Journal

I was thirteen years old once. Like most thirteen year olds do, I believed my world was coming to a crashing holt, and the end was near. I had braces with the blue rubber bands that month. That day after the Christmas party I was wearing my favorite black Beatles shirt (one of the two Abbey Road shirts I had alternated wearing every other day that December) with a pair of super slick brown plaid shorts to go along with it. Needless to say, I was the gem of everyone’s eye, the coolest chick you ever did meet. That last sentence was also known as false to everyone outside of my parents, my elementary school siblings, and my grandma. Most every one else said I needed to cut back on that ice cream a little. I came home from the white elephant Christmas gift exchange with a heart that had f…

Being a missionary can be pretty terrifying at times. This week grew me in confidence and humility. Our manual labor has been finished for quite awhile now, leaving our mornings free. We have taken that time to walk around the community and get to know the people living near us better. Walking along the dirt roads seeking out new friends is very remnant of Swaziland. I spent many afternoons there seeking out people to talk to and pray for. I enjoyed doing this but we weren’t about to settle for the easy and predictable. My team wanted to make a bigger impact. Ideas flowing through the room. Excited voices sounding their ideas. Then one brave soul spoke out, we choose to do street evangelism. Um not my first choice, it’s putting yourself out there to be rejected. We made a since …

Hi! My name is Laura and I’m 18 years old. I’m from northern Virginia and I’m currently in Ecuador. My team and I have been in country for almost three weeks now, which in my mind is absolutely CRAZY! It’s been such a blast seeing God move in small way and huge ways. I’m so excited to share what he’s been doing but first I want to tell you a little more about me. Well I grew up in an awesome christian home! Both my parents have always been involved in the church and in speaking God’s truth into my life. God has always been a huge part of my life and I’m absurdly blessed to have had a relationship with him since I was four years old. When I was 12 years old I knew God has given me a heart for missions and for serving his people all over th…

  As this week’s schedule continued pretty much the same as the week before, I found myself dragging as it came around to Wednesday. In the beginning of the week I felt like I was in some sort of funk, just feeling uninspired. I would wake up and just immediately question my purpose. I would talk to the Lord and say, “God I’m wondering why you have me here. I feel like I’m here for more physical labor than I am for spiritual labor. Where are you and why do you have me here? I haven’t seen you yet, and I haven’t found my purpose yet.”I began to feel very weighed down by my thoughts and feelings of uselessness and could feel myself starting to become anxious and worried. I was already questioning what God had planned for me during these next few m…

We are currently in Loreto, Ecuador at our ministry site for the next three months. We are surrounded by the Amazon Rainforest and the beautiful people of Ecuador. Team is very excited to be here and is eager to start ministry tomorrow. Our travel day was filled with smooth transitions from the capitol of Quito though the mountains. We were thankful for the multiple bus rides we had to take to get to Loreto because we were able to get a good look at this beautiful country. Our off day is on Saturdays and we look forward to contacting our loved ones then. Please keep us in your prayers as we are walking into a new season filled with excitement and unknowns.    

The day is FINALLY here. It was nearly impossible to get any sleep last night because of all the excitement. This morning our team (11 girls in total) set off for our long awaited trip to Ecuador, and now here I am sitting in the airport thinking about what is to come and reflecting on what has just happened. The last few days we have been in Gainesville, Georgia at training camp in preparation for our trip. I had no idea what to expect when it came to training camp, but I have to get straight to the point. I can honestly say that I have felt more alive in the past three days than I feel I have in my whole entire life. My spirit is overwhelmed just trying to think of all the things I have learned and experienced. Our days consisted mostly of sessions of various topics of faith such …