Who am I?
My name is Karley Schmidt. I am a 27-year-old living in Leavenworth, Kansas with my 6-year-old Boxer named Boomer. He is my fur baby. I live in a charming little apartment that I like to keep neat and clean by singing to worship music while I’m doing so. I’m a great listener, and I enjoy watching movies, reading the bible and other books as well as exercise. I very much value my alone time, as much as I value spending time with my friends and family.
I have two awesome moms, Laura Jeffrey and Lisa Schmidt. Laura is my biological mama, who I wouldn’t trade for the world. She and Robert are always there for me when I need them. Lisa is my step-mama and she’s always there for me as well. My dad, who was and still is my rock, passed away in July of 2016 and is in Heaven worshipping with Jesus.
I have an older brother named Sean, who is married to my beautiful and spunky sister-in-law named 
Maria. Together they my four awesome nieces: Saelym Liberty, who is about to start college in Ottawa, KS on a basketball scholarship (woohoo!); Hailey bug, who is becoming an awesome adolescent; Taylor Raeyn, who is hilarious and loves to play games; and Sammi (or Chipmunk) who is too cute for her own good. They all live in California and I get to visit them about once a year, which I am thankful for. I also have a younger brother, Gage. He is married to my beautiful and wise sister-in-law, Destineelee. Together they have my nephew Jude, who is only two, but has the most comedic personality. They live in Coffeyville, KS. As for myself, I am currently enjoying working to improve every area of my life including spirituality, physical health and emotional health and I operate by praying for God’s direction and will in my life.
Westside Family Church in Leavenworth is where I worship and serve. I am one of the youth leaders for the Middle School girls there, and I very much love my girls and the youth that we have. They are all amazing young people and I see them going very far as servant leaders for Christ and being all around amazing people. I also have an awesome co-leader named Sarah. I love our leadership team at Westside and our entire church family. They have made me feel welcome and I have been blessed to be a part of the launch of the church in Leavenworth, having come from the location in Lenexa. Westside feels like home.
My chosen profession at this point in my life is at Lansing Correctional Facility as a Unit Team Supervisor. The description of my position is that of a counselor or a case manager for male inmates. What’s funny is, I took a job at the facility so that I could move to the area to be closer to Tres Dias so that I could serve at a higher capacity. I started as a Paraprofessional for Greenbush and I have promoted to Correction Counselor I and then to Unit Team Supervisor. I currently enjoy my job, because I feel that God has me there for a reason and I feel that I am making a difference and I enjoy working with my co-workers because they make me laugh and we are a strong team.
What was your Tres Dias experience?
I attended Kansas City Tres Dias #5, where I sat at the table of Ruth. My wonderful friend, Nancy and her husband Mark were the lovely individuals that invited me to Tres Dias. At the time, I was living in my hometown – Parsons, KS. I was worshipping and serving at Parsons Foursquare Church. I still consider them my original church home and family and miss them dearly from time to time. I was serving with the youth, in children’s church and I taught Sunday school and sometimes served in the nursery. I felt that I was involved in any and every area of the church, including bible studies, and that this was the highest level that I could serve God. I very much enjoyed serving, and I felt blessed to have been in my early 20s and to have a strong relationship with God. Little did I know that God had more in store for me. 
My fiancé at the time had told me about Tres Dias and that it was a ministry weekend, and I didn’t think anything of it when Nancy had invited me. It wasn’t hard to get me there, however, I was too jaded by my romantic relationship to realize how much I needed it. I thought I would have time to exercise and work on my wedding plans, but I soon realized that it wasn’t about a weekend of relaxation. It was about so much more. God showed up in a big way, and I had always believed in the Holy Spirit and encounters from the Holy Spirit though I hadn’t had a deeply felt experience.
This weekend was just as they say becoming Christian entails: God takes all the junk and cleans you out and helps you to shine your light, exactly like we clean the pumpkin seeds and the goop out of a pumpkin, only to put a light back inside to shine bright.
I so needed God to clean me out on this weekend, though I hadn’t realized it. I can be a stubborn individual, and I didn’t have my “moment” (as we like to say) until Sunday.
The weekend is from Thursday evening to Sunday morning, and I enjoyed every moment of the weekend, but I held onto any pain and tears that I needed to let go of until Sunday afternoon. I kept my walls up until the last minute. It was like the levee broke, and God said to let it all go and cried it all out. I felt so renewed by the end of my weekend. I was motivated by each talk that was given; each person would share such a deep testimony of their faith and how strong they were as believers. I knew that I would be coming back to serve at the next weekend and that this was a new calling that God has placed on my heart.
Each weekend since then has been such a blessing in more ways than one. It is so true that you get so much more out of serving than going through as a candidate. I enjoy being on a team of like-minded believers that help me be accountable, and having the opportunity to serve others, to help them to have a renewing experience for their faith and hearts. I’m thankful for the many friends that I have made through this ministry, and I know God has me exactly where I need to be. I am also blessed to serve with my Grandmother at Tres Dias. She went through as a candidate at KCTD #6. I have also been blessed to have my step-mother attend, and I pray that my other family members and friends can experience the love that I have experienced through Tres Dias one day.
Why do you serve on the Board?
I serve as the Secretary on the Kansas City Tres Dias Board of Directors. I wanted to become a part of the Board because I saw amazing servant leaders and I wanted to be a part of Tres Dias in every way that I could. It was something that I had prayed about and inquired to a fellow sister on the Board about an open position. I enjoy being a leader in every aspect, and I want to be able to help new leaders that come alongside and want to serve as well. Helping others to understand Tres Dias and to be able to answer any questions anyone has is something that I enjoy. I love my brothers and sisters in Christ on the Board of Directors and I cherish that I have the opportunity to serve with them. I have developed many amazing friendships from the Tres Dias community and Board.
I like being a part of a ministry that honors God and encourages others to be like Him and to renew their faith and desire to serve in their church. I feel that being on the Board helps me to be accountable as a Christian, and it makes me want to strive to be a better leader. I look up to my fellow Board Directors, who have supported me through the good times and the bad times in my life. 
To me, being on the Board helps me to be a positive example to others as well. It is definitely a privilege to serve as the Secretary on the Kansas City Tres Dias Board and being able to be a part of making decisions for the ministry is something that I value. We have a meeting every month that all community members are invited to attend, and they are something that I look forward to along with attending weekly Reunion Groups with my sisters in Christ. I like my life to be busy and God-centered, and being a Board Member is a great way to do that.
