It started with 4

Four years old I embarked on a mission. I found a passion and a drive that influenced every aspect of my life. Sitting on my aunt and uncle's floor, I heard the telephone ring. My aunt turned the television on and left the room to answer the phone. This simple action changed my life. When my aunt returned, she found me in tears, terrified by the "monsters" I saw on tv.

What I didn't understand was that I had not seen frightening monsters, but an ad to help feed starving children in Africa. My aunt explained to me that in other nations there is no money to buy food, and kids get so hungry, that they end up looking like the images I saw, skin and bone.

That's when she told me about missionaries. My little world was turned upside down, and I knew from that day on, that some day I would go to Africa as a missionary.

Through out the rest of my childhood, I always felt a sense I was born to be great. Every mistake I made, I felt the conviction that I was letting down the African kids I was destined to meet. My life had a purpose, through all the hardship endured, I told myself that someday in Africa, I would look back on all this and smile because it only made me stronger.

A lot of bumps and bruises, and some downright crashing and burning through the years; no matter what living situation I was in, or what belief I put my faith in, the one thing that remained true is that I wanted to go to Africa more than any other wish in my life.

Summer before high school, I got my heart right with God, and felt stronger than ever that my calling was to be a missionary, and to be a missionary in Africa. By Sophomore year I started traveling the world with whatever opportunity arrived, all with the belief it was prepping me for Africa. Mexico, Spain, Kamiah Nez Perce, and Peru; North America, South America, and Europe; all amazing and irreplaceable experiences and all visited before graduating high school.

Then I started my first year of community college and I was faced with a crisis. I failed all of my nursing classes. It was a soul crushing defeat. I knew I was not meant to be a nurse, although that had been the plan since 5th grade. Then began the quest to figure out what it would take to get to Africa. Things were not working out with every thing I tried.

Finally I thought I should just quit college and go.


The day I determined to quit college, was the day before I saw the video about the fatal flaws in the child welfare system.

http://www.komonews.com/news/problemsolvers/70599312.html?tab=video&c=y By the time I had seen this video, I already knew child abuse prevention was something I felt passionately about, but it was while watching this video that God was able to open my eyes and see that I needed to find a career I was good at and interested in, instead of just doing whatever it took to get to Africa.

The day I learned to fully surrender myself, including my hopes and dreams, to God, was the day everything started to fall into place. I changed majors, again, to social work, and I began to love my classes, then I loved my internship, and I gained incredible experiences then I got a scholarship to a university I loved.

At four I grasped onto a dream. At nineteen I learned to give it up to do what God was calling, and now at twenty one, he has lead me down the road and has placed the opportunity to go to Africa right in front of me.

Four years ago I gave up on my dream of going to ORU. Three years ago I learned to give up all my dreams to God, and trust him that I would end up where I belonged. One year ago I trusted God to try again with ORU.

Today I write, while at ORU, announcing that I finally get to go to Africa thanks to ORU Missions.

Now here's all the trip details!
When: May 12 to June 12 2013
Where: Uganda, Africa
Doing what: Street evangelism, remote villages ministry, children's church and school, visiting orphanages.
How much: $3,500 I'll be needing lots of support financially to make it there, so be looking forward to me asking you for help!