I will be attending the Fall semester DTS at YWAM Colorado Springs instead of beginning a traditional college career. This Fall I will be leaving my home state of Ohio for Colorado to pursue full time missionary work, and I thought I would share a little bit of my "why". A little over two years ago God changed my life through a random church invite. I had struggled for years with my mental health, and God showed up to meet me where I was. At the age of 16 I began to know God, and he slowly taught me who I was through him. As much as I loved attending church, it was when I started serving that truly fell in love with who God is. I first began volunteering in homeless ministry in my own city, praying with the guests and serving meals. God immediately broke my heart for the people we served, and filled me with a passion for loving his people. He showed me that I alone could never solve the problems I was seeing, or heal the hurt in these people, but in partnership with him I could represent and reflect the undying love that he has for them. I now have been volunteering for a little over a year and have been blessed with opportunities such as interning and even leading teams. Eventually God had laid it on my heart to serve past my own city and look into mission work offered through my home church. When I saw that my church offered a trip to South Africa, I felt the Lord clearly ask me to go, so I apprehensively signed myself up and made a deposit not knowing what I was doing. By the time I was a senior in high school and it was time to decide what I would go to college for, I explored several different possibilities, but I kept finding my self saying that if money did not matter I would volunteer for life. In February of my senior year, I left for my short term mission in Emanzana, South Africa. As afraid as I was, the peace of God outweighed my fears. I spent this two weeks watching God widen my perspective on how much need there truly is around the world, not only physically, but a need for the gospel and an understanding of who God really is. Our team got to pray over families that experienced loss, we got to pour the love of Jesus into children that needed it most, and we got to bring men to salvation that had never heard the hope of the gospel. The best part about it was that nothing was by our own strength, but all through Gods grace and intentionality. By the end of the week I was certain that there was nothing else I could devote my life to. I knew God was calling me to spend my life chasing after those who do not yet know him or do not yet feel his steadfast love and sweet presence. God has clearly highlighted YWAM Colorado Springs as a next step for me and I cannot wait to see what he has planned for this semester. God has picked me up from the darkest places and his love is unlike anything the world could provide. If my time in missionary work brings just one more person to know that feeling it will have been worth it. Just as all of my serving has been - it is truly an honor to take this step of faith into missionary school, to express my love to God, and I thank you for being a part of that. :)
