To introduce myself a little more I would like to share a little bit of my Testimony and how it is that I stumbled upon The World Race. I was born into a Christian family with my parents and one older brother. I was born in Somerset, PA where we lived until I was 8 when we moved to Ennis, TX just south of Dallas. This is where I primarily grew up, participated in sports, extracurriculars, and youth group. After my Freshman year of high school I went to a FUGE camp in Glorieta, NM where I recommitted my life to Christ because I realized that my faith was contained to Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. The life of a Christian is not a box that can be set aside until it is convenient to pick it up, it should be a brand that everyone sees when they see you! I had this realization and quickly blossomed into a reckless Christian that thought they were living life correctly amongst a secular society. Halfway through my junior year of high school my family moved to Elmira, NY which is where I currently reside with my Mom when I am not at school.
The move to New York is when my life began to go from a casual swim in the kiddie pool to a sunken ship in the middle of the ocean. This sounds like a dramatic analogy but my whole life had seemed like a cake walk up until this point. Just before my senior year my Dad became sick and was hospitalized with extreme numbers in high blood pressure. This was a foreign thing to me, having my Dad in a vulnerable position. My Dad was always the top of the mountain, hardworking, connoisseur that never took a sick day. He eventually would recover from this illness and get back to work but things never looked the same.
During the Fall semester of my Sophomore year in college my Dad was let go from his job which supported my family financially in every way. Soon after losing his job my Dad’s health drastically declined and we had no idea what was wrong. Sometimes it seems like the worst thing is simply the fact that you have no idea what is wrong. In and out of the hospital with seizures and other health concerns God answered our prayers, but definitely not in the way that we were hoping. In March 2015 my Dad was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. I do not think that I have ever experienced a combination of emotions like this before. Relief of finally knowing but knowing that my Dad had 3 months to live. So we did what any family in this situation wold do, we prayed, without ceasing. We knew that God could heal my Dad and prayed that whatever God’s plan was that we would trust Him.
On Father’s Day of 2015, while I was in morning worship at FUGE camp in Glorieta, NM God took my Dad home into eternity. The hardest moment of my life. I was in New Mexico leading my old youth group through a week of growing with God, my Dad passed away in New York. The camp where I recommitted my life to Christ. All of a sudden this camp, a simple physical location, became the place which holds life and death for me. My new life in Christ, and the moment I had to say goodbye to my Dad two thousand miles away. I stayed at camp that week to finish the ministry that I have committed my life to, because my Dad always taught me to finish what I started. The growth that took pace that week amongst my students was one that I will never forget. The pain that I experienced that day was far overpowered by the immense joy of that week. The story I was able to tell my students about my father helped them understand the love of God and how no matter much you wish you could control your own destiny, God’s story will always win.
Looking back on the week my Dad passed away a sense of purpose and adventure was engraved upon my heart. Being in the mountains of New Mexico and seeing the life that is before me guided me to look deeper at what I could do in this world, because I grew up in the comfort of what was familiar. I was tired of familiar and easy. I wanted more of this great big world that my Dad always talked about. I had node of what I wanted to after college. All I knew was that I wanted to further the kingdom of God and travel. The World Race does exactly that. My journey for the World Race is one of opportunity and discovery. Opportunity to spread the name of God and at the same time discover who I am and how my story fits into God’s story, because God’s story will always guide my story.
