Welcome! My name is Mary Kelly. I am an average woman who grew up on a dairy farm and learned hard work at my parents’ knees. Carrying responsibility was something I shirked as a young child but grew into in middle school while milking cows and baling hay. While I appreciate farm life, I knew that my future lay elsewhere. My 17th birthday was spent in India while on a 6-week trip. The fall after returning from India, I had to make college plans, but I was struggling with direction. After returning from an outing with my mother, we sat in the car discussing this. She asked me, “What do you want to do?” I replied, “Help people.” She said, “How about Social Work?” And that simply, I decided on making Social Work my major.
Four and a half years later, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree and now had to figure out what to do with my new knowledge. Right at that time, an injury in the family took me back to the farm where I filled in for several months while my loved one recovered. It was the break I needed, after which I found a job working in a home with developmentally disabled adults. Here I learned an important lesson, one that I worked on for many years… “You are too independent. You need to learn to depend upon other people.” (I can still see my manager standing in the office kindly speaking those words to me.)
During my short stint at the group home, an opportunity came to go to Asia on a short-term trip. Little did I know that this was going to change the trajectory of my life. Even prior to returning home, I began asking God if He had plans for me to go back to this fascinating region. Within three months, doors opened for me to do just that, and within a few more months, my family and I were having a tearful goodbye. During the next ten years I would learn a new language, join minority groups in dance, lead Bible studies, help train leaders, and work with a medical project in remote areas. These experiences taught me a deeper understanding of how cultural differences can blind us to the common struggles and desires of all people.
Upon returning to the USA, I once again joined my parents on the farm as I learned how to function in a society that had become strange to me. After a year of adjustment (during which time I helped care for my aging grandmother), I was looking to the future. Through some interesting happenings, I met the man who would become my husband. (Yeah!) The first Sunday home after our honeymoon, a woman announced that Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) was having a function the next week and we all were invited. I couldn’t believe my ears. During the previous two years, I had been developing a desire to work with this ministry but wasn’t sure how to go about it. God was opening another door through which I could help people and grow personally.
During my several years with CEF, I had the privilege of working with many children, teenagers and adults. I really enjoyed directing summer day camp, teaching Bible lessons to young children, training teens and adults, and seeing volunteers placed in positions that fit their giftings. It was hard but fulfilling work.
I am grateful for all of people who have poured into my life and helped me grow into the woman I am today. My husband and I are now on another adventure in life. Part of this adventure involves this blog! Thank you for coming to this site. I pray it will be a blessing in your life!