Well hello, fellow Internet user! Let’s hope you’re here to learn more about me, Tara Santi, and my gap year, because that’s what I’m going to talk about.
First, a little basic information about me. I’m 18 years old and I just graduated from the IB program at Lakewood High School in Colorado. I love music and playing the flute, I am a complete nerd, and I love to write. Currently I’m working on my Chaco tan this summer as I hike in the extraordinary Colorado Rockies. I have a bad habit of playing with my ears and if I can make a reference to Pirates of the Caribbean in any given situation, I will.
In the summer of 2014 while I was working at a Christian camp, I felt that God was tugging on my heart. As I was able to take a step back from the school year during the summer, I realized what He was trying to tell me: I basically worshiped academics. Instead of putting God first in my life and working to please Him, I was interested only in what I could do for school. But I didn’t know how to change my behavior – senior year would be very stressful and then I would be headed off to college somewhere to start the whole process over again. But as I listened to the passionate missionaries talk to the kids at camp, I realized that perhaps God had other plans for me. And for the first time in my life I considered taking a year away from my routine before attending college. I wanted to do something for God.
It was a long journey that finally led me here, to the World Race and Adventures in Missions. But I am confident that this is the program for me. Centered on Christ-like relations, the World Race will take me to El Salvador, Malawi, and the Philippines to be God’s hands, feet, and voice in the world. In the nine months that I am traveling, I will be doing everything from teaching English to volunteering at churches to simply playing with children. The beauty of this program is that our activities are not meticulously planned out – we are open and receptive to God’s calling each and every day.
If you’ve gotten this far and believe that my endeavor is a worthy one, I humbly ask that you contribute to my fundraising effort. And I would say this: you do not have to be a Christian to support me. Much of the work we will be doing is simply humanitarian: a struggle to lessen in any way the pain, inequality, and violence that disfigure our world. If that is something you applaud, then I hope you can find it in your heart to support me. Whether you have much to give or very little, my gratitude is the same. In donating you would be helping not only to change my life for the better, but all those who I may touch in my journey.
There should be an orange button along the right side of my blog that says Support Me if you would like to make a donation online. There is also a Support Me button bullet in blue on the left. Checks are also an option, though they take a few weeks to process. Please mail them to Adventures in Missions, PO Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374-2570.
If you have any questions, please comment here or go to the Contact section. I would love to hear any questions, comments, or concerns that you might have. As my launch date nears, I am getting more and more excited about this gap year. I hope you can share in my enthusiasm for what the year might bring! Thank you!
