(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)

Hey, ladies of faith, I'm Jenny Peckl. I am the host of our new podcast. It's a podcast we hope will make the community of women at faith feel smaller and more connected.

We'll be releasing them periodically over the next several months. So if you don't want to miss even one episode, hit that subscribe button and I hope you'll join me. Thanks for listening.

Well welcome today. I have two really special people with me. I'm excited to share with you and for you to hear some of their stories.

But before we get started, I just wanted to revisit podcasts and why we started even doing it for women of faith. We started the podcast because we want to have authentic sharing of our stories and our lives so that we have deeper connections. When we have deep connections with God and other women in our body, we're more ready to engage the world with the gospel and community.

And so that's the fruit we want to see from the podcast. The other piece I love bringing in to the podcast are sharing stories intergenerationally. So hearing from other generations, but also hearing how the generations are mixing and growing and learning together.

And that's what part of today is. That's what I love and I hope you get out of this too. So my guests today are Phyllis Dirksen and Lindy Summers, and you may know one of them or both of them, but I'm going to give them each a chance to introduce themselves a little bit and then we'll talk about how they met and what went on from there.

So Phyllis, would you mind introducing yourself? And I might ask a couple of questions to clarify, but go ahead and introduce yourself and then we'll have Lindy introduce herself. I'm Phyllis Dirksen and I came to Faith Church in 2017 when I married my husband, Stan. Stan and I were missionaries in Ecuador.

Stan was married to his first wife at that time and I knew them for the time that we had been in language school together. And so Irene passed in 2015 and Stan and I were able to connect again. And so we were married in June of 2017.

My first call to missions was reading the book Through Gates of Splendor, written by Betty Elliott, and it was the story about the five missionaries that were killed in Ecuador in 1956. And I'd always wanted to work with Indians. And so I was able to work with the Quechua Indians in the mountains of Ecuador.

And Stan and Irene had gone to the jungle and they had worked there. Stan and I met there and then we didn't connect for, I guess it was 20 years. And so I was able to marry him and come here to Indy Church, the Faith Church.

And I really appreciated the fact there were so many missionaries that were sent out here. And the first year they had the senior prayer cards for high school students and God just seemed to really work on my heart when I heard Lindy, at that time, Pecklow, say she was going to Tanzania and that from the time she was little that she felt that she wanted to do some mission work. And so the Lord pressed upon my heart to write to Cindy, or I don't remember the first time we texted and then we were able to write to each other and encourage each other.

And then as she went to college, I was able to keep up fairly well then. But the last couple of years she's gotten married and very, very busy. And I've been involved with grief share here at our church.

And so our paths have kind of been torn apart a little bit. So we just want to say that she might have been younger than I am, a lot younger. She could be my granddaughter, but it was really a wonderful time to be able to share with her and for her to share with me.

Yeah. But right now you're serving in grief share. That's another way you've been serving.

Can you tell us about that for a minute? Yes. Many of you maybe haven't met Joe March, but he came as a Stephen minister to our church several years ago. He also had gone through the grief share process after he lost his wife.

And so Pastor Jeff asked me if I would be involved with grief share since I lost my first husband. And so I said, sure. And so we had the first one maybe two years ago because we've had four four sessions now. 

And so Joe and I, we were wondering if we would even have anybody come. But we've had several from the church and we've also had people who've lost a spouse from other churches or lost a child. There have been many different ways of grieving.

So we just really appreciate the time when they can share. And we've had some come back because maybe they've had another experience. And we call them ambushes that are reminded of the death or an anniversary.

Holidays are very hard for those that have lost their loved one. So I count it a privilege. Hugs have been an important part of the life of someone who's lost a spouse or child.

And I just feel as though that I can let some of my compassion be there for the grieving people. What a gift because not everybody can do that. So thank you for serving in that way.

Yes. We'll let you introduce yourself, Lindy Summers, and tell us a little bit about who you are and what you're doing and how I drug you here. I'm Lindy Summers.

Like Phyllis said, I was Lindy Pecklow and then got married to my husband Kyle Summers almost five years ago now. And I've gone to Faith Church since before I was born. I just grew up in faith.

And so throughout a lot of my childhood, I've just been used to being involved in ministry here and getting set out from faith, from us being missionaries in China for a few years and then coming back and getting involved with youth group here and going to Shepherd Community Center and doing some missions trips in Spain and then doing one to Africa for Tanzania. And so I feel like a lot of being involved here as a kid has poured into my heart that was initially there for ministry and missions, but faith definitely made it kind of grow more. Now, currently, I go to Pennington Park, so not too far away.

