I was born on October 9, 1985 in Nashville, TN. Little did I know at the time, I would soon become the oldest of five children. I have two brothers and two sisters…. and have NO idea what I would do without them!! We all grew up in Hendersonville, which is about 20 minutes North of downtown. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment in our household. However, I am so thankful to have grown up in such a HUGE family. I have tons of cousins, aunts, and uncles on both sides… along with two sets of AMAZING grandparents- who inspire me in more ways than I can count. Family has always been extremely important to me, and always will be!
In my earlier years- I loved entertaining people. Whether it was singing Lori Morgan's "Watch me Walk Away" at a Saint Joseph's talent show, acting in a play, trying out for the Opyrland Kid's club, or tap dancing in a recital- I absolutely loved peforming! However, somewhere between my 6th and 7th grade- I fell in love with swimming on a summer league team and decided to put away my tap shoes for good. I joined a year-round team called Excel Aquatics- and never looked back!
Swimming slowly started playing a very important role in my life, especially in high school and college. I was able to meet some amazing friends, my first true love, travel all over the U.S. for meets, and even score a scholarship to swim for Western Kentucky University! My swimming career goes hand in hand with all my high school and college memories, and is something I'll cherish forever.
After graduating college with a Marketing degree- I immediately started selling cable advertising to local companies around Nashville. However, it didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't ready for an outside sales job at 23 years old. I needed more structure. I decided to wait tables at a Japanese Hibachi Restaraunt until I figured out "what I wanted to be when I grew up." About a year later, I started working as an inside sales rep at Service Source, renewing service contracts for hardware/software products. I've been there for the past 3 years and have been given some amazing opportunties, such as living abroad in Singapore for 3 months last winter to help lead our sales team in Southeast Asia! All in all, that is a rough timeline of my life up until now.
So you're probably wondering what in the world inspired me to leave the corporate lifestyle and my family/friends to travel the world as a missionary, with nothing but a backpack for 11 months……..
That's because I left out some pretty major details of all the personal struggles and life challenges that I've faced, especially over the past 6 years, which have only helped shape who I am today.
As a young girl, I always had a pretty close relationship with God. However, as I got older- this began to fade. I slowly started becoming "too busy" for God and more concerned with other people's opinions/expectations. I lost track of my priorities and started living life on my terms…. rather than God's terms. When things would happen in my life that seemed unfair or didn't turn out the way I wanted…. I would get upset with God. When prayers weren't answered on my time, I was quick to abandon my faith and trust in God.
After going through an extremely hard break-up in college, as well as watch my parents go through a rough divorce at the age of 22- I experienced a lot of pain and rejection. I didn't understand why things weren't happening the way I wanted them to. I chose to give up completely on waiting for God's answers and run from the pain. My life turned into one hell of a roller coaster ride of ups and downs- resulting in drinking binges, nights spent in jail, periods of guilt and loss of self-respect, as well as frequent states of anxiety. Don't get me wrong- my life wasn't completely terrible. I managed to stay extremely successful in the eyes of others for the most part, especially in the corporate world. However, my faith and inner relationship with God was faltering. I was living life in a constant state of complacency, with little meaning.
However….God is SO much BIGGER than any problems in my life and He never left my side. He continued to tug on my heart and place a strong desire to re-kindle the relationship that I once had with Him.
When I was given the opportunity to live in Singapore for those 3 months last winter- I truly believe that in a way, God was preparing me for The World Race. Even though I missed my family and friends tremendously- it was during my time spent on the other side of the world, that I finally answered that strong desire to re-connect with God. I started going to Church. At first, I would just go every Sunday….but soon found myself wanting to go more often, since they offered a mass after work, during the week days. I always felt a sense of peace in my heart and knew that I was right where I needed to be.
Even after "giving up on God" in a way- or living in a state of complacency towards my faith, as soon as I started reaching back out- He was there with open arms. I truly felt His Mercy and Forgiveness on that trip.
After returning back to the U.S. – I went back to my normal routine of "life," but always had this strong desire to want to go on a mission trip of some kind. So about a month ago, I started searching "mission trips" on the Internet and sure enough- I came across The World Race. I started reading people's blogs and found myself wanting to experience the miracles that they were experiencing every day in those countries. I told myself I would apply and see what happens. I continued to take it one day at a time…..and here I am, putting together fundraising ideas and spreading the word to my family and friends!
I'm SO excited that I was selected to go on this Journey in 2013!!! I can't wait to see how God continues to transform me and use me to spread His Name and Merciful Message throughout The Nations!!
If you wish to help make my dream a reality- PLEASE click the 'Support Me' tab on the upper left corner of your screen to place a donation.
Thank you for reading this and supporting me in my journey!!!
Pamela
