If you were to tell my sophomore year self that I would leave behind everything I knew, all my comforts, all my familiarities, all my belongings, to go serve in a third world country. To say I would not have believed you is an understatement. My junior year of high school my parents believed it would be a good idea for me to go on a mission trip. I was not at all excited about this idea in fact I pushed it away in every way possible. After all, why would I leave everything I know even just for 6 days to get all sweaty, grimy, and on top of that be miserable. Or at least that’s what I thought at the beginning. After I was forced to go to an informational meeting, my heart began to change even in the midst of doubt and fear; clearly put there by the enemy. I walked out of the informational meeting, hearing my parents say, “Now you don’t have to sign up, we just thought it would be good for you.” I told them I would think about it. That same week I ended up putting in an application for a mission trip that I would shortly find out would change my life. A mission trip to a place I had never even heard of before, nor had ever seen on a map, Nicaragua. Before I knew it the day came for me to arrive at the airport at 3 am to board a flight that I wasn’t even sure I was meant to be on. At about 3 pm that day we arrived in the place that I would soon call my heart country. We drove in the back of a van with no AC, scalding hot, and barely running. And somehow in the midst of that I looked around and noticed how the people were living. There were fires on the sides of the roads, and tin shacks as homes, and most of all people that had no complaints. This was the exact moment I felt my heart change forever. That week we served in schools of children, children that were beyond excited to learn, even if that meant being in 90° heat with no air conditioning, or if that meant playing at recess with a flat soccer ball, dust acting as grass, and two metal poles pretending to be a net. And somehow these kids were the happiest kids on earth. That’s where I noticed His goodness. That’s when I knew I had to experience more of missions. After this trip I went on 5 more, two to Mexico, two to San Francisco, and one more to Nicaragua the following year. In every corner of every mission, God never failed to show up. And showing compassion became more of something I begged for in my prayers. That my heart would break for what breaks His. My senior year of high school I was set on what I wanted to do with my life, but God had other plans. His favor worked out in every way possible, and I don’t think I have much more to describe this mission than extraordinary, and an opportunity that can only be coordinated by the maker of the universe. After much prayer and a heart that wants to see Him and know Him more, I made the decision to spend what should be my freshman fall semester of college in Nicaragua. Teaching children how to learn english, growing in unfamiliarity, and most of all giving all i can to live a life worthy of the gospel. Follow along on this journey with me. As He goes before and behind, knowing He’ll guide my steps. Pray big prayers, heavens watching out for you.