Still love when I get to come visit faith and see people I knew growing up or Phyllis or other people. So faith will always have a special place in my heart. But I always thought I would be in some level of ministry.

I thought maybe that'd be overseas. And that's the only way you can do it. And I think the Lord really throughout college and after that has really shown me that there's so much ministry that seemed to be done even here in our backyard.

So I currently work at a organization called Family Hope. And so we do family preservation work. We're a hosting ministry.

So we work with parents who are in vulnerable situations and are able to host kiddos in background checked and vetted families homes while we work with the parent to get back on their feet and get to a more steady place so it doesn't get to that point of neglect or abuse or going into the foster care system. We do that all through partnering churches around the area, around the Indianapolis area and trying to really just equip the body to do what we're called to do by just loving on the oppressed and vulnerable. And it's a beautiful way to see just the body in action of wrapping around, bringing community to people who are isolated.

So I've been able to do casework there and now do a lot of community engagement and fundraising. And it's really cool to be involved and see churches from all over. I think we have 30 or 40 plus churches that are connected in hosting kids, in being a support friend and helping drive kids to hostings or pick up a mom to go to an appointment because she didn't have anyone to go with her or inviting people over for the holidays because they don't have family.

It's been really cool to see the ministry just down the street that people don't even realize that. Five minutes away, 10 minutes away from you, there's a family that's really in need of love, isolation and most importantly, being reminded of God's love and his faithfulness even in the hardest times. But yeah, I went to Taylor University in 2018 and that's when I guess Phyllis picked up my card after hearing us go on stage and kind of share when all the seniors were about to leave. 

And I think I remember you first just sent me a letter. And so it's always fun when you get a fun piece of mail because I could check my mailbox to see if there's anything before I went up to my room, my dorm room. And it was really fun to find a piece of mail that I didn't know who it was from.

And so I had asked my mom real quick if she knew of you and said you're from Faith and you wrote a little bit about that as well in your card. But it meant so much just having somebody who I didn't even actually know pick up my card. You had never met Phyllis, right? I had never met Phyllis. 

And so it was really cool to, you know, someone actually heard me when I was on stage, thought of me, decided to pray and write me. And so a lot of intentionality behind that, that I think means so much. So I decided to write her back and the rest is history.

That's right. So you wrote, you decided to write Phyllis back and then you guys continued that, right? It was a reciprocal thing. And how long did that keep going, Phyllis? Probably till around after Lindy got married and then she got a job.

And well, you moved to, right? You moved to Virginia and then Kyle was overseas and you were working so hard. And then the letters kind of slid by the side. But when you write to someone and you get, and it's reciprocal that she wrote back to me, it encouraged me to keep writing to her.

And I think anyone in our church could do this to encourage our young people. So many in college or the first year is so difficult. And if you could just write them and say you're thinking about them and praying for them and also just encourage them in their daily life to walk with the Lord, it really helps.

I think that first year away from home is huge because they're making their own decisions. And it doesn't matter if they're at a Christian school or a secular school. They are living their life day by day and choosing are they going to walk with the Lord or not. 

And so I think having another voice or knowing that someone's praying and when they come back from college that there's someone else looking for them and ready to give them a hug or just ask them how they're doing is a huge connection going from high school into college. So, yeah, I think it meant a lot having letters. And then I think at one point Phyllis maybe had put her phone number in one of the cards. 

And so I ended up texting her and letting her know, I think when I was coming back from like a winter break or something that first semester. And so I knew she was on the lookout for me. And so I do remember the first time I like saw you in person and you had the biggest smile and gave me the biggest hug.

And that meant so much that even though growing up here and I knew a handful of people, you know, being raised here in this church. But just having somebody else that has intentionally been looking forward to meet me in person or just give me a hug. And I think that means so much more than people realize, especially a college kid.

You're like, do they really care? Do you like. But just how much that feels. You're so known and someone's looking for you when you get back.

So I thought that was a really cool and encouraging thing. Yeah, I think when you go off to college, you change a lot and you come back to the same place. And maybe we don't always realize all that's going on.

And in those college kids, we or we forget, right. All that's changing, all that's coming at them. And what a difference it can make to just step in for a little bit.

So, Phyllis, you told me you're just a letter writer. So that was a natural thing for you. You thought, I can do this.

