Sporting my neon yellow shades and matching t-shirt, I braved another venturous day, saving the lives of southern urban youth. The patron’s skills of cursing out lifeguards far outshone their nautical skills and abilities. Sitting on a lifeguard stand in the blazing heat of a North Carolina August day in the middle of the ghetto, I had an epiphany… this is not where I am meant to be. 
I had spent the summer breaking up fights and fighting off meth addicts and brown recluse spiders. It was stressful, it was exciting, and it was a learning experience to say the least. However, my $80,000 bachelors of Science degree was burning a hole in my pocket, utterly useless, as I chose to perch myself on a lifeguard stand instead of a lab bench or a clinical setting.
At the same time, God was burning a hole in my heart. Missionary work was the clear answer. Pack up and go. Here I am lord….send me.
So, logically, I packed up, moved 900 miles north to Boston MA, and took a job as a physical therapy aide in a rehabilitation hospital. I pulled a Jonah, knowing exactly where/what I was called for and chose to totally ignore the call. Granted, I have yet to be swallowed by a large fish, or thrown overboard from a sea-bearing vessel during a hurricane, but the life of a rehab tech is not easy.
At a volleyball game one night at my alma mater, I talked to my friend Brittany, who is going on the July trip. She told me of her plans and instantly I knew this was meant for me. I asked if she wouldn’t mind if I applied and she told me to go for it. This still wasn’t enough for me to apply. I filled out the application and just let it sit in cyberspace limbo for months and months and months. I meandered around the point. I kept trying to run away, looking for more long term and better paying work. I ran and I ran and I ran, pushing God farther and farther away.
One night I had a dream. I woke up in a cold sweat, crying and shaken. I felt compelled to turn on my computer. As though I was on autopilot, I brought up my application, submitted it, and set up an interview time. Approximately 8 days later, I was officially a member of the September 2010 trip. I still have no idea what that dream was about, however, I was accepted and now have no choice but to go. I guess I am more like Jonah than I thought, because here I am….off to do God’s will.
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