Hello there!
My name is Angela Grit. I am 20 years old and from the small (now growing) town of Coopersville, Michigan. On April 23, 2010 I will graduate from Muskegon Community College with my Associates in Arts and Science. I never really know what to say about myself, but I love photos and they hold so many stories, so brace yourself there may be a few.
My family has been a big factor in shaping who I am. I am the oldest of three daughters. My father lives in Coopersville with my 2 sisters (I am currently living in Holland, MI). My mom and step-dad live in Charleston, South Carolina, a city which has captured my heart. I grew up on a farm of sorts; we had an abundance of animals. I love nothing more than having the wide open spaces and running around barefoot through the grass.
So WHO AM I?
I am: a daughter. A sister. A granddaughter. A niece. A friend.
Clumsy. coordination was just something God forgot to give me.
An “old soul.” At least according to my mom (mother knows best, right mom? ha ha). Somehow I have just always been different. I would take a bullet for anyone I know without a second thought. I am not a fighter, but I will fight for what I love. My emotions run deep and I have a passion for certain things, like mission work. I hate conflicts. I am very in-tune with my intuition. I am a dreamer.
Strong. I have just recently come to know this. I am not talking about physically strong, that needs some work (ha ha), but I am talking about the strength I have through God. I have, like many, been through some very difficult times in my life and thought that God had an awful sense of humor. However, looking back an those trials I went through I would not be as strong spiritually or emotionally as I am right now. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37
A child at heart. I refuse to let that go, life is way to short to not enjoy it and I am still young. I refuse to follow the rules of society that say that at 20 I should know what I want to do with my life. I am part of something so much bigger than I can ever imagine and God has it all planned out for me and if he hasn’t revealed it to me yet, he will. You can’t rush God.
Weird. You will come to know it, but I just have different way of doing things and making things make sense I guess. I am learning to embrace my weirdness. :]
Joyful. I have a heart for children. I work as a day camp counselor for Camp Geneva and have been blessed to work with some amazing people. Kids see life differently. The have a joy that is contagious and love to share. They have not yet been told that anything is impossible. While working at camp a very close friend told me to find joy in every situation. That has stuck with me and changed who I am. I have seen and felt sorrow which is the opposite of joy, but without experiencing sorrow you will never know joy; so even in situations where sorrow masks the joy you still have to find it.
A few of my favorite things: children and their laughter, laughing and smiling, flowers, the stars, sunsets, colors, butterflies, love, when a dandelion dies and its all the puffy seed stuff and you can blow it, the beach, the mountains, adventure, dance, theatre, visual art, abandoned worship, singing really loud with the radio, sleepovers, crunchy colorful leaves, weddings, being outside and barefoot, sleeping babies, friends, family, pictures, animals, football, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, randomness, and seeing how God has been behind everything and making it all fall together.
Why the World Race?
I struggled at the beginning of the year with wether or not to continue with school or take some time off. I felt a tug at my heart to work with other cultures and children. Along with that, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in and I didn’t want to spend money on school and not knowing if I was doing the right thing. I talked with some people from my church who told me to go back to school and get the associates degree that I was so close to getting and just allow God to work on preparing me for something bigger. So back to school I went and I hit up google looking into mission work. I thought about the peace corps and short term missions. I talked with people who have been on such trips and after listening to them I knew that it was what I was supposed to do. However, none of the trips felt right. One night while looking into a very expensive 5 month trip I prayed a quick prayer saying “Lord, I want you to break my heart so that I may be your hands and feet. Amen.” But I thought that was a dumb prayer. My next move was literally typing into a google “a prayer to break my heart for children”. The first hit was a blog from the World Race which had the headline, “break my heart for what breaks yours.” I read this girl’s entry and was captivated. Page after page that I read the tug on my heart pulled harder and harder. I then went to the World Race about page and watched the video. When the video ended I felt a joy and a peace and felt that push with God whispering go. I was shocked. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine this. I have wanted to travel the world and I have wanted to do missions, but to do both at the same time?! GOD is so AMAZING!! I applied and had my interview. That peace I felt before never left me. I still can’t believe that this is what I am doing for the next year. Undoubtedly it will be difficult to leave behind the people I love and the things I know, but I am excited to see what God has in store!! “If you say go we will go, If you say wait we will wait. If you say step out on the water and they say it can’t be done We’ll fix our eyes on you and we will come.”
