Thursday, September 9, 2010







Places Ive been at in the last three years:


South Africa (The loveliest place ever)




Here, i dedicated two years to learning more about the Bible.


HU, its where im at currently.
I think to myself, how did i get here? I had never thought that I would end up at Huntington. Im amazed and in awe of all of the places that God took me, and how in the world I got here.
In high school I knew all along that I wanted to go to Bethel College and become an Elementary Teacher. I had my five year plan: Go to Bethel, meet my husband, get a job at Waterford Elementary School and live a hunky dory life for the Lord. Things changed in my senior year. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to experience what everyone had been talking about with Missions. I saw the difference that YES did for my brother Austin and I wanted that too.
So I looked around at different missions organizations and decided on REACH. How i concluded on Reach; that my mind fails to remember. I expected reach to be a wonderful fun year where I lived overseas and learned another language. As the time got closer to leaving home thats when the nerves and doubt started to fill my mind. "Was this the right timing? Was I a good enough Christian to be doing work like this? Could I keep up with my team mates?" I was filled with doubts, yet filled with excitement for what was to come.
REACH went far beyond all of my expectations. I never thought I would be facing so many of my demons; so many challenges. I was pushed past limits that I had held onto so strongly, I didn't think I could break so many things in so little time. Granted breaking old habits and broken hearts isnt just a snap of the fingers im fixed kind of thing. But I started the process of change and thats what mattered!! Training changed my life, my team changed my life; africa "ruined" who I used to be entirely. Im so glad that I was "ruined" for Jesus. Above all God did all of the work. I give all my praise to Him for the work that He did in my life during that year.
South Africa, well I could go on and on about that old boy(country) forever. :) Its hard to imagine, but when I was there I felt this sense of belonging. Like SA, was a culture that I could meld into. It was my cup of tea. Oddly I felt more at home there, than I ever had in the states where I spent my whole life! How does that happen? One can only conclude that God was doing something for me to feel that way. I fell in love with South Africa. Its been a little over two years since we left South Africa to come back to the states. That was a gut wrenching day. It wasn' t easy to leave, in a way it felt like someone broke something deep within me that day and it was pain that ive never felt before. On the plane ride home that night I was praying to God telling Him how badly I wanted to go back and live and work there. Yet God was saying something else.
I kept getting five years in my head over and over. I felt like God was saying, wait five years and see where you are. It might mean that God will call me back to South Africa then, or else it could mean that I will then be able to accept that Im not supposed to go back and im supposed to stay in missions in the states.
Once getting back home I then left within two weeks for Rosedale Bible College. Im so glad that I went there, it was a great place to transition back into the states. It was the type of bubble that I needed for re-entry. I met amazing people there that I will never forget and will always be brothers and sisters to me. I love them all dearly.
To sum this up a bit more, Im now at Huntington University; is this the right place for me? My head says ehh and God is saying yes. Just how Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh at first and I did not want to go to more college, Im here whether I like it or not. Im not kicking or screaming about it. I love this school and the people. The idea of three more years of college just sounds so blah to me! :) If one could only inject the three years of knowledge into my head right now and hand me the diploma i would do it. :)
But I know that I am here for the experience, as well as all of the aspects that I will grow in academically and spiritually.
Its been two years since africa and I'm still going through Re-entry trying to find my place in the world and struggling with that. But I trust my God that He knows what He's doing. Im here to embrace it with open arms.
I trust you God: My feet and heart are yours!