Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/199485
HOLY INTERRUPTION ONE-THOUSAND-MILE JOURNEY Ashley was ready for something different, but first she had to learn to trust and obey in the midst of doubt. A program. I wanted to find a Christian graduate school close to home; I visited one in Chicago and thought it might work. As the last few sunbeams faded over the horizon, I walked to my car to head home. After seven years in the financial industry, my life had become routine. Although the air was filled with silence, my mind was filled with an unexplainable restlessness. There has to be more to my life than the corporate world, climbing the professional ladder, and making money. Lord, I enjoy serving the Dusan Milovanovic/Photos.com youth in the church as a volunteer, but I'm ready for something different. I just don't know what. The empty house greeted me as I pulled into my driveway. After turning on my computer, I browsed mindlessly through potential ministry openings, not knowing what I was looking for. Halfway down the page, I saw that International Justice Mission (IJM) had listed an assistant position, and after researching their website and learning about their work, my heart burned within me. The stories of the men, women, and children trapped in modern-day slavery plagued me, their faces were imprinted on my mind, and the statistics were startling. This was the new direction, but how? I spent days praying about applying for that job. I was halfway through the application when I knew that this wasn't the next step … yet. I had much to learn. Thus began my search for a master's degree While talking about the school with my father, he suggested I expand my search before applying, so I went back to the computer. Denver Seminary popped up three times before I clicked on the link. Seminary? Denver? Not exactly what I had in mind, Lord. But that familiar tug pulled at my heart, so I requested additional information. The video and information about the leadership program intrigued me, so it was time to take a road trip. After an hour on the campus, it was clear that this was where I was supposed to be. I applied and was accepted into the MA leadership program in Fall 2011. The week before I was supposed to move, I began to doubt. Lord, why do You have me going west when I want to go east? Is this program and school going to help me work for IJM? But in the midst of my doubt, I obeyed and moved one thousand miles away from everything I knew. On the day of orientation, Dr. [Larry] Lindquist mentioned a new degree that would launch in 2012 called the justice and mission program. A gentle voice in my heart interrupted, "This is why I brought you here." Peace replaced the doubt, and I knew that this one-thousand-mile journey was just the beginning. ASHLEY ROBERTS IS PURSUING HER MASTER OF ARTS IN JUSTICE AND MISSION AT DENVER SEMINARY. SHE SERVES AS AN ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES, WHERE SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OVERSEEING VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND INTERNS, WRITING GRANT PROPOSALS, AND COORDINATING VOLUNTEERS. 6 FALL 2013 lakov Kalinin/Photos.com