Many of you will be getting this in letter form very soon, but I wanted to make it public, as I think it’s a good starting post to begin my journey.
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for your interest and support in my plans for next year. Many of you know what these decisions are like, and you have experienced both the excitement and the stress accompanying them. I am in the midst of that mental chaos right now, so I appreciate your prayers and efforts to help me achieve my goals. Without your support, this would be impossible.
So, this is just a letter to let you know how your hard work, thoughts, and/or prayers have influenced me. Beginning in September 2015 and ending in May of 2016, I will…
…not be going to college. God has something different in mind.
Every since freshman year of high school, I have been (at times overwhelmingly) concerned about my plans for college and how I was going to achieve the highest marks, most impressive resume, and best scholarships. I labored over the decision of which colleges to apply to and our financial situation and what I really wanted to do with my life. Finally, as the time came to receive acceptance letters from colleges, I thought I had everything planned out: I was going to go to California Baptist University, study psychology and Biblical studies, and become the best Christian and educated citizen I could be. Many people helped me with this goal: my teachers wrote me eloquent recommendation letters, and my parents were even about to spend a good sum of money to send me out there to experience the campus in-depth.
Until a couple months ago. I can’t describe the events or thoughts that pushed me over the edge of uncertainty, but for about two weeks in December, I had no idea what I was doing. College right out of high school has always been a must for me because my school and parents brought me up that way, but it wasn’t until I realized that going straight to college wasn’t a mandatory assignment due by the deadline of this summer that I could admit to myself what I truly have a passion and drive to do: mission work.
I am still going to college, because I still have a love for learning and a respect for a college education, but it won’t be this year. Instead, from September to May, I will be visiting 3 countries for 3 months each with Adventures in Missions (AIM) as part of their World Race Gap Year program. I will be traveling to and through Thailand, South Africa, and Nicaragua with a group of people my age to serve and experience and break and grow. We will be backpacking, meeting new people, experiencing an eclectic group of cultures, and serving wherever God puts us depending on the needs of the community.
And I am immeasurably excited. The truth is that I don’t know what I want to study, what I want to do with my life, or where I want to end up in a few years, but I know that I don’t have to know. God knows, but all He is telling me right now is that I am called to this adventure, and that it is the right time.
Many of you are aware of the mission trips God has sent me on and you may even have heard me try (and fail) to describe the ways in which they changed my heart and my perspective. God has shown Himself to me in the most beautiful ways, and with every epiphony and deep breath and prayer, He gives me a stronger desire to take His hand and dive into this world with Him. Many of you will receive another letter and a phone call from me as I live out the process of preparation for this new, colossal, life-altering journey. This will be the largest event I have ever had the chance to undertake, but to God it is yet another small moment in time that He will use for the glory of His kingdom, and that is what excites me the most.
So, thank you for praying and thinking about me and being a part of my life. I appreciate those of you in my life more than you can imagine, and I hope that you will continue to be a part of my life, wherever my Father takes it.
Love,
Olivia