It wasn't something that you felt like, oh, this is a challenge. God's really whatever. So you stepped into a natural gift or something you enjoyed and used it for the Lord. 

And you've written other people, too. It's just Lindy reciprocated. Yes. 

Yes. And I have to say, Lindy is a letter writer as well. So I think it worked well because you're both letter writers.

But she would have never known that if she hadn't written. Right. Exactly.

Yeah. She did. She didn't know you were a letter writer.

Or it could have been somebody who wasn't. But the intentionality. Right.

Means a lot. Also helped a lot that Phyllis put her phone number in there. So that. 

So you could text. So we could text. Yeah. 

So and I think that helped stay connected. And yeah, we wrote for my whole time at college. And her and her husband came to my wedding.

And just so cool of the full. Such a cool full circle moment of from getting a letter in my dorm room to her being at my wedding. And yeah.

Yeah. So those senior prayer cards. Yeah, I remember picking picking them up a few others and most of them appreciated the fact that I had written.

Maybe some didn't write back as well. But because Lindy was writing and using her art and letters, it really encouraged me to to keep writing. And I do I do write a lot of letters, not as much now as I did years ago.

But I would encourage a lot of you ladies, you know, if you got time on your hand, even if it's a card, you know, I know cards have gone up. They're pretty expensive, but a note or anything would would do. So get your courage up and get your pen and paper out.

I first was going to say about I was thinking a little bit about faith, that I felt like Phyllis, even though we didn't know each other when I was mainly here growing up as like in my childhood, I feel like she was one of the seeds that was planted along the way, along with youth pastors I had or small group leader or another parent in my parents' small group or different things. But that those add up and that those are encouragements from all different angles. And so I feel like should not be underestimated the power of intentionality, consistency, even when it seems simple and maybe not that big of a deal.

But that Phyllis wrote me at least four years, four or five years and consistently kept writing and would follow up even if we missed a little bit or something. And I think that means a lot more than people realize, especially, I guess, like my generation or younger generations, that like the intentionality of writing a letter, that that takes a lot more time. It does. 

Even sending a text, though, that means a lot, too, that you're like, you don't know who I am and you wanted to say you're praying for me. Like, so I wanted to at least say that I think through my time at faith, there's been multiple people in different ways, in different avenues that they've planted seeds or encouraged me or come alongside me. And so Phyllis is definitely one of those people I would encourage.

Yeah. If you're out there, pick those cards up and spend some time praying and writing. And what a great thing our church has continued for many years.

I don't know how many years exactly. How long since you've been out of college? You started college in what? 2018. 2018.

And they did them at least two or three years before that. Oh, yeah. Way before that.

Yeah. So, so great. Those prayer cards usually have on it where you're going, right? What you enjoy, what you're studying.

The prayer requests you might have going into that freshman year. Yep. A picture, I think.

Yeah, a picture. Yeah. Some helpful things.

So one last question. If I were to ask you, how are you refreshed? What refreshes you? I'll give you a minute to think about it. But what is something, it might be a person, a place, a thing or activity.

What refreshes you as a person and as a woman? Well, January and February can be very dull months. And I do like snow. It brightens it up.

And so those months I can get very down and depressed. And so we were talking about it this morning, being in the fog and maybe not thinking correctly or, you know, wanting to even get up in the morning sometimes because your body's just slowed down. And so I think having both the sunshine and the sunshine from Jesus and to help you boost your attitude.

And I think so many times, yeah, February, it used to be no, no leaves on the trees. And it gets a little dreary. But I just thank God that he did provide the sunshine.

And I think now the sun is out after this foggy morning. So and we just want to thank the Lord for providing the four seasons that we can enjoy. A lot of places don't get to do that.

So the thing that came to my mind when thinking about refreshing me, I'd say is probably one, going on a walk, which as much as I like to push back on my mom saying that growing up and, you know, fresh air and going on a walk helps. It really does. It clears your brain.

It makes you feel better. It just, yeah, great to get outside, get some sunshine on your face, even if that's bundling up for a quick little walk. You know, I think that's a huge, a huge thing for me.

But also I think doing art, I feel like art's always been a great outlet for me. And even when it's really cold and nasty, it's fun to, yeah, just make something bright and colorful. And so I've enjoyed art and then walking.

I think were two big things for me. Great, good. All right.

Well, thanks, you guys, for joining me today. It's fun to see how your lives have intertwined and God has used you to encourage each other and hopefully encourage others to pick up those senior prayer cards, too, as those come out later. So thanks for joining me today.

Thank you.

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