About me….

So, I am new to this whole blog idea… I have never blogged before. I'm Shawna, born and raised in Northern Ontario Canada. In the bush. Growing up we were about a 15 minutecar drive from the nearest small town of 1200 people…. grocery shopping was another 20 minutes away! I grew up a tomboy, always outdoors… whether it was cross country skiing, hiking to the fire tower, cutting and hauling our own firewood, tapping maple trees, swimming, quadding (ATV), or on the trike(three wheeler)… I am a country bumpkin. 🙂

I must say I love it! I am definitely a family oriented person. There are 6 of us kids, and on my dads side of the family alone there are over 100 first cousins. Growing up there was always family around, and kids your own age to play with.

I was never a "normal" kid. At age 5 or 6  I had decided that I wanted to be a missionary nurse to Africa. I can't tell you why I chose Africa, just that God must have put it on my heart, because that desire has always been there. At age 13 I had started to dig into the bible and discover what it was that God wanted me to do. I really wanted to be a missionary, but had decided at this point that nursing was out of the question. I guess it was my own form of rebellion, or simply trying to find myself. On my mothers side of the family, she was a nurse, her mother was a nurse and so was my great grandmother… I simple did not want to carry on that legacy at that point in my life.

At age 16, I went on a missions trip with Operation Mobilization to London England. It was a very good experience and solidified my desire for missions. At age 18 I graduated high-school and started at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship for a 5 month schooling on the Fathers Heart. It included a missions trip to Germany and France. Here we taught the Fathers heart in schools, churches and youth groups across the countries. It was during this bible school that God told me to be a nurse. Haha… I told him no, for a couple weeks… but then decided that He has a plan, and even though I may not see it, He knows whats best.. So nursing school it was.

This was a very challenging time in my life…every semester I wanted to quit. I prayed often and grew much in Him. I was well supported by my close friends and family, however it was difficult to explain to other followers why God would ask me to do something that I hated; something I did not want to do. They wanted to know how I was so sure that God had asked me to do such a thing. I had no solid answer… I knew in my heart. God had put it there as a child and even though it had left me in adolescence, He had restored it to me… but I still didn`t like it.

It wasn`t until 2008 that God began to change my heart about nursing. He allowed me to have a break for  6 months. During this time I was able to refocus on why he had me here in Canada, and not on the mission field in Africa. God assured me that I was still in training… that He had placed the dreams within my heart and that in His timing, He would release me. I have worked as a nurse in Espanola for the last 3 years. During this time I have deepened my family relationships and created new one with coworkers. And have gone on a couple of short term missions trips to Baja Mexico.

I came across the World Race this past December. It appeared to be an opportune time. I am only renting an apartment (God told me not to buy one), my car lease comes due in March, and I have an amazing workplace that allowed me to take a year leave of absence. In December when I had asked for the year LOA from work, I also got a job offer as a nurse for the Canadian Forces. I had three days to decide, army nurse, or world race… sweet career vs once in a lifetime opportunity. I chose the race!!! It was not an easy decision. I am used to having to do hard things for God, and have been waiting to be released into my dream. I asked Him “Can I follow my heart? or is this more training?" His answer was "your heart is in the right place"

So here I am, preparing for a year of adventure, growth and love! I am so excited to `Love Them`!