Without Borders | Sin Fronteras

Last Wednesday, March 15th I celebrated my 22nd birthday. My birthday has become a time of reflection for me over the past few years and this year I spent some time reflecting on my birthday celebrations in recent years. As I thought about these special days, two memories really stood out to me.  The first memory is from three years ago when I was away at school during my freshman year of college. My mom (who was 8 hours away at the time) called my host mom and helped her plan a surprise visit to campus with cupcakes for me and my friends. The frosting on the cupcakes hadn't turned out right and my host mom was embarrassed, but I was so overjoyed by her thoughtfulness that I didn't even notice. And the second memory is from last year when I celebrated my birthday in Spain. My friends pretended like they were too busy to celebrate because they were studying for exams but they surprised me the next day when they "kidnapped" me, took me on a bus, blindfolded me, and wa...

Last week I attended TEAM's Missionary Orientation in Asheville, North Carolina. I didn't really know what to expect upon entering into orientation but I was very impressed (and overwhelmed) to see the schedule that the TEAM staff had planned for the week.  Throughout orientation we had several sessions about TEAM's vision and core values and I felt that these sessions really helped me to get to know TEAM better as an organization. We also had sessions about marketing, finances, and fundraising, and we had individual meetings with our mentors and the counseling staff. But I think one of the best parts of orientation was getting to meet other missionary appointees (this is what we are called before we are on the field) who are going through the same process as me. I met incredible couples and families who are giving up their lives in the U.S. to follow God's call to serve Him and spread the gospel in places like Nepal, Greece, Thailand, and Portugal. And I also met a g...

Well it's been quite a while since I last posted and I thought now would be a good time to post an update on what God is doing in my life :) For those of you who don't know, I graduated from Northwestern College in December 2016. And, like most recent graduates, I am often asked about what I'm going to do now that I'm finished with school. So, that's what this post is going to be about...the amazing journey that God is leading me on and where He is leading me next  :) I am so excited to announce that I will be returning to Sevilla, Spain as a missionary!  As many of you know, I studied abroad in Sevilla last spring and I grew very fond of the city and its people. After returning home from my semester abroad, I began talking with some people at a mission organization called TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission). After talking with them for a few weeks and meeting with my wonderful missions coach, Kelsey, I decided to apply for a midterm mission assignment. It...

Ya he estado aquí en Sevilla por tres semanas y todavía no puedo creerlo! Muchas cosas han pasado en estas tres semanas y estoy emocionada de compartir algunas de estas cosas con vosotros! Durante el primer fin de semana hicimos una gincana por la ciudad! Era muy divertida y era una buena manera de conocer más a la ciudad. Fuimos a muchos lugares famosos como La Giralda (la catedral), la Plaza de España, Las Setas, y Rayas (la heladería más antigua en Sevilla). Caminamos mucho ese día--más de 15 millas!--y estaba muy cansada después de terminar la gincana! Mis clases empezaron el 15 de enero y son muy interesantes. Tengo una clase de literatura española, una clase de gramática avanzada y una clase de la historia de tres culturas en España (los musulmanes, los judíos y los cristianos). Mis profesores son muy amables y me parece que a ellos les gustan mucho enseñar y ayudar a los estudiantes. La próxima semana voy a empezar mi clase de Acción Solidaria y estoy muy emocionada!  ...

La estatua de madera más grande en todo el mundo - Los sevillanos lo llaman El Hongo.  |  The largest wooden statue in the world - The Sevillans call it The Mushroom. Aquí estoy en frente de La Giralda - es la catedral gótica más grande en todo el mundo.  |  Here I am in front of The Giralda - it is the largest gothic cathedral in the world.  Uno de los edificios en la Plaza Nueva cerca del Ayuntamiento de Sevilla  |  One of the buildings in the Plaza Nueva near the town hall of Sevilla.  Una de las vistas de mi camino a la escuela cada mañana  |  One of the views from my walk to school every morning.  El Torre de Oro - Uno de los edificios más famosos de Seville, fue construido en el siglo XIII y fue utilizado como cárcel  |  The Tower of Gold - One of the most famous buildings in Sevilla, it was constructed in the 13th century and it was used as a prison.  La Plaza de España ...

Pues...nuestro viaje a Sevilla fue una gran aventura! Salimos tarde de Chicago y nos perdimos nuestro segundo vuelo en Madrid. Entonces pasamos seis horas en el aeropuerto y volamos a Jerez en vez de Sevilla. Finalmente tomamos un autobús a Sevilla para conocer a nuestras familias anfitriones. Fue un día muy larga pero había mucho tiempo para conocer a las otras estudiantes en el programa!  Llegamos al apartamento de mi familia anfitriona a las 8:30 de la tarde (si todavía fue la tarde porque fue antes de la cena) y cenamos juntos--fue mi madre anfitriona, su hermana, mi compañera de cuarto y dos otras chicas de Alemania. Comimos sopa, ensalada y una tortilla española (es como un omelette con patatas y huevos) con naranjas para el postre. Las naranjas aquí son deliciosas y son famosas en todo el mundo. Hay arboles de naranjas en todas las calles y no puedo esperar a la primavera cuando el aire olerá como naranjas. En la mañana tuve un desayuno de pan con mermelada y zumo (jugo...

For those of you who don't know, I will be working for a Christian organization called YouthWorks over the summer! I am SO excited to be entering into this season of ministry as I have the opportunity to work alongside high school students as we serve the people of Kansas City, Kansas!  As I write this, I am in the midst of a week of training (called RAMP) in Minneapolis. My time at RAMP has mostly been spent getting to know my team and preparing for my role as a service coordinator. As a service coordinator, I will be working with different service partners (local ministries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, etc.) within Kansas City to organize service projects for the youth groups and high school students that will be coming to our site each week. I will also be working with my team to run meal times, devotionals, praise and worship, and everything else that goes into a typical mission trip. While we still have a lot to learn and figure out before the summer officially starts...