Hi all! Welcome to my little corner of the Internet.
My name is Allison. I am 21 years old and a senior at The Ohio State University. I will graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May of 2019 and hope to one day attend graduate school to become a certified nurse midwife (CNM). Currently, I have a part-time job as a patient-care assistant (PCA) at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where I’m gaining experience at the bedside to prepare for the day I become a practicing nurse. I love living in Columbus and I hope to stay here for a while (after I return, of course)!
I’m originally from a small-town on the east side of Cleveland, called Aurora, OH. I grew up with a mom, dad, two sisters, and a brother. My mom raised us in the Catholic faith under tradition (my dad was atheist), but I lacked a relationship with Jesus. We went to church most Sundays and I went through PCR, but that was the extent of my spiritual life.
In my opinion, my childhood looked fairly “perfect” from the outside. In God’s opinion, nothing is perfect without Him. I had to learn this concept the hard way. On July 20th, 2015, only a few weeks before my 18th birthday, my dad committed suicide. I was so angry at God. How could He take away my biggest hero, provider, and cheerleader, and expect life to move on and be okay? It was undoubtedly the hardest time of my life, especially because one month later I left home to start college.
As if my dad leaving me and my family didn’t already make me feel alone and isolated, going to college amplified those feelings enormously. I felt I had absolutely no one to turn to that would understand. Therefore, I thought I should give God a chance. I prayed for the first time in my life at my own leisure. It became a necessary routine. I couldn’t get through my day without having a conversation with the only One who knew me and could understand what I was going through. I started listening to worship music. I started going to church out of my own desire, rather than of my mom’s. I joined a Bible study. I threw myself into any and every Christian-related thing I could find. It was at this point that God became my rock. He became my Hero, my Provider, and my biggest Cheerleader. He took over every role my earthly dad once held in my life and He never failed me or let me down. My faith skyrocketed that year after my dad passed because God took away my everything so that I could find everything in Him.
After my first year of college, I found my home church in Columbus: Rock City Church. Here I found my community. I started to serve in the nursery and at their partner organization, the Columbus Dream Center (a non-profit that exists to serve the underserved with food, showers, laundry, medical care, and spiritual guidance). The Holy Spirit began to convict me through every sermon I heard on Sundays. The Lord started to slowly, but surely, change my life to look more like His.
Currently in my “free” time, I love to serve at the Columbus Dream Center, travel, spend time with my family, explore Columbus, and try new vegan restaurants. However, wherever I end up in this life, I feel called to work with women and children. I would love to become a midwife because I believe the miracle of life is the most beautiful and brilliant of God’s creations and I want to play a part in that season of families’ lives.
Through nursing school, I have found some of my spiritual gifts to be compassion and serving others. I find joy in serving “the least of these” and being the light in the lives of others who feel surrounded by darkness. I have noticed that when I pour my heart into the service of others, God overflows my heart tenfold with compassion for these people. This is why I chose the World Race.
I stumbled upon an advertisement for the Race a little over a year ago and found it absolutely incredible, but something that other, more qualified people would do. I also did not at the time feel called to long-term ministry. I had a plan for my life, which included graduating nursing school, working for a few years, going to graduate school, working for a few more years, and then getting married and having lots of babies. The Race was a dream, but I pushed it to the back of my mind because it was outside of my original plan. I almost forgot about it until about six months ago when I found out that a couple of my friends were preparing to leave for the Race. I followed their preparation journeys and started to pray about taking that leap of faith as well.
After going on a short-term mission trip to San Salvador this past summer, I confirmed my thoughts to apply. I loved every single moment of my trip and I wanted more. It was during that one week in San Salvador that I decided to ditch my own plan and lean into the better plan that God had been preparing. I applied, got accepted, and here I am! I decided to say the biggest “yes” so far in my life (other than saying “yes” to accept Jesus, of course), and I couldn’t be more excited to be here. Although this whole process is daunting and way too big for me to walk through on my own, I am grateful that I trust a God bigger than me, who I know will work it out in my favor. I believe if I trust Him, He will take care of me.
However, my biggest need right now is prayer. I need prayer for this whole journey! Fundraising, preparing mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, and leaving my whole family and all of my friends for a year is overwhelming to think about at the moment, so prayers for peace in the process are much needed. Prayers for my mom especially, who is (just a bit) skeptical of this whole 11-month/11-country travel idea. I pray that God would not only give her the comfort to know that He is taking care of me during the Race, but that He will also take care of her when I am gone.
Thank you all for sticking through this long-winded story of my life! If you have any questions or comments, please reach out. I’m so excited to take you all on this journey with me!
Much love,
Allison
