#WeAreFirstPres: Larger Than Life
When Orlando Fellow, Torres Kearney, arrived in Orlando in 2020, her experience was far different than that of previous Fellows’. In a year rocked by covid, changes were everywhere, and the Fellows program was not spared. Host Families were suspended, a key piece of the Fellows experience, and something Torres had been particularly excited about…
While different, each Fellow was still assigned a family to meet with throughout the program. Torres was paired with the Broughtons. Not long after meeting Scarlett Broughton, Torres found herself falling in love with the whole family. “Most weeks I spent all my extra time at the Broughton House — hanging with the kids, getting quizzed with math and spelling questions, eating dinner with them (I can vouch that tacos taste better when eaten with the Broughtons), and just getting to know them all.” She became a regular at birthdays, sporting events, musicals, and even Easter Sunday! “I am so grateful for the way Scott and Scarlett invited me to do daily life with them; it was filled with honest conversations, lots of laughter, and a wholehearted desire to seek the Lord's Kingdom first.”
Even after her time in the Fellow’s program, Torres and several other First Pres-ers are honored to be extensions of the Broughton Family, loving and living alongside each other. Sometimes that looks like a surprise audience with larger than life cardboard cutouts of the kids’ faces to celebrate big moments!
Simply moving toward people is how Torres Lives Missionally. “Often the Lord places opportunities to deepen community right in front of me, but stepping into those takes courage, openness, and sometimes a willingness to deal with hard things.” She encourages others to have eyes that see those near them, and a willingness to be invitational, because when it comes to those who are hurting and in need of a compassionate community, we need to mirror the invitational nature of Christ. “Living missionally means reflecting this aspect of Jesus’ character to the best of our ability. May we push through the potential feelings of inconvenience or insecurity for the sake of loving our neighbor well.”
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