New Staff Welcome: Dena Sites
Nothing gets the Emmaus staff more excited than when God leads people to join our team. This summer we are honored to announce two new support staff: Dena Sites and Kerry Yodzis. Dena and Kerry are alumni of our School of Biblical Studies. Dena will be support staff to our school of Biblical Studies, while Kerry will be working as an administrative part-time volunteer.
Dena was a student in our School of Biblical Studies from 2020 to 2021 and has come on staff as a missionary. Join us in welcoming Dena by reading about her journey to Emmaus.
After getting saved at 28 years old, I was always sad that I had not become a Christian earlier because I would have loved to go to Bible college. I had a strong desire to study God’s Word in a classroom setting, but I was established in my career as an attorney and I thought my time (i.e. my early twenties) had passed to attend Bible college. An attorney friend of mine mentioned Emmaus to me a few times in 2019 & 2020 because her sister worked at Emmaus, but being from California, I never actually considered going to Emmaus since it was in Florida. God, however, had other plans. On the night of July 5, 2020, I was lying in bed with sleep escaping me and all of a sudden I could not stop thinking about Emmaus. This was unlike me, so I had a sneaking suspicion that it was the Lord. The next morning I cried as I told the Lord that I didn’t want to move to Florida, but that I would if He wanted me to. Over the next eleven days, He confirmed that He was calling me to Emmaus through an ordained conversation with my friend’s sister & Emmaus staff member Kristi, a vision, a Florida license plate, and other confirmations. Three weeks later, I had quit my job, packed up my entire apartment, and was driving 2,500 miles across the country during a pandemic. (Sidenote: I don’t recommend this, but on the other hand, when the Lord calls, we go!)
And boy am I glad that I went! Prior to God calling me to Emmaus, I had been in a long season – and when I say long, I mean years – of a stressful job and chronic health issues, but mostly a long season of not putting God first. Not reading my Bible, not having consistent devotional time. I needed, and I prayed for, structure and accountability in studying God’s Word. God answered those prayers by bringing me to Emmaus where there was that structure. At Emmaus, my mind was instantly blown as I learned a completely different way of studying Scripture. We learned to inductively study Scripture through the lens of the historical background and what the verses would have meant to the Original Hearers, Original Readers, and Author. We studied each book of the Bible by reading each book in its entirety all at once, which brought so much more understanding than reading a book stretched out over weeks or months. Similarly, we studied through all books of the Bible in ten months, which gave such a clearer understanding of how all of Scripture fits together and of God’s plan and God’s character. For the first time in my life, I understood how the books of the Bible fit together, and as I learned more about God’s character, I learned to trust Him more. Emmaus’ motto is “Know your Bible. Change your life.” Emmaus absolutely changed my life – it changed the direction of my life, how I approach Scripture, and my understanding of God.
As my school year came to a close, I did not feel like my time at Emmaus was up. Emmaus had ignited in me a deep love for God’s Word and a strong desire to continue to be in God’s Word in Emmaus’ immersive style. I completely believe in Emmaus’ method and know firsthand how life-changing it is. Thinking about new students coming in the following year and being able to walk alongside them in the same experience that so changed my life seemed like such a privilege and an honor. During my school year, I had an amazing discipleship one-on-one (ahem, Kristi) that was an integral part of my student year and I have a heart to pour into others in the same way. I have also seen how each of Emmaus’ staff truly lives a life in pursuit of and honoring to Christ, and that also made me want to be a part of the Emmaus team. I am so excited to be joining the Emmaus staff and to help incoming students engage their Bible and walk with them as the Lord changes their hearts and their lives!
If you would like to learn more about our School of Biblical Studies, click here. If you would like to support Dena in her call to ministry, click here.