Shortly after I graduated high school, I traveled overseas
for the first time. Juarez, Mexico was calling my name. I’m not sure what I thought
I would find there but I knew after seeing the presentation at church, I had to
go. Little did I know that it would change the course of my life and stir a
spark to travel the world serving the nations. It didn’t stop there.
A few years after that, I was asked to be a part of a Vision
Team that would travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Our goal was to figure out how
our church could partner with the missionaries there. Africa offered me
something different than Mexico. It was there that I realized I needed to be
overseas long term. After a lot of prayer, I realized God was leading me
somewhere outside of Ethiopia.
The following spring, I was on my way to the Dominican
Republic where I had committed to teach English and serve at an orphanage for
six months. The Lord grew me in incredible ways. I was blessed to have a
roommate who taught me how to dream. It was there that the Lord first showed me
community and gave me a vision for a community center. I wasn’t even sure what
to do with that vision. I froze in fear. “Surely you didn’t mean me right, God?”
To see more about my time in the DR check out my prior blog:
Two years later, the Lord called me to the nations again. I
applied and was accepted to the World Race. I traveled to 11 countries in 11
months in order to discover something more. My route began in Central America –
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Central America was why I chose this
particular route. I had fallen in love with the Latin American people and
wanted to go back and see if that’s where I was “called.” After three months,
we hopped on a plane and headed for Asia. To be honest, I wasn’t all that
excited about having to spend six months here – Philippines, Thailand,
Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Nepal. I was quite surprised with how much I did
enjoy those places. After Asia, we made our last stretch to Africa – Zambia and
Malawi (Botswana for a day counts right). Africa offers a different feeling in
my heart. There is just something that happens in Africa. Something magical.
The children are beautiful and full of so much joy. Their laughter is music to
anyone’s ears. In each of these countries, though our tasks may have been
different, the goal was always the same. To take care of and love God’s people.
We painted, led VBS, preached, taught, prayed, visited, cooked, worked with
street kids, cleaned, played with kids in orphanages, sang, danced, and cried, but
most importantly, we learned how to Enjoy God.
To see more about my journey through the World Race check out my previous blog:
And now, after being in America for three month, it’s time
for Thailand, round two. Here I get to empower college ladies to find their
voice and also their identity in the Lord. For three months, we will be working
with women who have been rescued from trafficking. Although this is something I’m
not particularly familiar with, I’m excited to see why the Lord has called me
here. He never makes mistakes.
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