Greeting from Pastor Mao!
Thank you for clicking on this page to read about me. It is a privilege to be serving God through serving YOU! I am reminded always that it is by the grace of God that I have been called to serve in such a time as this. A thing about me that you might find interesting is that I am married to another clergy person. My husband, the Rev. Nhia Wahn Her is also a United Methodist clergy. Prior to becoming a pastor, I was a pastor wife for over 20 years. But with much discernment, praying, and running away from the reality that God was calling me into ministry as a clergy, I finally answered the call in 2009. I went back to seminary, and three years later was commissioned and appointed to serve Christ United Methodist.
My husband and I have three children; A daughter, Zsong, who is married to Denny. Our oldest son is Moang and our youngest son, Tzuh. We recently were blessed with a grandbaby (Ellianna).
Another thing you might find interesting about me is that I am the first Hmong woman to be ordained as a minister in the United Methodist Church. Originally, I am from Lao, but I am of Hmong ethnicity. My family came to the United States in 1979 when the Vietnam War ended. I was born into a Christian family and my desire to serve in ministry started when I was very young. I knew I wanted to serve God when I was 9 or 10 years old. Because of my love and passion for ministry, I was involved in ministry most of my life.
Before getting married, I worked alongside my father who is also a clergy person. I had a lot of opportunities to serve and learn from him. It is because of my passion for ministry that I say ‘yes’ to my husband when he proposed. He too had a passion for ministry and was looking for a partner who would be willing to serve alongside of him. We believed God brought us together for the purpose of serving Him. When my husband and I became United Methodist, I sensed a strong call into the ordained ministry. It was hard for me to believe that I could serve in such a role. And it is because I have always been told that a woman cannot serve as a pastor. As you can imagine my answer to this call was not easy, but once I did so, I experienced a peace in my heart that I have never known before.
I believe that God has prepared me all my life for what I do today. It is my prayer and desire that God will use me at Christ UMC to bring people to a closer relationship with God, and with one another. Relationship building and spiritual formation are very important to me. I believe in order to carry out our calling as followers of Jesus Christ, we will have to become a community where relationships are strong, and at the same time are being formed daily into the image of Christ.
Thank you again for entering this page to read about me. May God bless you in all you do!