I gave my life to Jesus Christ in June of 2017. In that very moment, God clearly revealed to me that my life was going to be devoted to ministry. In order for others to understand how I got to this point in my life, I would like to give my life story and the events leading up to this point in my life. I absolutely love to share how the God of the universe has shaped me into who I am today. I want to be vulnerable in this because I want everyone to know what the God of the heavens and the earth has done to redeem me!
I was born in the small town of Huntington, WV. My mom and dad divorced when I was about 4 years old. My mom worked 3 jobs to take care of me and my sister Kendall. 3 jobs were not enough to truly keep us afloat. My mom’s side of the family were the people that showed me what true sacrifice was like in this world when it came to their time and their finances. They used up so much of their time and money to make sure we were not living on the streets. We were actually bankrupt at one point. When I look at what they have done in my life, I love to look back at Galatians Chapter 6. The Chapter is titled “Bear One Another’s Burdens.” They sacrificed so much of their life to make sure we were ok. In scripture, Jesus is the supreme imitation of the ultimate burden-bearer. I look at that and see a very Godly example of what I read in Galatians 6. I am also very grateful for my other grandparents and for their help and guidance in my life!
When I turned 7 my mother met my step-dad. We ended up moving to Atlanta, GA when I started 2nd Grade. I had a rough childhood with my step-dad. He did not treat us well. There was a lot of verbal abuse over the years. There was a family that moved down the street from us, and I thank God for putting them in my life. Their names are Matt and Jamie. Today they are like my second parents and their family is my family. I would often play outside with them and their kids. One day they invited me to their church. I was in 7th grade and I started going to the Youth Ministry over there with Matt. That was the first time I really started to hear about Jesus. I did not go to church much growing up until then. I stopped going to church in 10th grade. I started to push Matt and Jamie away. They would ask me to come to visit with them and ask me to come to church. I would always find some excuse as to why I could not make it.
A few years later I turned 18. I left high school, and I started putting my time into toxic relationships. I was a very unkind, very mean person. I treated these 2 people so awfully. It breaks my heart how I was even though I know Jesus has forgiven me. I continued to push Matt and Jamie away, and I was in the deepest pit in my life that I had ever been. Matt and Jamie asked me to come to hang out with them. I finally decided to go to see them. Matt ended up asking me if I would read a book with him. It was called the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. We ended up meeting every couple weeks or so and Matt would pray with me over what we read. I believe there was a chapter in there about Relationships/Marriage. I remember reading that and going and crying to my mother and I said: “I have wronged God. I am in a terrible relationship.” That was the first moment I remember the Holy Spirit convicting me. However, I would not say that was the moment I truly gave my life to Jesus. I had the courage to end the toxic relationship about 2 weeks later.
A few months later Matt called me and said there was a summer internship at the church I ended up going to for Youth Ministry when I was younger. I did not deserve that internship at all, but God had other plans! There was a youth summer camp called the Great Escape held at Lee University. There was a morning and evening message each day we were there. I remember the person giving the evening messages. His name was Caleb. On the last day, Caleb gave his testimony, and I know God used his testimony to reach me! Caleb grew up having the wrong idea of who Jesus was because of his parents. He ended up going to college and meeting friends that were Christians. They would share the gospel message with him and pray for him too. Caleb ended up setting out on a mission to prove the bible wrong to them. Just like Lee Strobel who wrote “The Case for Christ.” One day during college, Caleb went to sleep and had a dream that he has remembered to this day. He had a dream of a man, a dark figure, and Caleb (himself). The dark figure pointed a gun at the man and nothing happened, the dark figure pointed a gun at Caleb and nothing happened. Caleb said he remembers waking up and doesn’t remember how long he laid there. He said that was the most unexplainable and crazy dream ever. He said he got out of bed, started walking, and his legs gave out. He said he fell to his knees and he said he will never be able to explain in words but he felt the overwhelming presence of God. God revealed to him in that very moment that the dream was no ordinary dream. The man was Jesus, the dark figure was Satan. God said in a very unexplainable way: Put your faith in me and you will have everlasting life. Caleb finished his testimony and said: “Only God can help people understand what I am saying.”
As Caleb finished talking, in that second I felt the overwhelming presence of God. I can not put it into words, but God communicated to me in an unexplainable and supernatural way. At that very moment, a dream I had when I was about 8 years old came to me. I still remember it perfectly to this day. I woke up in a bed in my own dream. I remember the nightstand, the other bed beside the nightstand. I remember the door in the front corner of the room. I remember looking out the window behind my bed and I looked out at the sky. It was dark and very gloomy. I remember out of nowhere the darkness faded away and there was a bright and beautiful light. There was this heavenly being that was coming closer and closer to me. I remember cowering and hiding. I remember waking up at 8 years old and it scaring me. Over the years I had forgotten about that dream but I knew there was something crazy about that dream that I could not explain. Over 11 years later, God revealed to me that heavenly being was Jesus. I was hiding just like Adam and Eve did when they sinned. I was like Isaiah in Isaiah 6. Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord upon a throne. Isaiah says in verse 5 (ESV): “and I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
I felt all of this overwhelming conviction, I remember trying to hold back my tears but I could not. I knew who Jesus was at that very moment and I knew He died a horrible death. The death that I deserve! I was born into sin and I can not stand before the Father without the redeeming and saving blood of Jesus Christ! Out of His unfathomable love for His children he died, so we could live! Not just here on this earth but when I stand before my God I am forgiven of everything. God has given me the ability to truly forgive my dad and step-dad after all that has happened in my life. I can never do that on my own. I have the Holy Spirit, the God of the universe living inside of me! I struggled for years with addiction and my God has continually given me the strength to overcome addiction and stay away from it! As it talks about in the Gospel of John, apart from Him, I can do nothing! God gets all the glory. Who am I to take any of it?
In July of 2019, I went to Guatemala. I went to a place called Monjas. That trip changed my life because I saw people who had almost nothing. It was the most extreme amount of poverty I have ever witnessed. There was no clean water. If you drank it, you would get very sick. Everything has to be purified. Parents had children as young as 3 years old going out to find water bottles to sell to make money. There were mass grave sites. If a family had a home, it likely did not have a roof over it. There were multiple families living in a home that was meant for 1 small family. However, there were people who surrendered their life to Jesus and you could see the overwhelming joy even though they had nothing. I have never forgotten my time there. It changed my life forever. Shortly after I got back God really started putting missions on my heart. Over time, God has shown me a lot, and I have grown a lot in my faith. I am still imperfect, I am still a sinner, and I still make mistakes all the time. I desire to know what more I can be doing in my life for the One that gave everything for me. I love my God so much and He has given me a servant’s heart. I love to love people and I love to serve people. I love to share my faith with people. Only God can give me this ability because apart from Him I can do nothing! All the Glory goes to God!
World Race will be an opportunity to serve others selflessly, share the good news. To learn and trust in God in times of extreme hardship. I look back on my life and others I have met along the way, and I know that NOTHING is impossible for the Lord our God! People’s eternities matter more than my comfortability and I am so excited to be a part of what God is doing in this world to reach His children!
