My name is Lisa. I was raised in the small town of Beckley, WV with my wonderful parents and my awesome younger brother, Joe. I was raised in a Christian home and accepted Christ at a young age. In high school I went on a few missions trips to inner-city areas in the US. God really broke me heart for these children and placed in me a desire to teach in the city. I went to King College in Bristol, TN to study elementary education and ESL. After graduating in May 2005, I moved to Atlanta. This small town girl had finally become a city girl! For two years I taught 2nd & 3rd graders for Atlanta Public Schools. I loved my job (even though it was VERY challenging), loved my life, and was doing exactly what I always thought I would be doing.
Then God changed everything…
In June 2006 I went to Kenya with Adventures in Missions. I spent a month working in the slums around Nairobi and my life has never been the same. During this trip the Lord really broke my heart for His precious children living in poverty and hopelessness. I fell in love with world missions. I returned home, but my heart no longer felt at home here. My eyes had been opened to the deep needs of the world and I could no longer pretend like they don’t exist.
Now, at 23 I know less about where my life is headed than I ever have before. After Kenya, I felt the Lord leading me to resign from my position with Atlanta Public Schools so I finished out the year, but did not resign my contract. I began seeking teaching positions in other school systems, but the Lord kept closing those doors. He began to ask me to surrender all of my plans to Him. He has told me to trust Him with my job, my finances, and my future. Currently I am working part-time at Starbucks (a great job for a coffee fanatic) and tutoring kids at Sylvan learning center. I plan to use the rest of the year spending time with my absolutely amazing friends (laughing, hanging out, going dancing) and coordinating missions and outreach for the young adults group at my church. I can’t wait to dive into the beautiful adventure of following my Jesus around the world, meeting and loving the people that He loves so much!
