Hi everyone and welcome to my blog! My name’s Heidi and I’m from a suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills. In high school I began to develop a heart for the broken as I became particularly interested in abnormal psychology. These interests continued to be fostered as I moved off to Loyola University Chicago-an amazing, Social Justice oriented school that taught me what it means to be a person for others.
Freshmen year of college was an earth shattering, life changing experience that cannot be summed up in a paragraph. During this time I began attending a campus fellowship group and a Vineyard Church. Although I was raised Catholic, this was the first time I experienced true relationship with the real, living God. I experienced the presence and love of the Holy Spirit and I’ll never be the same, truly ruined for anything other than God’s perfect love.
Fast forward three years to graduation and the start of my present life. I am currently a Teach For America Teacher in a low-performing school in St. Louis. Although teaching science in St. Louis wasn’t the plan I had for myself when I applied for Teach For America, it turned out to be the plan God had for me (funny how that happens). Over the past 2 years I have taught over 300 amazing middle schoolers who have made incredible academic gains in science despite coming in grade levels behind where they should be. Teaching in an underperforming, urban school has been the most challenging, eye opening experience of my life, and the ways in which it has changed me and shaped my worldview are still being revealed to me.
Although I had planned to go to grad school for social work in the fall, God has called me to the World Race and I couldn’t be more excited! It has become increasingly apparent to me these past two years that the things of this world will never bring me true joy. I no longer want to define myself and my worth by the standards defined by this culture. Discontent with the possibility of a future of going through the motions, I want to experience true joy through knowing and experiencing God and following Her will. I cannot wait to live in TRUE community with fellow believers, see more of God’s beautiful creation, serve others, and learn to hear God’s voice more clearly.
