This is the year that I turn 20. To be more specific this is the week that I turn 20! Counting down it’s exactly 5 days; you could say that I’m a little excited.
Your twenties are supposed to be spectacular, the time of your life. The golden age, the time to make mistakes and learn from them. Your crazy adventure years, your summer loves, the time when your best friends truly become your family. The time when your identity takes form and your faith solidifies.
Now I know, realistically, that your twenties entail a lot more than these romantic ideas. Your twenties are your “make it or break it years”- the years where you define the career you will carry into your thirties. The years you start buying vegetables for yourself at the grocery store because you no longer have the metabolism of a fifteen year old. The years you start buying groceries period and paying rent. It’s all of these things and more.
As a twenty year old I am leaving to go abroad for 9 months! I leave for launch in Atlanta, Georgia in exactly 19 days! If you compiled all of my ambitions and my desires from the time I was thirteen until the present, this trip is still more than I ever expected to experience. It requires maturity, an attitude of service, creativity, openness, courage, and faith. I pray for these qualities to embed themselves in my character everyday and I pray that most of all that God will continue to cultivate them in me.
In approximately 21 days I will be flying to Costa Rica to spend the first three months of this mission serving with my team! At the end of this month I will be donating another $1000 to my mission fund from my personal bank account; this mission is something that I am heavily invested in not only spiritually and emotionally, but financially as well. This means that as of this week I only need $2,431!! What an incredible miracle of God to be so close to being fully funded! I can hardly believe that I made it through training camp and that I am this close to launch.
As I approach my twenties I am reaching out for prayer. I don’t want to live in an idealistic fantasy of what my life will be but I also know that my creator shapes reality itself, and anything is possible! I ask that whenever I cross your mind that you pray prayers leading me towards wisdom, compassion, courage, and strength. I want to be guided by God’s hand in my life always and I can’t wait to step into this new chapter.
So. My Birthday. Do you know what birthdays mean??? PRESENTS. This year, for my big 2-0, I would like to ask YOU for something. I need 100 people to donate $24 to my fundraising account to be fully funded. If you can’t donate $24 (the price of a target t-shirt) then I ask you to please consider forwarding my blog to a friend you believe would be interested in supporting me enter the mission field fully funded.
To be fully funded would take a huge weight off of my shoulders. It would mean that all of my medical insurance, food, necessities, boarding, and transportation for 9 months was completely covered. It would also bring my teammates peace of mind to know that I won’t have to leave the mission field around month 7 because I ran out of funds. This money is life-changing; it not only provides for me and the life that God has called me to walk into but it provides the means to spread the Gospel to the nations and to truly be love to the people God places in my teams’ path. I have full confidence that God will provide for my needs- He already has. I am just asking that you join me in what God is doing also, it is such an incredible journey to be apart of! I am so excited to see what this year holds, the beginning of my twenties, the start of steady vegetables, and the assurance of a spirit-filled walk! May we always remember the golden years.
Twenty Things About Me For Twenty Years of Life:
- I’ve been a barista for a year now and I love it- mostly because it feeds my caffeine addiction.
- I’ve ridden an ELEPHANT!! (peep my face, I’m gasping with excitement)
- I have a little (not so little, it’s crazy how old she is, freshman in high-school) sister whose an INCREDIBLE artist- hit her up in the next year and she’ll paint for you!
- I plan to live in flannels and t-shirts for the rest of my life.
- I was called to preach the gospel when I was 17 and have continued to preach and write sermons since that calling.
- I designed my tattoo when I was 16.
- I’ve lived in four different states (Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, & Virginia)
- I LOVE COCONUT coconut icecream, coconut brownies, coconut iced coffee, you name it I love it.
- I want to study environmental engineering and international relations in college so I can continue to work on global infrastructure, farming techniques, water facilities, and environmental consciousness throughout my future career.
- I LOVE JESUS( so so much!)
- My family game nights are pretty lit; hit me up and you can be invited! I can promise snacks, hot tea/coffee, and at least 3 rounds of various high-stakes games to win more snacks.
- Animals and I are consistently at odds; I have been chased by a herd of cows, attacked by a flying turkey in my car, been run over by a horse, stung by 13 bees in one summer, and been bitten in the face by a dog(which I have retained a nice little scar from) but no biggie. This year abroad should be interesting.
- I love anything outside- hiking, fishing, kayaking, exploring, swimming. You name it- especially if it involves the ocean-I’m game for it.
- I have a goal to learn Spanish, sign language, and French in my lifetime.
- I (medically) don’t have depth perception so I drop and run into a lot of things. All.The.Time.
- I pick a new favorite color from the sky everyday during the sunrise or sunset.
- I am NOT a morning person. That being said, all things are possible through Christ who strengthens me. Just pray hard folks.
- One of my favorite memories growing up is when I used to play tag, yes TAG, with a racehorse named Bibi on my grandparents farm in Oklahoma. It was magical.
- I have gone snorkeling in Haiti! (During an off day from an incredible mission experience)
- God has been inspiring me to sculpt, write, and paint some art pieces lately so stay tuned for new projects!
