Hey friends!

At UT (University of Texas at Austin) I became part of a campus ministry (Texas Wesley!!) and finally
learned what it means to be constantly seeking the Lord. It's something that I'm
convinced I will be learning the rest of my life and still struggle with now.
For me, missions in high school were something that I loved to do because it
put me in touch with God and was often the only time I would feel him in that
season. In college though that all changed because I was surrounded by a
community of people who loved Christ and were seeking him at some level
everyday. I did missions because I felt called to them or just wanted to help
people in general. I felt God calling me into ministry and even at times
specifically missions throughout high school but during college I somewhat lost
sight of that. I wanted first of all to be a nurse and then changed my major to
nutrition, all while thinking of but never verbalizing the ways that I could
best serve people and still be studying about the human body and how God
created it to work.  

My third year of college I had a few friends go with AIM
to South Africa and Swaziland. As I kept up with them by reading their emails
and blogs, I began to also get passionate about Africa, mainly southern Africa.
The next spring, two classes that I took really began to shape what I will be
doing this September. I took International Nutrition and the History of
HIV/AIDS in Africa at the same time. My heart was broken for the people that have
to deal with this disease on a daily basis and for the generation of children that
are growing up without their parents and only have a grandmother left to raise
them if they are lucky. I began to look into the programs that are going there
to help with the crisis and thought about Peace Corps and others but I can't
imagine going there without being able to pray for the people that we are going
to help and without going with a community of believers that can lift them up
together.

Here are some pictures of my life:

I was a Longhorn from a young age. I sucked the last three fingers on my right hand when I was little. My Dad started to pull out my pinky so that I would make the "Hook 'Em" sign instead.

 

My boyfriend, Joe, and me at Beach Reach. You'll be sure to hear more about both Joe and Beach Reach later.

 

 

My discipleship group, Women After God or WAG. We were on a scavenger hunt to find our leaders at this point.

 

 

My roommates from last year and this year all together at a Broadway play in Austin. Or as we like to call ourselves, Franklin Ladies! (I live in a house with five other girls.)