How It Started

February 8, 2024  |  Kara Lapierre

This journey started over a year ago when I began to struggle with my current workplace. I would pray but just couldn’t get clear direction on what I should do. I was all over the place in my mind. 

Last January or February, God spoke to me clearly that I could leave my job the end of February 2024. Having a date really helped get me through some tricky times at work. 

But July / August came and I started to freak out a bit because I didn’t want to be without a job. So I started looking to see what was out there, should I do a career change? Again - my mind started going all over the place trying to create a plan. 

Finally in August God spoke and asked me - what can you do for me? I realized I hadn’t been praying that - only how can I support myself. So my prayers changed and I started praying, Lord how do you want to use me? How can I serve you more? 

At this time I did have people praying with me about my job, close people around me knew the struggle of the job. But when my prayers changed to how can I serve God more, I felt a change and I knew this was between me and God. I purposely did’t talk to anyone because I knew I would hear all kinds of ways I could serve God. But I really wanted to hear from God. I wanted to be confident in the next step. 

So during September and October my prayers changed, Ukraine started to be put on my heart more and more. I am friends with Jessica our missionary so figured it was that. But I just couldn’t shake it. It was deeper. 

But going to Ukraine didn’t make sense - I can’t speak the language. And I also didn’t feel led to go to the Western part of Ukraine where Jessica has been living since the war started. So I started researching other organizations in Ukraine to see if that led me anywhere. 

The end of November comes around and Jessica decides to take a trip to the East to check things out. While she was there I could feel a shift in our conversations. They were more intentional, there was more depth to them. Things started to click in my head. 

December comes around and Jessica asks me to pray with her about wisdom for her to go back East. She said she felt it was time but also wanted to be wise about it. So I started praying for her. (I still haven’t talked to her at all about what was on my mind and heart.)

Now it is mid December and I start praying for guidance for me - praying that God would clearly show Jessica if I was supposed to go with her. Praying that if this is the plan that my mom would be ok with it. 

January 1 of 2024 Jessica is back in the states and we meet up for a walk on the beach. I casually ask her what she thinks about having a visitor while she is in Zap. We don’t talk too much about any of it that day. We go our separate ways saying we will pray about it. 

A week later we get together and yes, this is what is supposed to happen. Let’s do this! God is moving and we want to be a part of it. 

From that moment, I have seen confirmation after confirmation that this is the right decision. For example, she has a group of ladies that get together and pray for her each week, she invited me to come so they could meet me and pray for me. When I got there, they started to share how they have been praying for a year for someone to go with Jessica. I had no idea! 

Now the plan is to leave March 4th. My only goal is to be open each day for God to use me. The people are hopeless right now and if I can come alongside some of them and bring some light - that will be a success. I will be a support to Jessica and my prayer is be an encouragement to her.