SPINNING THE BIG WHEEL

Lauren Kish is a woman of many places and faces. Growing up a Navy kid she has seen the San Diego sunsets, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the shores of Rhode island, and the beef packing plants of Omaha. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska in Family and Consumer Sciences where she learned to make couch potatoes. Now a full time missionary to college students, she also loves to sing and is a member of a choir at Kansas University. Her hobbies include travel and speaking foreign languages ("Spanish a bit, and I am hoping to learn Italian.") But the coolest thing you need to know about Lauren is that she actually got to buy a vowel from Pat Sajak.






"Many people know this, but I loooove 'Wheel of Fortune' and had the blessing of being on the show last year. Definitely a dream come true!" Lauren likes to practice Vanna White poses on campus as evidenced in this picture.





Growing up in the security of a military family, traveling coast to coast behind the family U-haul, and watching Vanna White turn letters 5 nights a week, it is easy to understand why Lauren didn't see her deeper spiritual needs until college. "I came to Christ the summer after my freshman year in college, when I attended a youth group with some high school friends. The Gospel really became clear at that point, and the Lord opened my eyes to my great need for Him."

After graduating she joined staff in 2004 and has been a part of the Kansas Jayhawk CRU flock for the past three and a half years. "I think we have the sweetest job in the world!!! At times ministry can be really ambiguous - that’s a challenge for me.
But the thing I enjoy most about being on staff is I simply love to talk to people about the Gospel. I come alive when the Holy Spirit opens their eyes, and they start to 'get it'."

"One of my best ministry memories involved sharing Christ with a Chilean college student named Tamara. Mary, a student on our summer project team, and I walked through the Four Laws, but she just wasn’t getting it because she felt so unworthy to have a relationship with Christ. Mary and I decided to pray for a few days and then get back together with Tamara to talk through things again. In the period of those three days, Tamara had made a decision to follow the Lord and it was like a light bulb had turned on. That second appointment, she was beaming and had tons of questions for us about walking with Jesus.
I asked Lauren what people besides Pat and Vanna have most influenced her life. "Certainly, my loving and godly parents (pictured above in San Diego) and my wonderful staff team at KU. I’ve also had so many good friends along the way that have shaped me and my walk with God."

Lauren has just completed her new staff training this fall and has already developed a perspective towards sowing broadly and diversely.

"A ministry lesson God has taught me during new staff training is to try and experience as many things on staff as possible. That way, you can get a feel for how God has gifted you, and what areas of ministry get you the most excited."
Lauren Kish
Kansas University Campus Team

Trying and experiencing many things is already a lifestyle for Lauren. Whether turning consonants for cash or conversations to Christ this girl brings her A game to the Great Plains. Congratulations on finishing your initial training Lauren- your ceramic Dalamatian is in the mail.