this journey called life

As a young girl, I had my life perfectly mapped out. The picture I painted in my mind was beautiful and perfect in my own sight. God however, had different plans. I didn’t begin to realize those plans until the summer before my sophomore year of college. That summer I traveled to Spain on my first mission trip. As an 18-year-old far from the familiar surroundings of home, I eagerly drank in the culture around me. During that trip, God began to stir something within my heart and I knew that my missions experience was only just beginning. A little over a year later, I went on a trip to Mexico where I was able to give of myself through acts of service to the people of Saltillo. Once again, the desire for travel and missions was ignited and I couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to serve.

Then last summer happened. I was feeling discouraged and kept wondering what my purpose was for the summer. I knew I wanted to do something meaningful, but I wasn’t sure what that looked like. Then one Sunday morning my pastor announced that there were two sudden openings for a trip to El Salvador. I jumped at the chance. Less than a month later I was on an airplane, heading to a place that would forever leave an imprint on my heart. While we were in El Salvador, our group went to different towns and set up free medical clinics for the people. I was one of the translators, and would communicate between the patients and doctor.

The images of brokenness and poverty that I saw on that trip shattered my heart. One woman who came through my line was experiencing complications after a hysterectomy along with other medical issues. In a broken down bathroom behind our clinic, she began to pour out her heart to me about the stress and heartache she was battling in her life. In that overwhelming moment, I reached out and embraced her and told her in simple, broken Spanish that Jesus loved her and that he would help her. I didn’t have deep words of wisdom to pour into her life, but I tried to show her that I cared for her through the universal language of love.

There were countless others who were dealing with problems much deeper than physical ailments. Every patient who we saw represented an untold story of trial and heartache. That knowledge was physically and mentally exhausting. At the same time however, I have never felt more joyous than I did during that trip. While I was there, I knew in my heart that I was exactly where God wanted me to be. God began to take the fire for missions that was already ignited in my heart and turned into a blazing passion. I knew that I couldn’t walk away from that experience and let it be my last on the mission field.

As I finished out my senior year of college as a Journalism student at Anderson University, I kept coming back to that trip—to those experiences. It was during a family cruise this past November that God unfolded the next part of his plan for my life. I was standing on the balcony of our ship, mesmerized by the majestic island of Roatan, Honduras and something began to happen within me. My heart began to pound and I knew with an unexplainable certainty that one day I would return to this place—not as a tourist on a cruise ship—but as a servant. I wasn’t sure how or when this would happen, but I knew in that moment, something inside of me changed as my heart began to beat for the people of Honduras.

It was later that I discovered an opportunity to serve in Honduras as a Volunteer in Action through an organization called World Gospel Mission. I was accepted into the program and will be spending three months in Honduras serving as a writing intern as well as helping with the different ministries throughout the country. As I begin this journey in a few short days, I am certain that God is going to mold me and change me. I don’t know what lies ahead, but if I’ve learned anything through my experiences, I know that in God’s perfect timing He will show me the next step. Although my life isn’t turning out as I imagined it would as a young girl, I can’t say that I’m at all disappointed. The picture I had painted in my mind pales in comparison to the one God has masterfully crafted for my life.