So, who am I? Well, for starters, my name is Cierra
Burchfield. I am 21 years old and a senior at Clemson University,
majoring in Biological Sciences. People ask me where I’m from, and I reply that
I am a hybrid. Though born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the first home I remember is upstate South Carolina, just
outside of Clemson. When I was 10 years old, my family and I moved to Orlando, Florida,
and I lived there until I graduated high school…then it was back to the
Foothills. So, by the time I graduated high school, I had lived exactly half my
life in South Carolina and half in Florida (thus why I
consider myself a hybrid). However, Clemson is and always will be home in my
heart. I was born and raised a Carolina
girl (born in North, raised in South) and am proud of it! Not to mention that I
am a die-hard Clemson fan; my blood DOES run orange.
I come from a pretty small immediate family – dad, mom,
sister, and me. I’m pretty tight with them, though, and love them a lot. My
parents are solid believers in the Lord and were faithful to raise me in the
Christian faith, for which I am extremely grateful. My sister, while quite a
fireball, is one of my best friends, and we’re pretty tight as well. We’re
complete opposites but totally balance each other out, and it’s awesome to see
how God has used her in my life in so many ways to teach, grow, and bless me in
the sixteen years she’s had on this earth. He definitely knew what He was doing
in giving me Andi as my sister. I will miss all of them a lot while I am
abroad, but I am thankful for their support and the blessing of technology to
be able to stay in touch!
I gave my life to Christ early in elementary school and can
remember right from the start wanting to tell people about Christ – from
sneaking a Bible into my second-grade public school classroom to tell a
classmate about Christ during our reading time to writing about my faith to my
pen pal in Ireland (whom I have kept in touch with to this day and hope to see
while I’m there in a few months!). My family and I regularly went to church,
and I went to a Christian school from the 5th through the 12th
grade. By the time I graduated high school, I felt like I had a pretty solid
foundation in the Christian faith but was also ready to be challenged in it. A
friend in college made the statement to me while I was in high school that
college is four years of brain and heart surgery, and that you should choose a
school where you know that those teaching you and surrounding you would help
you grow in the faith during that critical time. I appreciated her perspective,
but I believed that I was grounded enough in my faith that it was time to step
out, take the next step in spiritual maturity, and be a godly influence in the
lives of others who were also undergoing four years of “brain and heart
surgery” during my years in college, thus the reason I chose to go to a secular
college. I have done my best in my years in college to reach out to those
around me, both Christians and non-Christians, and be a representative of
Christ everywhere I go. God has blessed me with a solid family of brothers and
sisters in Christ here at Clemson with whom I have grown and come to love
dearly. I will greatly miss them when I graduate in May, but I hope to keep up
with a few of them and look forward to spending eternity with all of them!
I love dark chocolate, raspberries, reading, writing, drinking in the beauty of God’s creation through sunsets and sparkling stars, sports such as soccer and ultimate frisbee…and especially running…a lot. For better or worse, it’s my addiction-I feel like I haven’t had a
complete day unless I’ve gotten in a good run of at least 3 miles! My second addition is dancing, swing dancing
that is! It’s one of the few times I
like being small, because I can be easily thrown around and flipped. 🙂 Another
benefit to being small is the ability to be closer to the level of kids, which
is good, because I love being with kids. There’s something special about their
innocence and zest for life, and I know part of my life calling involves them.
God has definitely blessed me with a variety of talents and passions, and I am
still discerning how He would have me use them to best glorify Him with my
life. My current ambition is to pursue a career in the medical field as a
pediatric nurse practitioner when I return from the World Race. However, I know
that this coming year is going to rock my world, and part of the reason I want
to go is to get a broader understanding and appreciation for the world God
created, particularly the people in it, and discover how He wants me to use my
life to serve others and further His kingdom.
I plan on writing more soon, and often (especially once I
hit the field), but I think this should suffice for now. In closing, I first
off want to say thanks for reading all of this if you have made it this far!
Secondly, I hope and pray that whoever you are, wherever you, you will consider
prayerfully and financially supporting me in this coming year. It costs a lot
to go on this trip, and I am trusting God to take care of that need. Beyond
that, I hope you will follow me via my blog and prayerfully support me and my
team in the coming months, both as we prepare for the journey ahead and as we
leave all that is familiar to take a step of faith, pursue the heart of God in
a radical way, and seek to be ambassadors for Christ in our world. My team and
I will be on the front lines spiritually and could use all of the prayer
support we can get! May God bless you, and thanks again!
