"Who Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?”

For a long time, I’ve responded to this question with what I want to do in life. I’ve spent about 21 of 25 years of my life with a broad sense of purpose and wanting to do so many things! Like become a ballerina, firefighter, author, teacher, baker…I’ve wanted to be these things because of what those people get to do. In more recent years, I graduated college with a degree in Worship Arts and Organizational Communication, did 3 years of volunteer service through AmeriCorps, and am now doing full-time missions work in my parents’ hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. I still want to be an author, and maybe a teacher in some capacity, but I’m in a phase of life where I'm discovering what the Lord wants me to do.

What I want to do has hardly ever been a point of clarity for me. But who do I want to be? Even in the hardest moments of indecision, I’ve always wanted to be a person that helps others. If I were to answer the question now, I’d say, “I want to be a faithful steward of people and moments.” Furthermore, I want to be a servant-hearted missionary. By God’s grace, I have the opportunity to become that person right now. 

Through missions, I am currently doing what I love and day-by-day becoming a more faithful steward of people and moments, but it is costing me everything (this is good news) *see Matthew 16:24-26 or any origin story of the early disciples. Financially, emotionally, mentally...I am being stretched in ways I didn’t know were possible and it is challenging. I am grateful for this growth and willing to endure difficulties, but lately I’ve wrested a lot with questions like,

• “Do I stop doing what I love for the sake of getting my needs met?”

• “Did God really call me into full-time missions?”

• “Should I quit now before my ‘yes’ costs me anything else?”

Yikes! These questions have an undertone of doubting God and that last one completely misses the heart of the Gospel. Things aren’t always going to make sense, nor will they be perfectly convenient, but surrendering my heart, plans, and life to Jesus will always be worthwhile. God continues to remind me that self-sufficiency & my comfort zone are things that I lose when I journey with Him (this is a blessing). In letting them go, I gain greater peace and purpose that can only be found in His presence. In laying down my life, I truly find it in the Lord.

Matthew 16:24-26 ESV

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

In 2023, I took a BIG leap of faith that propelled me into a new community of believers- I attended a 1-week ministry intensive. I don’t recall telling anyone I was applying. I didn’t support-raise. I just went for it, knowing I planned on starting grad school the same week the intensive was scheduled, and the intensive fee would be the amount of my entire paycheck (at the time). Nevertheless, I believed things would work out if the Lord wanted me to attend. Praise God, everything worked out! I could afford the expense, the graduate program I was interested in fell through, and the intensive changed my life!! It’s why I am in full-time missions now!

I’ve since recognized the importance of inviting people into my journey, and have support-raised for a couple of ministry needs, but have only been fully-funded for 1 so far (excluding one ministry event that happened prior). I believe this is primarily because I hadn’t continued to ask for help when I needed it most. For my fully-funded trip to Alaska, I knew I couldn’t go unless I had support, so I was persistent in asking for help. When I was working a full-time job while also doing part-time ministry, I was exhausted, but managed to fill in the gaps of my unmet support-raising needs through my consistent income. I am currently in full-time missions, working part-time without consistent income, and I am not able to support myself. I love the mission field and wholeheartedly believe in the work I am doing, but I need support in order to stay here. 

I’ve tried to do this work without needing external support, and it is not sustainable for me, nor is it God’s desire for my time in full-time missions. Before asking for help, I was struggling with an entanglement of pride and insecurity where I hid behind not asking for what I needed, relied on self-sufficiency instead of community, and allowed fear to infiltrate my thoughts and hinder me from being present and content where God has placed me to serve. Humility is the goal- to be a faithful steward of people and moments. 

My heart behind support raising is not merely asking for money, but for support. As an integral part of my support team, my aim is to pray for and encourage you, too! If you can support me monetarily, you are helping meet my biggest practical needs. If you able to support through prayer and encouragement, you are helping meet my biggest spiritual needs. To endure, I need both. 

I’m praying for 15-20 people who believe in what God is doing globally, want to be part of finishing the Great Commission, and are able to give $80-100/month. 

By supporting me, you’re also supporting 4+ local and abroad missionaries, grocery runs for 2+ elderly family members, and helping provide 120+ meals to the inner-city and unhoused community of Nashville, and so much more!

Will you prayerfully consider helping me become a faithful steward of people and moments on the mission field in Nashville, Tennessee?

Click to Partner in Financial Support!