How did you get here?  

 
Oh Africa:
A distant land of stories and wonder
I could hear the dance, the drums thunder
I saw John climbing a nearby tree
The snake biting him, he's now free
Abby, swollen belly, a brother I do not know
The images flashing in my mind, a wild show.
The memories told to me by my family for years,
But I get butterflies in my tummy as the day nears,
For me to know you, we will come face to face,
Will I ever understand your foreign ways?
Cameroon is the place I want to go,
She will take me in her arms, help me grow.


I was raised under the great mango tree, coconut tree, and hot sun. See, I have never been to Africa, but the stories told by my family, and the ways they were changed there, raised me up to feel deeply the growing pains and hunger pangs of a country I could never truly call my own. Today I look back on my quick 24 years and 2 months only to find that I can trace a trail back, passing the people and experiences that have moved me in the direction of missions. Let me give an outline for you:
• I stated I wanted to be a missionary to my 5th grade
teacher
• I heard stories from missionaries and my family about
Africa.
• My family moved from upstate NY to rural AL in ‘96 to work
at a mission institute where I met dynamic, passionate
people serving the Lord all over the world.
• The vision for serving the poorest of the poor became my
longing, and I began to learn Spanish as I was exposed to it
through new friends.
• I went to Ecuador in ‘99 to work with children, realizing that
this was indeed my gifted area…working with and
motivating children.
• I studied Elementary Education and Spanish at Hope
College in Holland, MI from ’00-’04. During this time I
lived one semester in Mexico and one summer in Ecuador
interpreting.
• Taught on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation for my
student teaching, learning how to lean on God fully.
• During the summer I went back to SIFAT in AL to work with
youth. There I met some dear brothers and sisters
in Christ from West Africa. I felt prompted to tell a Pastor
from Cameroon that I would come some day. Then I kicked
myself, because I speak Spanish not French…that is where
my experience is!
• I taught Spanish to 4th-5th graders for 1 wonderful year,
and felt the freedom to apply to Wycliffe Bible Translators.
• One of the first positions where they said they needed a
teacher was in Cameroon, West Africa!
• I have now accepted that position, and am looking forward
to this interesting twist in this road to share the deep,
immeasurable, and genuine love of Christ.