I can remember praying one morning, when suddenly God placed a simple, yet daunting question in my heart: What would I do if I lost everything I had? What if I wasn’t afforded a good education, clean clothes, a comfortable bed, awesome friends, and a loving family? What if everything that I take advantage of was suddenly lost? This is when God convicted me. I can remember him gently telling me that “His Kingdom in Heaven is worth more than all I could own or ever dream of.” Ever since that point I have come to one conclusion that has guided my decision to take a Gap Year: Jesus is worth losing everything for. He is worth losing the comforts in my life. He is worth taking a leap of faith. And for his glory, I am all in. I am willing to give up everything to serve him. And if I am being honest, I don’t feel called to mission. I feel like I was created, by God, to take the Gospel where no one wants to go. 

With this in mind, I will be taking a 9 month Gap Year mission trip to Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and Cambodia, where I, and 40 other graduating high school students will be working with local orphanages and organizations to teach english, work on service project and share the power of the Gospel.There is one critical need for billions worldwide: Jesus. And I want to play a part in what God is doing to bring the Gospel across the globe. Although I have a lot of fears/worries such as traveling half way across the world, contracting diseases, missing holidays with my family, raising enough funds and language barriers, I am confident that God will provide in every aspect as long as I trust in him.

Since I signed up pretty late, things have been hectic. I have realized that through the support of everyone in my faith family, and ultimately through God, I will be an ordinary person, living out an extraordinary life for the sake of the Gospel. I hope that you all can support me through prayer as I journey through this next year.