Who am I? What’s my story? Well, I’m still in the process of figuring that out, but here is what I’ve got so far. I grew up in Ohio where I moved a couple times, but I always attended a Christian school and had a loving and supportive home and family. My journey to Christ was a gradual process, filled with awesome friends and mentors who poured into my life.
I attended the University of Cincinnati where I studied mechanical engineering. I became heavily involved with a Christian group on campus called The Navigators. I grew a lot in my relationship with God and started to take more ownership of what God meant to me in the first couple years at school. College was a great time and I enjoyed the fellowship and community that was so easily accessible.
During my sophomore year at school I started doing internships that supplemented my studies. Through this, I was able to see what I would potentially be doing after obtaining my degree. I also became involved with a couple service oriented group on campus. One was Engineers Without Borders. In this group our team used our individual skills to help develop solutions to a water problem in Kenya. The other group was Serve Beyond Cincinnati and through this group I took a trip to Mexico and led a trip to help with disaster relief in New Orleans. While all of this was going on, something began to stir inside. I wasn’t sure God was calling me to get my degree and then take the typical job after graduation.
After months of searching and seeing potential opportunities come and go, I took a temporary job in California. While living there I found a volunteer opportunity that I felt I should pursue. After living in California for nine months, I packed up my belongings, dropped most of them off at my parent’s house in Ohio, and headed to Haiti.
I worked in Haiti for about six months doing water filtration. I went with so many questions…what does it look like to follow Christ, to give everything, what is my calling, am I supposed to volunteer overseas long-term. My hope was that I’d find some answers and more clarity, but what I found was that I returned from Haiti with more questions than when I left. There is so much that I’ve been confronted with and so many things I’ve had to wrestle with God about….but that’s good. I’d rather be questioning and struggling than feeling like I have to suppress who God made me to be. I don’t have life figured out and I realize I never will, but I’m finally realizing that’s alright and God can still use me in the broken state I’m in.
I’m always wondering what God is up to and what He might call me into next. I had been looking at the World Race for a while, thinking it might be the next step. I love adventures, meeting new people, being challenged, and being part of what God is doing here on earth. I know God is going to show up big and do amazing things in so many lives through this experience.
Let the race begin!
