My first mission trip was when I was 14. I went with my youth group, parents and older brother. We went to Cuernavaca, Mexico. At that age, I don’t think I really grasped what I was seeing. I saw people living in cardboard boxes, who hadn’t eaten a real meal in weeks, and who live on nothing. It was awesome going with my family and having them set the example for me. I think a seed was definitely planted, but I didn’t realize it at the time. My next trip was when I was 15. I went on a spring break campaign to Denver, CO with my youth group (and older brother.) We helped get the word out about a new ministry called Dry Bones. It was catered towards the homeless population that lived on the streets in Denver. I was able to go back 3 years later when I was a freshmen at ACU on a spring break campaign. My youth minister and his family had moved up there and were now full time missionaries for the Dry Bones ministry. It was so neat to see how much the ministry had grown. I was able to see a couple of people who had grown so much in those 3 years, and to see the people I had heard stories about. These 3 trips were wonderful, but to be honest…they had a social aspect to them. My youth group was going. That’s why I went. I got to serve people in the process and learn more about the Lord but that was just an added bonus. At ACU, spring break is more about what campaigns you went on rather than what beach you were going to go party on. The summer after my freshmen year I stayed in Abilene and worked and went to school. It was a fun summer but I decided I needed to do something exciting the next summer and get out of Abilene. A friend of mine had joined a program called World Wide Witness that sent interns out all over the world to further the kingdom. She had gone to New Zealand. What an adventure! I decided to look into it. New Zealand’s ministry was working with jr. high and high school aged kids. When I went to visit with the guy in charge, he thought I would be a better fit with the ministry that goes to Ghana. I would get to work with an orphanage. I honestly thought that New Zealand would be more fun. I didn’t really have a desire to go to Africa. My dad was definitely thinking that New Zealand sounded safer. When I was accepted to the program, I was told I was on the Ghana team. Ok…lets see what happens was my thought! Thank you LORD! It was the most amazing experience of my life thus far. I fell in love with the children who have endured so much in their short lives and still have a faith that could move mountains. How humbling to hear someone who has no parents and only gets to eat rice most days consider themselves blessed. The next summer I went back again to the same orphanage with one of the girls I had gone with the previous summer. We decided this is what we are supposed to do with our lives. We want to start an orphanage. We want to offer resources to those children with disabilities. My sister is mentally disabled. She is one of my favorite people in the whole world and has been such a blessing in my life! She is where my passion for these kids comes from. For the past 4 years I have been trying to figure out what God wants me to do with these passions. I went on a spring break campaign with my younger brother to Huntington Beach, CA my senior year and had a great time. I was signed up for a trip to Honduras last summer but it fell through because of political unrest in the country. I have been praying that God would ‘send me.’ I have had several ‘almosts’ in the past year but a door has closed somewhere in the process. I knew that I didn’t want to go serve the Lord on my terms, but on His. I am thankful for His timing and this opportunity with doors open wide!!
