How It All Started

It all started with a Christmas vacation to my Aunt Char and Uncles Kieth's in West Virginia. They live in a big old beautiful house in the Appalachian Mountains. Every summer they house volunteers as part of a nonprofit program called SWAP (Serving With Appalachian Peoples). Ministry is viewed as a lifestyle and volenteers are encouraged to deepen their relationsip with Christ and eachother through helping local people. While we were there, we met another family involved in the SWAP program. I saw how fufilled and happy they were and decided to check this SWAP thing out.


So the next summer I found myself in West Virginia for 6 weeks doing everything from drywalling to cooking to building footers. And I realized that I could relate to these people and they were some of the sweetest, most amazing people I have ever met. They have so much faith because there are less material things to get in the way. And I realized that it wasn't just me believing in God. God believes in me. It was like having the whole world laid out before me. It was truly one of the most fufilling, life-changing experiences in my life.


I came home more confident and happy. I was willing to put myself on the line and be vulnerable. And that is ultimately what inspired me to do Mercy Ships. I feel like God has swept me off my feet to show me His fingerprints on lives around the world.