The Beginning

Once upon a time there lived a little girl who loved making friends and helping people. She grew up with three siblings who she loved with all her heart, despite the occasional fight. 

 

She loved school and going to new places. She taught her Build-a-Bears how to read and do math, and she had a very impressive Barbie collection. She loved to swim and read, and her favorite birthday destination was Disney World. She enjoyed macaroni & cheese and chocolate cake.

Years later, after many triumphs and failures, good days and bad days, this little girl embarked on a new adventure and arrived in a little town called Bourbonnais. She made lots of new friends there and learned a lot about herself. 

 

She grew closer to God and found her calling in the classrooms she visited. She studied education and Spanish and fell in love with new cultures. 

But something was missing. Her desire to travel to new places was not quite fulfilled. And the small voice of God saying "GO" was left unanswered. 

She began a new school year with the hope that that would change...

Then one cloudy October day, while eating in a near-empty Ludwig cafeteria, she noticed a flier that listed a few countries. When her eyes reached the bottom of that intriguing list, something happened that would change her life forever. She read the country name, "Honduras." She knew immediately that this was finally the answer she was looking for, so she began to pray.

She prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and finally she received an exciting email!

At that point God was pleased with her obedience and told her this was the beginning of the great adventure He had planned for her life. She was so excited to take the first step, and eagerly left for Honduras in March 2011.

When it was time to go, there were tears all around her, but she had none. God whispered "Don't be sad, don't say goodbye, you will return." So she left with peace, knowing that one day she'd return.

Since that day, God has been calling her to big things, and burdening her heart for people all over the world. She went home the summer after her trip and decided her fun job and sunny home weren't enough for her anymore. So she decided to surrender her next summer completely to God. She wanted to serve, she wanted to give up familiar, comfortable places. She wanted to GO.

And that's exactly what she plans to do...