Thank you, Amy!

What a joy to call Amy Ellenwood my friend. Last month we had both returned to our sending church for their annual mission’s conference and Amy was speaking at a women’s event on mentoring. What a great evening!

Amy started the evening sharing from her personal journal. She graciously offered to let me share her words here.

“The long walk from my lonely little cabin on Long Lake to the other side…where a godly woman opened her kitchen and her heart to me.…became a well worn path in my first years of marriage and ministry.

A path toward sacred space and sacred conversations …This woman was intentional about having thoughtful conversations about spiritual things on that holy ground.

I learned there. I grew there. I wept there. I was honest there. I was heard there. But most of all, I met Jesus there…over and over again.

One of the greatest losses for me when we moved to Czech was leaving that sacred space of her warm inviting kitchen… her warm inviting heart. This had been my first taste of what having a mentor could be like.

Now I was in a new place, far from this woman whose presence had become a sanctuary of love and truth for me, I could find no one. No one that looked like her, or fit my image of what a mentor should look like.

• When I first came to the mission field.  I walked into a group of women so gifted, seemingly so secure.
• I didn’t know where I fit, or if I could fit
• Fearing rejection, or disappointment, I told myself I didn’t need them…bur it was more like I didn’t want to need them.
• For  years I took care of myself…looked to Mel and the Lord to meet those needs for friendship..and  felt pretty godly doing it.

But it got lonely.  I was created for relationship.  

• With God, yes.  With Mel and my kids, yes.  But also with other women.
• I realized “I don’t have it all and I need the body of Christ.”

You could hear a pin drop in a room of over 100 ladies as Amy vulnerably shared her story.

The word mentoring communicates. I call mentoring cross-generational friendships. It eliminates any pressure I may feel in relating to another. My heart is to walk with my friends like Amy’s friend on Long Lake did with her.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another
to love and good works …
encouraging one another …”
Hebrews 10:24, 25

Amy encouraged us to think about our friends, those special people who have encouraged us, who have indeed mentored us. My list grew as she shared categories of friendships.

I’m thankful for Shirley who prayed with me as my faith became real and invited me to my first Bible study.
Then there is my friend and neighbor Beth, who is always available to help in many diverse ways.
Janine’s wisdom continues to minister deeply to me.
I remember telling Kathy that I’d never want to lead a TrueFace cohort if she wasn’t available to lead with me.
Paula’s affirmations over the years offer deep encouragement through texts, phone calls and that occasional lunch.
Ronni and Mary are current friends. We encourage each other as we share stories about the friends God has given each of us.
Trisha’s long-term ministry to the women in her church is an example I want to emulate.
Amy’s vulnerability is a gift to me and many others.
Kay, Mary, Melissa, & Louise are trusted peer prayer friends.
Diane, Sue, Karen, & Barb are my recent hospitality mentors.
Karen  is a hinge who has opened doors for me.
Leslie has been a wonderful writing mentor.
Jean, Linda, and Pat, a few years ahead of me in age, are cross-generational friends who ask timely questions and allow me to hear from God.
The writings in the books of Ruth Haley Barton and Ruth Chou Simons continually mentor me as friends I’ve not known personally.

Cross-generational friends sometimes drop in for a brief visit. Some span years of connecting. Some I’ve not even met! All have added to who God created me to be. As Amy said, each are a beautiful flower in our gardens that God is cultivating for our benefit.

Coming next Thursday some of the practical ways cross-generational friendships develop. Please come back.

Copyright: Sue Tell, October 2025