After my trip to Alaska, I was at school attending institute classes and some meetings at church. When I put myself in those places that the spirit could dwell, I felt the spirit continually prompt me to come on a mission. At first I really fought against it because I decided in high school I wasn't going to serve a mission, but after prayer, fasting, and attending the temple I felt that if I wanted to prosper in my goal of growing in the gospel then this is what I needed to do. I put in my papers and shortly got my call to the South Carolina Columbia Mission. Over the course of my mission I have seen such a change in myself that pre-mission me wouldn't even recognize who I am. The change that has taken place has definitely come because of
...irl into a confident young woman. About a month later, I was accepted to my top school, Fordham University. Then, to my surprise, I also received a full-ride NROTC scholarship, to Columbia University! This was beyond surreal to me, and came at the perfect time, right before my interview for Columbia University. All of these accomplishments came at once, and I was finally proud of myself.
"Sarah, we need your help in the Ukraine this summer. Can I count on you?" This question changed my life profoundly. I was asked to be a counselor on JOLT, Jewish Oversees Leadership Program, an opportunity to interact with young campers in an impoverished country and positively influence their lives. Little did I realize that this experience would impact mine so greatly.
I have learned how to accept supervision better. I am showing concern for others more than normal, and I have met great people who I can really consider as mentors for me later in life. These people have changed me and helped me see the brighter things in life. Coming to Job Corps is probably the best thing that I have ever done because I was not able to do anything back at home before I came here and now I am getting the education and training that I need to make my dreams come true. I would really like to stay here because I am learning a lot and I have nothing else or better to do to help myself back at
... been nourished at Grace Church and the Merge youth group, and I have been a part of the youth group at Northview Church as well. Taking apologetics through Anchors Away has fomented my faith, and I have made amazing friends both my age and adults who have guided and are guiding me through life. Most recently, I went on an evangelical trip to South Africa that completely changed my outlook on life and is currently challenging the path I had defined for myself.
I spent every spring and summer in middle school doing mission work and community service. I loved the opportunity that it gave me to build relationships and share my beliefs with people I didn’t know. Little did I know that this would pave the way for a life-changing experience that I would encounter one day. Each spring my church would host a missionary event called “The Ignite Project.” I felt an urge to join the group, recognizing that it was a calling to profess my faith in Jesus. These mission trips helped me to go out
It was strange, I had always wanted to experience what a mission trip was like. Although, when I thought about actually pursuing to go on one I would once again shove the thought in the back of my brain, in hopes of forgetting about it entirely. Until one day, I was reintroduced to the idea once again. My friend Nick and I were in Math class one day when Nick said, “
When Christy was 16 years old, she went to a church camp with other young adults and teens. While she was there, altar-calls were made daily for the kids to go up and give their lives to God and to missions. On the last night, Christy sat in the very back, knowing that the push for missions would be stronger than ever. She sat back there and bowed her head and prayed and before she knew it she was up front, giving her life to Jesus and His calling to missions. To this day, her and her friends don't know how she got up to the front. None of them remember her walking across the room and none of them saw her do it. But even then, Christy still didn't think of doing missions for her whole life. She told me, "I made a deal with God that I would go on a short-term mission and then I would be done with missions altogether." Of course,
Encouraged by my host-family, I joined the Christian camp where explored further about Jesus’ crucifixion, healing and forgiveness. The power of belief brought me compassion and goodness. Last spring break, I went on a mission trip to Mexicali and took care of kids who only speak Spanish. With a heart of respect and care, I broke down the barriers that keep each other from connection and felt the strong spiritual power that God gaves me to impart love, to care for others.
developed a passion to emulate my grandmother’s desire to serve others. I volunteered at Church, visited
I interned a cardiologist where I got to see the life of a physician as he went about his daily routine. I achieved getting my Certified Nursing Assistant license after assisting patients at a nursing home. I became a camp counselor for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, where I took care of a 10-year-old child during a summer camp. Through these experiences, I gained confidence in my character and purposefulness. Furthermore, I went on a mission trip to Kenya where I experienced life in a third world country. It was here where my eyes were opened to see a world that is in dire need of help. These people are malnourished, living in detrimental conditions without accessible health care. The experiences I had in Kenya reminded me to never take anything for granted. My engagement acting on all these opportunities fueled my perseverance to pursue my career in health
I have learned what it means to serve and what it means to be content and trust God. I have learned what it means to be grateful even through the hard times. My relationship with god really has improved since my experience in Tecate, and I will be forever grateful for that door that God opened in my life. Over the trip I had the pleasure of living among and working with the men and women of the orphanage. The boys and girls taught me much more than I ever expected, what it means to be positive, get through hard times. The relationships I made may not still be in tact today but the marks they left on me, and who I am as a person still remain. I am forever changed for good because of the people I met at small orphanage in Tecate
At the very start of this past summer, my grandpa asked me if I wanted to go on a missions trip with him. At first I really was not sure if I wanted to do something like that, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted to try and make a change in these kids lives. The
I’m going to quickly share a little bit about how I came to the decision to serve a mission. When I was younger, the thought of a mission really appealed to me, but, I used to think “21 is wayyy too old...I don’t want to wait that long, besides, I’ll probably be married by then!” Then when I was 16, they lowered the mission age for sisters to 19. I was really excited because 19 was a lot closer than 21 so it made serving a mission seem like something that I could actually do, because the desire was definitely there. As a went through high school and graduated, i began to feel pressure to have everything the world tells us we should have. College, money, tons of friends, etc.. So I began thinking a mission just wasn’t for me. And then, at the end of my first semester of college, I just felt like something was missing from my life. I find the best way to put it is I felt like I was trying to skip a step in the plan that my Father in Heaven already had for me. So I began praying, and asking Heavenly Father what he wanted me to do. Then I had the opportunity to go to a YSA fireside where Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke, and it was then that I received the answer to my prayers, I needed to go on a mission. The prompting was so clear, and I could feel the love that the Lord has for me so strongly. I told my parents the next day about my desire to serve a mission,
Many years ago when I was a freshman in high school, an event happened to me that changed my life for the better. My friend invited me to go hiking with him and his sister. He was going to go hiking in Yosemite. The following day I prepared myself mentally and physically in order to accomplish this hike.
To start off, I was a part of a mission trip known as “Surge,” and our mission consisted of going to Evergreen Terrace in Downtown Joliet and leading a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the kids. I was assigned to help teach basketball to a group of boys in the morning, and then I taught dance to a few girls in the afternoon. I was completely overwhelmed with fear and anxiety because I had no idea how I would relate with these kids since they were black. The time came for our VBS to start, and it was a