When did you first come to Christ and choose to live set-apart for the Lord?

I feel extremely blessed in that the Lord saw fit to place me in a family with parents who raised me in an extremely strong Christian environment. From the time I was born, I was raised with a keen knowledge of God, and with a strong sense of honor and love for the Lord. Our home was filled with Bible studies, prayer times, singing, and love. It was such a blessing to have that as a foundation, but at about 15 years old the Lord strongly convicted me of my true lostness and desperate need to give my life to Christ and let go of all I was clinging to in life. I realized that I could not just ride along on what I had been raised with--it had to be real in my own life; I had to truly surrender myself to Christ. I came to know the true beauty of giving up who I was and having a true intimate relationship with my King and embracing the set-apart life He has called us to!

Through the years the Lord has been continually working on me, chiseling away, molding me to be used for His purposes, bringing me into an ever closer intimacy with Him, and teaching me what it means to truly live my life for the glory of the King. It has been a continual giving up of myself for Him, laying down my own desires, knocking other loves off the throne of my heart, and pursuing the heart of my God. I can honestly say that this life of set-apartness that He has brought me to is incomparable to any other adventure I can fathom. That overflowing joy that comes from a life laid down for Christ is like no other!

What have been some of your greatest struggles along the way?

Some of the greatest struggles I've faced have been rooted in the fact that there are times when flesh still raises its ugly head and tries to demand a place in my life. Fleshly thoughts try to overtake and discourage, un-Christlike attitudes show up and beg to be allowed to stay, my own desires come along and want a place to thrive. But, no! Apart from the Lord's hand on my life and His strength coursing in me, there is no way I would make the right decisions, and be able to continually stomp on those bits of flesh that rear their heads. But I have found great peace and strength in the fact that He is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Ps. 73.26)!  And, I've come to realize that those fleshly things show up in my life when my focus is wrong. When my eyes are fixed on God and His nature, the pressures from this world go by unnoticed. But, when I start wanting glory for myself and give the enemy even a little bit of opportunity in my life, the struggle becomes intense and exhausting . . . and unnecessary. 

What have been some of your greatest joys?

My greatest joy in life truly is spilling myself out for my King! Growing in Him each day, seeing His heart in the world around me . . . these things I would not trade. The joy to be found in intimacy with Christ is hard to even put into words. Some people have been doubtful that the putting of myself to death that Christ might live in me could bring joy, but I have found it to be a reality in my own life! 

I love digging deeper in God's word, learning more of the nature of God, seeing the awesomeness that surrounds Him. The times I can steal away and have entirely un-distracted prayer, study, and fellowship times with Jesus are always highlights in my day!

Also, I can't keep my mouth quiet about my love for the Lord, and I love being able to encourage people around me. Seeing other people come to a true knowledge of God, and pursue intimacy with Him brings me such great joy. God has given me a true love for people--and to see someone I love (whether a close friend or someone I see at the grocery store) give up their life for the Lord thrills me! I long for everyone I see to experience the intimacy with Christ that I have experienced--to truly know the joy to be found in the Lord!

What practical things help you keep your relationship with Christ strong?

1. -True moment-by-moment fellowship with the Lord.
   

2. -Times of intense prayer and pouring into His word.
   

3. -Keeping myself surrounded by other true believers who will keep me accountable and be a constant                     source of encouragement.
   

4. -Choosing things (books, time spent, friends, pursuits) that will bring me to know Christ better, and not detract from the pursuit of holiness.
   

5. -Not allowing time spent in any activity which would take me, even for a moment, out of fellowship with Christ. I've realized the great importance of being really strict with what I allow into my life!
   

6. -Keeping my eyes on the eternal perspective and looking at every circumstance as a chance to grow in the Lord.
   

7. -Making specific and conscious choices to "rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, and again I say, REJOICE!"
   

How did you find yourself recently in Africa and what did you do there?

I was in a time in my life when I was learning about what a "set-apart life" truly looks like. When I look back, I can see that my life was drastically changing, even from week to week. There was a vibrancy in my relationship with Jesus that hadn't been there before, I was more passionate about the things of the Lord, and my prayer life was very different from what I had ever had in my life before. It was during this time of evaluating every aspect of my life and seeking the Lord with a deep longing that the Lord started to work on my heart about missions. I spent long hours in prayer and the Lord very specifically laid it on my heart to "go". I said, "Ok, God . . . where?" After many more hours and days in prayer and looking into various options, the Lord directed me to a specific orphanage in Jinja, Uganda. The plans worked out and the Lord's hand was obviously on the financial aspect of it--that story alone still gives me the chills! So, on January 19, 2010, I headed out on my first overseas flight. This was my first mission trip and my first time out of the country (except across the border into Canada) . . . and I was already seeing that my faith in the Lord was going to be growing stronger! I spent 6 weeks in the orphanage and just arrived back home on March 4.

