Hi! My name is Kelly and I am 29 years old. I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 6. I grew up not really knowing who I was. I was expected to be quiet, shy, and as a result, became socially withdrawn. I grew up in a family that was not demonstrative. God was not talked about much at home nor were there outward displays of affection, although I am pretty sure we all loved each other most of the time. I am a naturally outgoing and demonstrative person so I felt a little out of place. The expectations for me were extremely high and I felt as though I could not live up to them. I was also bullied relentlessly my entire llife. I was made to believe that I was unlovable because I was not pretty or popular and told that I would fail at anything I attempted.
I was accepted to a conservatory for musical theatre and went off to New York City for college. It was an amazing experience as I began to develop real friendships and discover who I was as a person. God was considered very uncool so I stopped attending church. I spent time in New York and Los Angeles working in the theatre and grew very far away from God. I returned to Kansas, feeling that God was calling me back in order to return fully to Him. That took a long time for me. When I returned home, I was very angry with God for taking me away from what I love and forcing me back into the unhealthy environment I grew up in. I began to believe that everyone had been right about me, that I was a failure. I hadn't lived up to anyone's expectations for me, nor to my own. I didn't know who I was without music or theatre.
I have joy in the Lord now and have discovered the difference between accepting Jesus as my Savior and making Him the Lord of my life. I have learned that it is okay to be who I am and not who others think I should be.
Fun Facts:
-I teach Sunday School to 3 and 4 year olds, missions and teamkids (Southern Baptist AWANAs) to 1st through 6th graders, and am involved in the bell choir and sanctuary choir.
-I am probably the clumsiest person in the entire world. I don't really do adventurous things because adventure and clumsiness typically don't work well together.
-I work with adults with mental and phsyical disabilities.
-I play 7 instruments.
-I sing all the time and am obsessed with musical theatre, to the point of it almost being embarrassing.
-Most people would describe me as an airhead, eccentric, flaky, funny without trying to be, or "that hippie girl."
-I like everything to be all natural and organic. I'm kind of freaked out about having to get all these shots for the trip since I'm pretty much totally against vaccinations.
-I am terrifiied of spiders and ventriloquist dummies.
-I speak French, Latin, and Sign Language. I am learning Romanian.
-I am a semi-professional baker and cake decorator. I have done a few weddings.
