I currently work in college admissions. I love the students, my coworkers, most of my travel, and the interaction with people from all over the country (and world). However, as of late, I have felt a calling to help those in need around the world and bring hope and love to those that need it most. Here is a little bit of insite to what led me to where I am today:
In college, I studied abroad in Argentina for 3 weeks. Though it was not a missions related trip, it changed my life and broke my heart for the poor. We spent most of our time learning spanish, but we visited many parts of the city where we were staying- Rosario, including an elementary school in one of the poorest parts of the city. The children were amazing! I wanted to stay there for the rest of my trip and help rebuild the school and play with the children. They danced for us and sang for us and as we left, my heart yearned to stay with them. The language barrier in Argentina was hard for me, but I seemed to pick up spanish really quickly. I loved it there. I loved learning the new culture, meeting new people, trying new foods, and the entire cultural emersion experience. I distinctly remember walking to school the day before we left for the United States with the plan to give the homeless man that I passed daily the last of my pesos, as I would no longer need them. He wasn't there. Again, my heart was broken. I wanted to do more- to stay longer with a new charge, not to better myself, but to help those that were all around that desperately needed help.
After I returned from Argentina, I still had a year left of college and missions travel seemed like a distant dream. My senior year was a whirlwind with student teaching, a snow storm of the century, friends leaving, and trying to figure out the next steps in life. I graduated and took the job in college admissions which required a lot of travel mostly on the northern east coast. I was excited to see new places and the job has taught me a lot about independence, but it also pulled me further from that longing to help people. Here I was traveling from city to city, all expenses paid, not worrying about a thing, while I was passing people on the streets that obviously needed help, love, hope, grace… Once the glamour of the job started to wear off and the travel became more routine, I started to feel the conflict pull at my heart.
Last year, I had the opportunity to travel with a university group on a cultural emersion trip to Serbia. The trip was amazing, and though we were only there for 9 days, again, it changed my life. As we drove into Belgrade on the first day, I kept thinking "this trip is not going to be glamorous at all… This city is so scary!" There was graffiti everywhere and I was not expecting the hate that the graffiti seemed to display. After a day, we started asking about the graffiti and found out that most of the messages were messages of hope and encouragement. Messages provoked by the people rising up against the communist government and regaining independence. I had completely misjudged and my mind was blown. Serbia, like Argentina, has some very poor places and the Serbian people have had a lot of hard things happen to them. I absolutely loved the country, the culture, and the people- it was amazing. There were a few things that were heavy on my heart while I was in Serbia. The thing about that struck me the deepest was that there seemed to be SO MUCH money to spend on these incredible places of worship filled with incredible murals and sculptures, but there were so many people begging in the streets. The attitude toward those people in the most need was completely negative. I defnitely listened to both sides of the story about these people, but I was really conflicted by the circumstances. I really struggled with the disconnect while I was there and still struggle with it as I think about it. As soon as I returned from Serbia, my hunger to help those in need and share the love of God was back. I just needed to find the right opportunity.
Throughout this year, I feel that more and more things have pushed me in the direction of missions work. In December, I was walking the Magnificent Mile in Chicago on a beautiful, brisk, 19 degree day and enjoying every second of my free morning before I flew home from a work trip. Chicago is my favorite city (so far) and I was so excited to have some time to explore and sightsee. The further I walked, the more I noticed the people sitting on the streets rather than the buildings that I had set out to see. I had no cash to give the people that I passed and my heart began to hurt for them. I ran into a store as I rushed to meet a co-worker for lunch before we left and bought a few last minute Christmas presents. After leaving the store, I walked to the restaurant and noticed a man a little further down the block sitting on the ground wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and only one shoe. It was 19 degrees!! My body was on auto-pilot toward this man and I was already reaching into my bag of purchases to give him everything I had bought that might keep him warm when I was intercepted by another man. He said to man on the ground, "Son, where is your jacket? Where is your shoe?" The man just shivered and shook his head. The other man then said, "Son, get up and come with me. We are getting you a coat." My eyes welled up with tears immediately. God was at work on that street. In that moment, I knew that mission work was where I needed to head with my life. I knew that I wanted God to effortlessly work through me to help those that need Him most. I knew I wanted God to guide my heart and take me wherever I am needed.
The next week, I found the World Race and I knew that it was perfect. After a lot of prayer, consideration, and patience, I am now accepted for the September 2013 trip to Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Nepal, India, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Domincan Rebublic, Haiti, and Puerto Rico! I am ready to serve, to travel, to love, to share the unconditional love of Jesus, and to let Jesus guide my life wherever I may go.
Here's to a new adventure!
