mode today. I try to play the piano each day during my worship time at home and sang a familiar tune this week with these words, “Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee…Take my feet…Take my lips…Take my Love…”. I have already been asked by dear people what is next. The entire world is in a heap of trouble without Jesus. I love sharpening my vision to be more like God’s, seeing people the way God sees me, but I don’t know what is next. Mid-term missions work is not as attractive to leaders as full time and there is the age thing – but I did keep up with a team much younger than me (most in their 50’s)! I hope I can serve again and will be looking for open doors and listening to God, His word, and His people for clues! If it is alright with you, I’ll keep you posted because Jesus knows what He is doing and knows how to lead. I am also taking time to visit grandchildren then will focus on writing about the many inspiring teachings and experiences. You can look in on pamschmoll.com for the rest of the year as that is how long this could take!

Thank you again and many blessings from good ‘ol Bothell, WA!

Your friend Pam 

This was started weeks ago but I’m ready to write and didn’t want to skip

"Thoughts from a genuinely evaluative mind."

Pam writes so that must make her a writer. Recently retired, she can now fill days with family, friends, missions, writing, creating, and showing up for whomever needs her. Pam loves the Lord and people. The Bible is God’s love letter to us (and who does not need more love) so she studies and writes some more.

Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest but was home-grown in Southern California. She attended San Jose Bible College and finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at UCLA. She became a teacher, then a Research and Development Chemist, then she built two successful real estate businesses in two states. Pam also pursued study at Fuller Theological Seminary and just completed six months serving in missions abroad.

Pam has two amazing children, married to two precious in-laws, and five sweet grandchildren. Pam is a gifted connector and communicator and the Northwest has the perfect climate for staying inside and writing – or baking! She has been writing since a wee one and is currently converting many years of blogging, by topic, into ten books. The first is a collection from 2011 titled, Beautiful Enough. The second is a yearly day-timer titled, Weekly Planner - Lessons in Life, Glory, and Grace. Number three is in progress with the working title, Christmas Today.

Ten facts about Pam in no particular order:

  1. On the team that developed an insulation for the Alaskan oil pipeline.
  2. Loves looking at homes, decorating, and has flipped five homes.
  3. Likes being tall.
  4. Films have helped define her vocabulary.
  5. Comes from Colorado tenement farmers with history traced to Wales.
  6. Was lost but now is found.
  7. Baking makes her happy – as does eating sweets with coffee, of course.
  8. She thinks mission work is the most important work in the world.
  9. The church started in Rome so she is learning Italian.
  10. Pam is a work in progress!

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4

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