How I was called to the mission field

From a young age, I have always enjoyed serving others and I knew that when I grew up I wanted to help people. My first interaction with missions work was volunteering at Samaritan’s Purse. The organization has an Operation Christmas Child warehouse in Charlotte, NC (where I grew up) and I used to love volunteering there. I did this for several years, starting in middle school. I was also really involved in my church and went on missions trips with my youth group. We would do anything from VBS to landscaping in impoverished areas. I think mission trips have a way of humbling us all and bring us back to what God calls us to do – love each other. My sophomore year in high school I began to get involved with YoungLife, it had just started up at my school.  For me, YoungLife was a great outlet to connect with my peers and serve others. When I was 17, I volunteered on Workcrew at a YL camp during a month for the summer. On Workcrew, I knew no one, but over the course of the month shared my faith and life with those around me. This experience really showed me how difficult but also rewarding ministry can be. When I returned from camp I was asked to help start a WyldLife in our community. I also began to lead an 8th grade girls campaigners, which I absolutely loved. Not only did the girls keep me accountable, but I learned just as much from them as I hope they did from me. So as I prepared for college, I assumed I had found my calling and would continue to work with YL indefinitely.  Of course life doesn’t work that way and when I left for college my plans were radically changed. Instead of always focusing on others, I was finally forced to focus on myself.

 

God brought me to my knees when I was 18 and I have been working my way back to my feet ever since. I used to depend way too much on myself, and not enough on God. I prided myself on perfection, and lied to myself about my faults. I lived the Christian life because that’s what I was told to do, not necessarily because that’s what I wanted to do. It’s not that my efforts or faith were insincere; they were legitimate, but for the wrong reasons. I realize now that my whole life I had been trying to prove that I was worthy. To me, my faith wasn’t good enough by itself and so I had to have other things to rely on. God cannot use us, however, when we have our own plans. So when I left for college, God decided to catch my attention. For the first time in my life, I did not have a list of achievements to prove I was worthy of His love. When I was finally broken, I saw the splendor in my shattered pieces; the raw beauty He had seen the whole time. I want to take part in the World Race because I want to show people the raw beauty and potential they have inside themselves. I want others to know that when we are broken, God is able to shape us into something totally new and far better than we could ever imagine. I want to share the pain, joy, tears, and laughter I have felt alone, with the whole world. God placed a desire early on in my heart to serve and love others, and that is exactly what I feel God has prepared me to do. I have never been one to journey through life alone, and I don’t want other people to think they have to. I want to share my story with them and hear about theirs. As I find myself getting back on my feet, I refuse to settle for a life of complacency. I am prepared to fall and get back up as many times as it takes, because I know that God would do the same for me.