Well first things first I was born on December 15, 1990. Then I grew up in the church with two of the most amazing parents any human being on Earth could have ever asked for. I really loved my life. I could not have had one complaint other than super minor stuff that I can't think of at the moment so life was peachy just peachy.
Then In 2009, my senior my year, life really got rocked turned upside down and then shook really hard and then put into a blender. I had just finished my first semester of Senior year and was on top of the world or what I thought was "world". And most people who know me or my family know this, but in January my sister died from a brain aneurism. And thats where life stopped really for me. I went on to graduate high school and then went to LaGrange College to play football, but never really moved on or made a true attempt to.
A lot of sin had taken hold in my from this great event that happened to me. I had been leaning on anything that I thought could hold me up, none of these things being God of course. I really just had no knowledge of God and his justness and how he had real control in my life. I really just became down right depressed from my sisters passing and really not knowing how to handle it, but really who does? The only thing I really knew how to do and do well was to play football and a week before I went to LaGrange to play I totally jacked up my ankle which lead to me not really being able to perform in football so at this point in life anything I tried to lean on continued to fall out from under me, which really sucked.
So I come home from school for winter break and at this point I had already decided that I was not going to be going back to LaGrange and so I had applied to GGC got accepted and was not really happy about it but I was home and just going to see where life was leading to next. Then sometime in late December Seth Brown (hope its cool to name drop on here) texts me asking me if I wanted to go to a Church conference with him. And to be honest I did not want to go, I just felt as if I was just going to be able to just grind it out and make it through this "conference". Well this "conference" turned out to be Passion 2010. I had never heard of Passion before this moment in my life nor did I know that there were 20,000 college age Christians in the world much less ones that wanted to come to Atlanta.
I don't know if I could ever describe the way I felt in Philips Arena. The only word that comes to mind is denseness. Though I don't know many descriptive words. But a denseness that is so indescribable so heavy but comforting so crazy! Its like the Holy Spirit was sitting on top of me but in a comfort hug kind of way (clearly not good with words). It was emotionally, spiritually, physically, overwhelming I had never experienced God in this way before in my life. This is when I became a Christian undoubtably.
Now after really seeing God and feeling the Holy Spirit I went to this thing called a family group. This is a "small" room of about 1,000 college students all jacked and excited about Jesus, and what the Holy Spirit is doing and I'm just trying to find someone that looks I can relate to. So I introduce myself to some guys and then one thing leads to another and I formed a family group with them. At this point I am so overwhelmed by what is happening in my heart and in my life and what I just sat through that I am just going with what ever happens next. Well I get elected family leader, which is just ridiculous considering we had one guy who was in seminary another who worked at a Christian radio station and I was the youngest by I think two years everyone was way more qualified to lead than me, but God had is hand in this and it was perfect.
After Passion I was just stoked about life and Jesus and how it all worked together. 2 Cor. 5:17 is so apparent in my life (as it should be) . God really brought in a new me, and it was so great. Well I continued going to college at GGC for the semester and at the same time I visited Seth Brown just about any day I had extra free time because I just wanted to grow and had just a true thirst and hunger for the word and faith and works and everything. I mean life was just so different to me know than before. So a couple months after Passion I feel like I just need to get in touch with Allen, who was in my group at Passion, and I really feel like God is just wanting me to check on him and let him know what I had going on and just see what he is up to. And at this point I really felt called to do missions and just felt like God was telling me to go to Africa. And I was so trusting in this. So I e-mailed Allen and just said hey and stuff and he responded saying how he had felt such a similar calling and since passion he had stopped working at the radio station he worked at and was planning on leaving for Uganda for a few months. I was blown away. This seemed so unreal that I randomly track down his e-mail address and e-mail him where I felt like God was calling me and his was the same.
After following Allen on his trip to Uganda and seeing that he and Jay had gone to Uganda and seen this huge need for a legitimate orphanage, so they started one. They eventually started this organization called Sozo with some help from other people in Birmingham. They started this orphanage that was so needed to take in this children that were not being cared. Now I was left feeling that I needed to get involved with this I had to act on this wonderful opportunity and calling that was in my life.
So now I am here in class writing this blog that Sozo is asking me to create because I am interning for them this summer. I am beyond excited for this, this is what God has placed on my heart for me to do. He has called me to do this. I am going to combine my faith with works in Uganda. Needless to say, I kept in touch with Allen and other people at Sozo and they kept in touch with me and now they have given me the opportunity to work as an intern with them. The timing of this is so perfect, I am now a junior going on to my senior year of college which allows me to receive 3 hours of school credit for this internship. Which is awesome because I need an extra management elective to graduate on time. After a training weekend at SIFAT (missionary training place, pretty sweet I encourage anyone to check it out) in February. I found out the amount I would have to raise to go on this internship. I can't lie, at first I was slightly overwhelmed from this cost but I knew God would provide. Mat. 6:25. This verse gave me comfort in raising my support I knew he would provide. And wow he blew me away with his compassion, I can not tell in words about how overwhelming and shocked I was about the ease of raising my support. I never could have thought that it would come with such ease. Now I am here fully supported two months later. Thank you to all my supporters you guys with have made it possible for me to take part on my calling. Thank you all so very much. Now I am less than one month out and am so excited for this opportunity and blessing.
Thank You Everyone
In class.
