BIOGRAPHY
Originally from Richmond, Virginia, I moved to Cofradía, Nayarit, Mexico in 2006 as a missionary through Alternative Missions! I'm admin assistant to the base director, STM Coordinator, and do Bible study and discipleship with the youth girls in the area. YEA GOD!
I graduated from Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) in 2003 with a BA in English Literature. I was introduced to the mission base in Cofradía through a short-term trip there with my church for Christmas 2005. Believing that there was more to life, and more for me, than the rat-race that was allowing me to barely keep my head above water, I moved to Mexico trusting that the Lord knew what He was doing. And trust me, HE DOES!! That was the best move I've ever made in my life, and I LOVE what I do!
But there's so much more to me than what I do: I love Jesus. I love my friends and my family. I love hanging out with people and talking about more than the weather. I love movies and music and reading. I love life, and I love those moments when I am really alive. I love Mexico, and I love the feeling that I am EXACTLY where God created me to be. Nothing can beat that peace! I love Lilies and Frogs. I love color. Teddy bears make me happy. I love Christmas lights, fireplaces, down comforters, flowers, and candles. I love it when the crisp autumn weather forces me to wear sweaters and bites the tip of my nose. I love to smile, and there's nothing better than laughter.
Some of my interests include: the Bible, music (piano, guitar, singing), reading, frogs, cross-stitch, scrapbooking, lilies, journaling, photography, tea parties, coffee, movies, youth group, MEXICO, friends, peacocks, things that make me think and sharpen my mind, and oh so much more!
There is no other place I’d rather be than living in the adventure that Christ has set before me ministering in Mexico with the A.M. team. I invite you to come along with me on this wild ride of faith, fight, and promises fulfilled! Check out the blog to find out what’s going on in life and ministry. Check the calendar to find out about events that are being planned. See pictures and prayer needs, and visit links that you find here. There is nothing that will get in God’s way to complete His plan. As Jesus said to one father, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” The horizons are ours for the taking. Now, we just have to decide which one to start with!
THE CALL
In the summer of 2001, I was praying about whether God would have me pursue a staff position with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the campus ministry with which I was involved during college. During that time I received a call on my life. It came in the form of Luke 10:2-3:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”
My prayer to the Lord had been, “Lord, is this where you want me to go, what you want me to do?” I believed that His answer was "yes", which He seemed to confirm in various ways. However, a year later I discovered that InterVarsity would not be the fulfillment of that call.
In 2003, I graduated from Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg, VA, with a B.A. in English Literature. I immediately acquired a job as office assistant in a start-up OB/GYN practice. Nope, it had nothing to do with my major, but it was a job, and it was a time of extreme spiritual growth. A year later I acquired a job with Northrop Grumman Mission Systems as a technical editor. That job paid well, but I found myself itching to do something that had more eternal significance, that satisfied the pull in me rooted in that call from Luke.
For Christmas 2005, I went to Cofradía, Nayarit, Mexico with a small group of families from my church. We were there for 10 days over Christmas. Only a few days into the trip, I knew God was calling me to be in Cofradía. I couldn’t believe it at first. I had never once considered being a missionary! It had never crossed my mind, yet here I was in another country with the sense in my heart that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Three months after I returned home from that trip, in March 2006, I returned to Cofradía for a three month internship, during which time the Lord made it clear that I was to come on staff full-time. I returned home in June of 2006 to raise support, went to Guadalajara in August for some refreshing of the Spanish I’d learned in high school (which had miraculously not been forgotten after 7 years of not being used), and then returned to Cofradía in October where I continue to live and work.
God continues to teach and grow me in ways I could never have imagined or requested. For the first time ever, I am content. That is a gift from the Lord, and I will stay put as long as He keeps me here.
