God has a funny sense of humor. I laugh every time I think of all the ways He has flipped my world upside down this past year. This sense of humor convinced a girl like me, who thought the state of Oklahoma should not even be on the map, to absolutely fall in love with it and commit to the University of Oklahoma. His same humor saw my “big plans” and eager preparations for college and instead God said, “I have something bigger.” I have loved getting to know this quality of Him and would like to share how my near future has been reshaped in exciting ways.

For the past 5 years, I have prayed the “dangerous prayer” – asking God to use me for His purpose. Since Jr. High, I have felt a call to serve others, becoming an active member in all things community service ever since. My high school career has been filled with amazing experiences, through ASB (student government), volleyball, pole vault, varsity song/cheer, and most importantly ministry and service. Some of my favorite memories are coaching a Special Olympics volleyball team for three years, helping paraplegics spend the day surfing, visiting hospital patients and senior homes, encouraging and feeding the homeless, mentoring Jr. High girls each week, and so many more meaningful moments.

With college approaching quicker every day, my entire world was focused on being accepted to a great university – internships, AP classes, leadership positions, awards, etc. – but last summer, I felt strongly about going overseas to serve people in need for a year. College will wait but these people cannot.

Crazy, right? I thought, God cannot possibly want me to hold off on college, I have worked so hard for this. But as soon as I made the decision to do a gap year of mission work, I felt an amazing peace.

My parents, however, had some definite hesitation – for obvious reasons. But after months in prayer and discussion, they saw and understood my heart for this unique opportunity. We began researching organizations and global outreaches, flooded with the endless programs and groups I could join. As we embarked on the journey to pick a location, many seemingly great opportunities fell short and doors were closed, but we continued our search.

One of the many organizations we found was YWAM (Youth With A Mission), an international Christian ministry that sends young people around the world to share God’s love with people in tremendous need – providing food, shelter, medicine, education, and more. At lunch one day, my mom’s friend told her about Mercy Ships, a branch of YWAM that brings medical aid to countries by ship. As we looked into that program, the frustrating part was that the only website we could find was a ship to Papua New Guinea (islands somewhat near Australia) that would not let me board at age 17. We knew there were other ships, but the Internet was doing a good job hiding them. A couple days later, my mom found a different Mercy Ship that begins training in Kona, Hawaii, where I would turn 18 in the U.S. before boarding a smaller ship to New Guinea. The same day she found that program, my mom met a woman for coffee to help her start a non-profit that empowers women to find purpose, like me. Directly behind the woman was a huge poster showing only Hawaii and Papua New Guinea. She was staring at the “writing on the wall” (that’s what we like to call it) through the whole meeting! My mom immediately called me and said, “I think I know where you should go next year!” I was overjoyed and knew this was the answer to my prayer. We laughed at how God could use Starbucks to give us such clear confirmation.

After this, everything started falling into place. I was soon accepted into the program and extremely excited for the five months I would spend with YWAM. The Pacific Link ship training in Kona simulates the ports and sailing education needed, as well as cultural and ministry training, before the outreach leaves for Papua New Guinea. I will sail to unreached villages of the islands to provide desperately needed medical care, relief, and compassion. I will be part of a team that also shows the villages basic ways to improve their way of life – including clean water programs, shelter construction, and youth education. During my extensive DTS Outreach training in Kona, I will also have countless opportunities to serve Hawaii’s low-income youth and an extremely high homeless population. The opportunity for impact on these islands, each with tremendous hardship and need, will be incredible.

Even after all these exciting plans, something was still gnawing at me. Our family had traveled to Germany the summer before, and having just heard how Saddleback Church (my home church) had recently started a satellite campus in Berlin, I felt a strong tug to work with their youth ministry. As a Jr. High life group leader and mentor, I absolutely love students and want to help make an impact there.

After a spontaneous email to the head pastor, I was stunned by his quick answer and eager attitude. He informed me that they had just launched a small youth program a few days prior and completely understood my passion for this area. He set me up with many contacts and even remarked to a Saddleback Lake Forest leader that he would fly me out tomorrow if he could!

The endless opportunities I will have in the next year to serve in three very unique places are truly unbelievable. I am filled each day with so much joy – I cannot imagine spending this year any other way. I am thrilled to see doors open and smiles widen as I build relationships, immerse in the culture, reach out to give back, and spend a year completely dedicated to service.

If you would like to support me in my year, please see my next blog post 🙂