When I was in 8th grade, a missionary from Africa came to our church and shared about his ministry. I remember feeling God was telling me that I would also be a missionary to Africa one day.

At 19 years old, I had been living with a lot of bitterness… During the summer of that year, 7 people died that I loved. My grandma (who was my best friend), my dads best friend, my moms best friend’s husband (who I had always known as an uncle), 3 kids that I had homeschooled with and my boss (who I was very close to) named Paula. Before Paula died of cancer, we had a conversation about how she wished that she could live and watch her twin sons grow up. She said, “I’m not going to live, but you have the gift of life… What are you going to do with it?” That was a HUGE wake up call for me. I remember crying out to God saying that I had made a mess of my life. I asked Him to take control and surrendered to whatever He had for me. After that experience, I began to see God leading me… and again began to hear Him say that I would be going to Africa one day.

I met a great guy named David. We began dating and I told him that God was calling me to be a missionary to Africa. He told me that he would never go to Africa… and even his mom said “I don’t know how that’s going to work.” One night, David took me to Pappasitos for dinner. He pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. The only thing I heard was “Africa.” So, I said that I could not marry him and we broke up for six months. During that time apart, I really began seeking God. I heard Him say, “I want your whole heart! You can go to Africa and I’ll bless you. You can marry David and I’ll bless you… I just want your whole heart first.” Six months later, I saw David and knew that I loved him. He invited me to go with some friends to the lake… and on labor day weekend, on a paddle boat in the middle of the lake at sunset, I asked David if he still wanted to get married. He said yes! We went to Jareds, picked out rings and four months later were married!!!

A few months later, a missionary couple to Kenya came to our church, Hallmark, and we instantly had a connection. We went to dinner and that evening began planning our first trip to Kenya. That first trip rocked our world and changed our lives forever! (ask me and I would love to tell you stories from this trip!)

God has provided again and again and four years ago (this week), we became full time missionaries with R4C. We sold our dream house, my red anniversary edition mustang and David left the security of a great job that he had been at for nearly 15 years… but we can honestly say that it has been worth it. God has provided more than we could’ve ever asked for or even imagined. God is a miracle worker. Yes, there have been a lot of bumps in the road, but I think the main lesson God has been teaching me is to be comfortable with uncertainty (or even to take the bumps with joy as David likes to say when we’re driving in Kenya); because I can be certain that He is WITH me. In my weakness, He is made strong. Doing life WITH God is the greatest adventure!

So even now, with covid19 and all the uncertainty of today, when I am tempted (daily) to give into fear and freak out, God is reassuring that He is good and He is in control. I cannot base my faith on other people or things… however, I can look to my past; how he has been leading me and can trust that He is working all things together for good.

If you would like for me to pray with you about something, or if you want to know more about my faith journey, or how you can put your faith in Jesus, please DM me.