[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.19.12″ custom_padding=”54px|0px|0|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.19.12″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.19.12″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/author-photo-Melody-Carlson.jpg” _builder_version=”3.19.12″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.19.12″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.12″]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It took me well into adulthood to figure out I was a writer. Sure, I was always writing . . . anything from journaling and poetry, to crafting letters to the editor or corresponding with family<\/a> and friends. But it wasn\u2019t until my sons approached adolescence that I became determined to take writing seriously. I started by joining a critique group and, due to a busy schedule and limited free time, learned to write extremely fast.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In a short amount of time, I\u2019d completed several books. But unfamiliar with the ins and outs of publishing, all I got for my work was rejection letters. Still, I didn\u2019t give up. Frustration with rejection just motivated me to write even more books. When I eventually realized that all publishers were different (with different goals for publishing) I began to contract books.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Still, I felt confused about the business of \u2018publishing.\u2019 How did it really work? So I went to work for a publishing house. I still refer to those few years as the best education a writer could want. During that time I continued to write and, before long, I had published more than twenty books for teens, women and children. That\u2019s when I knew it was time to become a fulltime writer.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And yet I still had a hard time calling myself a \u2018writer.\u2019 And I could never use the title \u2018author\u2019 when describing what I did. That seemed overly presumptuous . . . an author was someone with a pipe and leather elbow patches on a tweed jacket. Not me.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until I received a pretty nice award that a writer friend cornered me and made me accept that I was \u201creally a writer.\u201d She pointed out that my writing was a \u201cgift from God.\u201d That was a real light bulb moment! Since then (more than twenty years and 200 books later) I\u2019ve been able to acknowledge that, yes, I am a writer. As for the title \u2018author,\u2019 I\u2019m still uncomfortable with it. But I am a writer and I will keep being a writer\u2014for as long as the gift and the stories continue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.19.12″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.19.12″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.19.12″][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.19.12″ custom_padding=”0|0px|54px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.19.12″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.19.12″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.19.12″]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sunrise International Ministries is a mission organization that exists in order to make disciples and multiply churches in Japan and throughout Asia.<\/p>\n The mission was founded by Jim and Masako Millard in 1985. In addition to the work in Japan, we are engaged in developing leaders in several countries in Asia. Their vision is to reproduce disciples, leaders, and churches that multiply throughout Japanese society and throughout Asia. This will require new models and new forms of spreading the gospel especially among young people. It will also require a lot of faith. Jesus said, \u201cEverything is possible for him who believes\u201d (Mark 9:23).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\nMelody’s Chosen Charity<\/h1>\n
Sunrise International Ministries<\/a><\/a><\/h3>\n