About Me

 

                          

 

I have been very fortunate to have two amazing women in my life who are sources of wisdom and encouragement for me; they are my mother and my older sister. The road has not been easy for us, yet we have been there for each other in every step of the way, and continue to do so.
 

                                 

I am also very fortunate to have two little angels in my life whom mean the world to me: my nephew Mikey and my niece Katie. They are the only ones who have permission to call me “Tia Chochis.”

So what would drive a girl to move from a city like Washington, D.C. to a little town like Indiana? Well, in my case the quick answer would be education; the more interesting answer would be…because that is what God had planned for me. Growing up in Arlington was nothing shy of exciting! However, I knew that life had something more for me, and I learned very early in life how to follow Gods call (even though at that time I did not consider it being Him calling me, I thought it only as my “gut feeling”) and so I left Arlington and went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). It took me changing my major 6 times to finally end up in the department that is perfect for me: Geography and Regional Planning. Once I graduate in May I will have two degrees under my belt: Environmental Regional Planning and Geography with a focus in GIS/Cartography. Never would I had imagined I would end up working and making maps! I went into college as a Pre-Physical Therapy major and now…well I am a geographer…just goes to show that what I had planned for my life was no were near what God had in mind.

 

 

God had many reasons aside from me receiving an education in Indiana however. It was here that I really got to accept God into my life and let Him take charge. It was through Grace United Methodist that I learned what it was to have a relationship with God (That story is for another blog however…which is the next one!). This relationship has led me to serve in many different states and countries, and it was through each one of these experiences that my walk with God got even more personal and I let myself go and let God guide me…in other words…I began to learn the true meaning of walking by faith, and now here I am…about to leave everything behind and travel to 11 different countries in 11 months with people whom I have never met before, yet I know will become my family, and together we will go and spread the Word! How Exciting!

Overall, I am madly in love with our Lord and father Jesus Christ. I find myself every day wanting to be more like Him, to serve and love like He did, and to show others the power of His love and Kingdom. I recently heard a pastor teach about having a Shepherds Heart. He referenced the story about the 99 sheep and the one that went astray. His message was to be crazy about sheep, which was a metaphor of course for all of God’s children. We must be crazy about everyone, so that when one of them goes astray, we must not rest until we get that one “sheep” back. I want to have a shepherd’s heart, I want to spread and share the love of God, and not rest until all of Gods children have heard the good news!