God's measure of success is different than that of the world. In some ways I feel like there was a constant spiritual attack happening inside of me. Part of me was constantly battling discouragement in the "what do you think the little bit you're doing is helping in the grand scheme of things?" department. I finally listened to God's voice and knocked that other voice out of my head and life--GOD called me to serve in Africa, if even just for six short weeks, and I was to do that whole-heartedly, holding nothing back. Even though I didn't know for what purpose, or couldn't see that I was having much of any impact, I knew that I was serving "the least of these" and, at the same time, my King! And I am honored and humbled to have been allowed to have the experiences that I had and to be able to have seen the glimpses of God and His nature that I had. I came away with a changed view of the true and unfailing love of God!

The true meaning of utter dependency on God was impressed on me like never before. There were times of sheer agony of soul, and I had absolutely no human to turn to, and that forced me to turn to the Lord at times when I would normally turn to my closest friends who I know could be a physical support and comfort. For the first several weeks I was in Africa, I had no one to turn to for comfort and support--and I really and truly realized that God could meet my every need! Even those needs which we feel could only be met by another human being. It may feel basic and elementary, but it was a realization I had never understood to that extent before . . . and what a wonderful thing it was! I found comfort and strength in the Lord that it doesn't seem possible to have. I possessed a "peace that passes understanding." There were many long hours spent crying out to Jesus for comfort and wisdom . . . and He truly met me in those times and answered my prayers! Because of the dependency on God that I experienced while I was there, I will now forever fight to never lose that utter desperation for Him--because I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good!

There was one day where I really had a huge struggle and fight with flesh. It was a day where all the challenges I had been facing accumulated in front of me and I turned my eyes to the problems instead of turning my eyes to Jesus. I fell apart and cried into my pillow instead of crying out to God. I wanted to come home and run away from everything I was facing. It was several hours of intense and deep agony as flesh fought for a foothold and I allowed it to have place. I finally came to the absolute end of myself and realized the utter wrong-ness of the way I was responding to the challenges I was facing. I turned to Jesus and cried for forgiveness for the way I had allowed my gaze to wander from His face. Those several hours were something I never want to repeat--I experienced the agony of trying to live life on my own strength, and totally failing. I cried out to God for the strength to fight off any flesh that  would try to have a place in my life after that day--that experience showed me again the beauty and necessity of a life dependent on Christ! Oh, how sweet it is to trust in Jesus!

How would you encourage other girls who desire to step out in faith for mission work?

One thing that I would say is this: Don't go into mission work with any sort of romanticized notions of what it involves. I had heard that before, and the Lord really worked on me regarding that before I ever set foot out my front door, but . . . when I actually arrived in Africa, it really hit me how important this is. I was thankful that I didn't struggle much with this personally, but it is such an important thing to grasp!

It was such a beautiful time of ministering, being ministered to, growing, learning, and loving with all my heart. I literally fell in love with Africa and with those dear children and the mamas (Ugandan women staff) who worked at the orphanage. I feel like I gained more than I gave--through the wonderful people I met, the things I learned, and the way the Lord used this time to do a huge work in my heart. The children were precious; I still cry when I talk about them. My time there was spent working most of each day with the children and teaching preschool. I talked a lot with the mamas and heard their stories and loved on them--those women were such an inspiration to me!

How did God work in your heart and life through your experiences?

Wow, this is such a huge question . . . especially considering that I just got home yesterday and I feel like I'm still somewhat working through everything in my heart and don't quite know how to put it onto paper yet! I can definitely say that God did a huge work in my heart and life. I'll try to sum up a few of the things He taught me.

During my time in Africa I ran into opposition, ridicule, and scorn because of my relationship with Jesus and for standing firmly by the standards He has set for me. There were times when it was definitely a struggle and my flesh really wanted to react wrongly, but God reminded me of all the people through history who have been persecuted for His sake, and who stood strong and unwavering in the face of blatant hatred. I went to my knees and repented of the attitudes I had been struggling with and threw myself again into the arms of my Saviour. I was able to go out with a refreshed spirit and a love from God for those around me. God showed me that I am not serving so as to gain friends and glory to my name through it . . . it doesn't matter if my name is trampled in the dust and I am despised by everyone around me, I can still bring glory to God in the midst of that opposition by standing strong and continually letting His light shine through me! Oh, that I would possess true spiritual grit and fortitude!

Yes, it is an adventure; yes, there is so much joy to be found in actively serving in a tangible way on the mission field; yes, it is extremely fulfilling; yes, there is downright fun to be had. But, there is pain. There is darkness and ugliness to be faced every day. If you go into serving God with anything but entire set-apartness for Christ and a willingness to face with His strength whatever comes along, you will not have the strength to do the work God has called you to do! 

Another thing that is extremely important for any Christian when pursuing mission work (and anything else!) is a deep and firm foundation in Jesus Christ. Whether at home before you ever go anywhere, or after you're already abroad, take every moment you can to spend alone with Christ, allowing Him to build you up--you have nothing to give of yourself unless you let yourself be filled with Christ! You can't expect a dry well to produce water, and you can't expect a dry and dead life to produce anything worthwhile! I found that the most meaningful thing I could do was take every free moment I had and immerse myself in God and His word and be filled with Him! It ever deepened my burning desire to proclaim Him with my words and actions and did not allow for any "down time". I was constantly in fellowship with my King, and thus never allowed myself to become "dry". I cannot say enough how vital that intimate relationship with Christ truly is! *