I’m a little late on this announcement (kind of a lot late oops) but the countries I’ll be calling home next year are Romania, India, and Costa Rica!!
When the route selections came out, I almost immediately narrowed it down to two routes (route 3 and 5). Route 3 would’ve taken me to eSwatini, Ethiopia, and Cambodia. Route 5, the one I chose, gives me the opportunity to travel to the three countries I mentioned above (Romania, India, and ending in Costa Rica)! Writing this, I am beyond excited about my route and so very thankful that it’s the one I chose, but if I’m being honest, I didn’t feel that way the first time I looked at the options. Going to Africa has always been a dream of mine, and I’ve pictured myself serving there for a long time. On the other hand, I’ve always wanted to go to Europe, and I’ve also taken 11 years of Spanish classes. Naturally, this would have led me to a route in Europe, Africa, and Central/South America, but that wasn’t an option.
Now confused about which route to choose, I looked back at the options I had. It felt silly to neglect all the years of Spanish that I had taken, but at the same time, it seemed disappointing to choose a route without Africa – the place I have always dreamed of doing mission work. As I spent the day in prayer and talking to my family, I couldn’t get route 5 off my mind. Even though it would be preventing me from living in Africa for three months, I would get to speak Spanish, travel to Europe (Romania for that matter!!) and serve in India, the country with the largest amount of unreached people in the world. And my excitement towards this route only grew. I submitted the form, choosing Route 5 and I couldn’t be more happy about it :)) I’m already in touch with the other people going on my route and it’s already a blast – I am absolutely looking forward to doing life with them in less than a year (wow) and here’s a glimpse of what I’ll be doing in each place:
Romania! We’ll be in Draganesti Olt, serving alongside Hope Church with a focus of evangelism, Bible distribution, and community outreach!
India! We will be partnering with Bibles for the World in Manipur, India, to plant churches and evangelize in the area! (side note: I am so pumped to spend Christmas in India, I can’t wait to see what the Lord has for us :))
Costa Rica! We’re going to join the Adventures in Missions San Jose base to do sports ministry, kids ministry, manual labor, and community outreach!
That’s just a small picture of all that the Lord has for me as I serve Him next year, and I want you thank you guys, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for supporting and encouraging me through this process – we serve a great God
