Holly Lustilla- Southern Region

Deaconness Holly Lustilla

1. What brings you JOY these days?

Joy comes to me in many and varied ways, from praying with a hospitalized or home-bound member, to seeing a Confirmation student "connect-the-dots" during class, to simply sitting back with a cup of coffee and my morning devotions. To be honest, it is truly my vocation as deaconess that brings me joy these days. To serve God through serving His people, the Church, is quite a joyous service.

2. What do you SEE the Holy Spirit doing in your life right now?

While I may not be always able to "see" what the Holy Spirit is doing in my life, I can say that He is constantly pushing me back into His Word, forcing me to revisit "old" stories and accounts. I will be the first to tell you that I do not know everything out there concerning the faith, and I believe that, alongside the Holy Spirit's promptings, fuels me to constantly return back to the Scriptures and the Confessions. It's always a good idea to return to the Word and delve a little deeper.

3. What words of ENCOURAGEMENT do you have for others in the faith journey experience?

You are never alone. No matter how dim the light may seem, it is never pure dark. Christ, the Light of the World, was born into this world for you, lived a pure, spotless life for you, suffered, died, laid in the tomb, and is risen again for you. Take joy and comfort knowing that what ever kind of sin you keep secreted away and closest to your heart has been paid and atoned for, and is remembered no more. You have been baptized into Christ's death and Christ's resurrection. You now turn that great and glorious message towards a world that so desperately needs peace and comfort. We live and serve in the great hope that Christ is coming again to make all things right and new. Take heart, for HE has overcome the world, sin, and death.

We give thanks for the heart and work of Holly in the Southeastern District- here is  bit more about Holly.

I grew up a Lutheran school teacher's daughter, so we followed wherever my father's teaching Call took us. I have lived in several different cities/towns throughout Michigan and Florida, the longest lasting just around 8 years, so I am no stranger to moving where we/I am needed most. I graduated from Florida State University in 2012 with a B.A. in Music, with hopes of attending graduate school for musicology. The Lord had other plans for me and I enrolled, albeit a few months late, in the deaconess program at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in the fall of 2012. I served my deaconess internship at Eternal Shepherd Lutheran Church, Seneca, SC from July 2014 to July 2015, and accepted their Call to become their deaconess. I was commissioned into the diaconate in late July 2015 at Eternal Shepherd.

Seneca, South Carolina has been and is a wonderful fit, not just because the people of Eternal Shepherd make it that way. The area is full of trees, mountains, and waterfalls. All amazing places to just get away and truly explore the beauty of Creation. Seneca provides someone who has lived and moved from big cities to small, small towns a well needed place to grow roots, while still be close to several larger areas. For me, personally speaking, it is a welcomed bit of slower paced life.