How old were you when you attended your first trip and where was it?

My first mission trip was in the eighth grade and it was to Haiti and I don’t know what happened to get me on that trip, but I guess I kind of ended up on it and it’s honestly a memory that I can’t ever forget.

What motivates you to go on trips?

My passion is just to really help people, I love being able to feel like I’ve made the world just a little bit better and… I feel like I have to do it.

How do you think that your calling to service will influence where you go to school and what you will eventually do with your life?

I was planning on getting a dual degree; one in ministry and another in design… to actually design clothes and donate clothes to kids who are less fortunate than us. Most of the time when you’re in third world countries kids will wear clothes for an entire week without cleaning them.

How is life different in the places you’ve seen?

The children in third world countries, they’re obviously much more poor, they have maybe one, two pairs of clothes, if they are lucky they’ll have a pair of shoes…They might get some rice, maybe some noodles…the food that’s out there….it’s not healthy for them. They leave their meat out, just on these tables. I remember when I was in Haiti, one of the first things I saw was one of the marketplaces and there’s food laying out on tables and there’s flies flying around the goat meat and it was right next to the fruit…it was just not sanitary in any sense and it wasn’t safe for the kids to consume.

What is the most important thing you learned while on a trip?

I’d have to say that maybe patience would be one of the big things that I was struggling with, just learning to…wait for the proper time to do things and not try to get in too much of a hurry

What is the most memorable thing that happened to you on a trip?

At the time, I didn’t believe in God at all I was just there to have some fun and do some cool stuff…while I was sitting up there in the night on this porch… it all kind of clicked in one moment…in a way I felt like God was speaking to me through that…It was kind of weird because out of all places, I was up on this roof of this school because that was where we were staying at the time and…still it’s one place I can’t forget…there were mountains off in the distance, you could see the mountains off in the distance. It’s probably my favorite place and it’s a memory that I cannot personally forget.

How did these trips change you?

My motivation has definitely changed for going on these trips…like I said, I didn’t believe in God…I honestly just wanted to get away from my family and this sounded like a cool way to do so, and I’ve always enjoyed helping people…after I got back there was just a radical difference…two weeks later I got baptized, all I could think about how could I get on another mission trip, how else could I help people. 

Why are you going to South Africa?

I am going because I feel like I was called to go to South Africa on this trip but, my main purpose is to help other people…but I think it’s going to be great, I think I am going to get a lot out of it. I know that God works in ways that you’ll never see, especially on trips like theses…I’m just really excited to see what it has in store for me.

What is some advice you have to give?

God has you in a place for a very certain reason…whether it be international or local…there is so many ways you can contribute to society. You can do local mission trips such as KCRM, helping the homeless people.

How do you try to serve while you are at home?

I really love serving food at the Kansas City Rescue Mission because you cook the food, possibly and you get to serve it to the people directly…you get to sit down and talk to them and everyone of them has story. It’s always great to listen to their story, these people, even though they might be homeless, they are really wise.

What was a specific event that led you to this lifestyle?

There was no particular event that led me to Haiti or church, one day I woke up and something was different.

Any after thoughts?

You don’t have to be a Christian to help…look  for a way to help someone other than yourself and just know that there are people out there who are less fortunate than us who need help and don’t pass it up if you have the chance. The world would be a lot better place….if everyone could just help each other.