Hi all! My name is Esther. I’m 25 years old living in Charlotte, North Carolina. I recently graduated from UNC Charlotte with a Communication Studies degree which basically just means I can talk your ear off. I’m a huge fan of the outdoors: hiking, camping, rock climbing – you name it, I’m game! I have a miniature polar bear (Great Pyrenees), named Salem and the sweetest little ferret named Luna (impulse purchase…still trying to figure that one out). Family and friends are a high priority in my life – God has blessed me with a great group of people and truly can’t thank Him enough for that. I am so beyond excited that you’re here, reading what I can only explain as potentially the greatest adventure of my life. But, I would be doing Jesus an injustice if I didn’t let you in to the ‘not so attractive’ part of my life. It’s not easy bringing up the past, but I know for fact that without these shackles, I wouldn’t be here writing the ‘About Me’ section on my World Race blog.
Three years ago, I didn’t exactly have the best relationship with the Lord. I lived the life I wanted and didn’t think twice about honoring my Father. While I was still in school, I fulfilled my then life-goal of being a college cheerleader. I worked my tail off to be the best I could. Safe to say, I idolized cheerleading and who I was because of the uniform I wore. I think you can guess what happens next! While performing at an event, I tore my labrum and was told I would be out for a whole year. I was absolutely devastated considering I found my identity in the titles I held: cheerleader, sorority girl and so on. I felt lost and broken. Everything I had worked for slipped right out of reach. Randomly, a friend of mine in my sorority invited me to an overnight FCA event. I knew I had nothing going on and felt like getting away would help the pain I was feeling. At this event, the one I was so hesitant on attending, is where I was stripped from the falsehood I was living and gave my life to Jesus Christ. Long story short, I’ve never been the same since.
Today, I’m sitting here writing to whomever has landed on my blog. I’m here writing about how God changed me. How he rescued me. I could go on and on about how incomprehensibly magnificent He is, but I would never be able stop typing! I’m here writing about this new adventure that I’m about to embark on. In nine months, I’ll be leaving home to go spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My team and I will face 11 different countries in 11 months. Those countries include:
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.
I am still sitting here pinching myself because none of this feels real! I’m not going to tell you that I’m feeling rainbows and butterflies, because that would just be a lie. I have always struggled with the unknown. But I am relying on Jesus and this calling He’s placed on my heart. I’m trusting that He’ll be there with open arms on days I’m feeling weak. I’m believing that He’ll be there rejoicing and celebrating with me on the great days. Because that is who He is and who He’s ALWAYS been. Why would He change now? And that is just ONE of the reasons why I fell in love with Him.
So welcome!! Welcome to this amazing journey with Jesus I get to be a part of. I am so excited to see and live through all that God is going to do in this time. I encourage you to stick around and embrace this ride with me! I’d love to hear from each and every one of you on all the ways Jesus is radically moving in YOUR life as well! So subscribe, comment, make grammatical corrections, whatever! Your prayers and support mean more to me than you’ll ever be able to understand. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
