As a true Floridian, my heart is definitely at Disney World and the beach. I grew up in Gainesville, Florida with my five younger siblings; was homeschooled most of my life and went on to attend the University of Florida. I’m currently working on my Masters degree at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.
I have worked in missions for the last three years living in several areas such as rural Kentucky, New York City (Brooklyn), Birmingham Alabama, New Orleans (pre-Katrina) and Minneapolis (where I live now). I have been in Youth Ministry for 5 years now and have a heart and passion for teenagers and young adults.
As far as hobbies go, I am a pop-culture junkie and, more importantly, an obsessive Survivor fan (I have taped every episode for 11 seasons). I love games in any form and do logic puzzles for fun. I love volleyball, swimming, movies, Shane Bernard and LOST. I am very musical having taken 6 years of classical piano, 3 years of French Horn and several years of vocal / choir training. I have led worship for years and consider it an important part of my spiritual life.
As I consider WorldRace and the opportunity that lies before me, I have the overwhelming feeling that if I were not to do this trip, I would regret it for the rest of my life.I do not think I have ever doubted that this is something I need to do and desperately want to do. I see this not only as the “trip of a lifetime” but as the greatest training experience for where I feel God calling me in the future. In prayer and preparation for this trip, there are two things I desire:
1) That God would forever keep me in a place where I must be dependant on Him. I have struggled with self-reliance my entire life and it has only been through significant ministry experiences where I have had to rely on Him fully.
2) That I would see the world as it truly is. That I would not focus on the beautiful buildings, the spectacular nature or the extravagance that a culture may be able to affront – but that I would see people. It’s uncomfortable to see people in need, to see them hurting. I am reminded of how we shy away from these people – the people that need us most.
I see this trip an integral to my personal and professional growth – it truly is the desire of my heart to participate and experience all that God has to offer through a trip like this.
