I was born and raised in Arkansas, having Razorback pride instilled in me from birth. My family includes my amazing parents – David and Christina, one brother – Travis and his wife Emma, and my absolutely precious niece – Clarabelle June. I was blessed to be raised in such a loving and supportive family with parents that truly would do anything for either of their children.
My parents chose to raise me in the church and after moving one time in my childhood, to Springdale, AR where my parents still live today, they encouraged me to get involved in our church’s Youth group. I met my best friends there and was blessed with a wonderful high school experience that provided me with opportunities to grow closer to the Lord. We went on mission trips to Mexico and during the summer had Local Mission Projects around our community that developed a heart for service in me.
I graduated high school and went 15 minutes down the road to the University of Arkansas (Go hogs!) where I got involved in the Pi Beta Phi sorority and the Diamond Dolls program for the Razorback baseball team. After 4 years of undergraduate study for Elementary Education I continued on for another year to obtain my Masters in Teaching for Early Childhood Education. I absolutely loved my 5 years of college! I made lifelong friends through Pi Phi and have wonderful memories cheering on my Hogs in every sporting event possible.
Upon graduation, I moved to Denver, Colorado and have lived there last 2 years. I pursued full-time teaching and just never found a place for me. While the last 2 years have been challenging from working toward a goal and not attaining it, the Lord has taught me so much about patience and trust. Looking back it has really been a beautiful season of life. I got involved with Denver K-Life, which was my connection to Nicaragua in the first place, and I started leading a small group of 9th grade girls. These girls are unbelievably great and I have had a blast being apart of their lives through K-Life. I love them dearly. I also got involved with the church, Fellowship Denver, and have been blessed with a wonderful community of friends.
With all of that said, that brings me to Summer 2012 and what is leading me down this new and exciting path. Denver K-Life takes teams of high-school students to Nicaragua for mission trips. Since college I had the desire put on my heart to live in a Spanish-speaking country for some time. This seemed like the perfect opportunity so I booked a flight to Granada, Nicaragua to work as an intern with El Puente for 7 weeks while K-Life was going to bring their teams down. Could there have been a better decision or plan for my summer? Absolutely not! God worked in my life in ways that are still hard to explain today. He taught me so much about my faith, and where our relationship was, that my life was changed forever.
Once my 7 weeks were up I tearfully returned to the United States and could only think about Nicaragua. During the Fall semester God blessed me with a long-term sub job and other work to fill the gaps. I traveled home for the holidays and still, Nicaragua kept knocking at my heart. I had several conversations with my parents and countless conversations with friends until finally, I couldn’t ignore God’s calling anymore and I emailed Charles, the pastor at El Puente, about a place for me on their team. His response was an immediate yes and I was sold! I committed to going back to Granada to help develop the Granada Christian Education Center that was in process.
Now I’m working toward getting back down there and starting on an entirely new and unexpected path. Never in my life had I thought I’d ever live in a foreign country. Never in my life had I thought I’d be doing mission work. Never in my life could I have thought up such a perfect plan for my life and I praise God for doing it for me! Here’s to the next phase and God being glorified the whole way through.
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.” (Psalm 143: 10)
