This morning I joined my family in church as I shared with my congregation an idea of what my year of service might look like. My mother was in Waconia with my grandmother, who is doing better, but has been staying at the hospital until they feel she is ready to go home. It has been such a blessing to hear that she has been sitting up and smiling and laughing with my aunts and uncles. Sometimes things in life can scare us, but sometimes I think they also awaken out hearts and help us to realize how much we love and appreciate those around us.

I have to admit that I practiced what I would say as I drove to church by myself this morning. Naturally, almost nothing that I practiced was actually said. Afterward we had a coffee hour that aided in my fund-raising efforts. When I arrived home I was called over to a neighbors when I was asked, "are you the one we heard about in church?" I had also sent a letter to the Lutheran church in my home town, and was so excited to hear that the conversation does not just end in my congregation, but extends to my town and really everyone that I know.

 Today I found myself confronted with a lot of questions that I didn't know the answers to. At first I felt a little embarrassed, but then I realized that I prefer not knowing all the answers. Having preconceived ideas of how things are "supposed to be" can sometimes hinder the beauty of discovery. With that, I intend on keeping my heart and mind open to the possibilities of what is to come. I was so blessed to enjoy the company and conversation of people who have helped to build my faith and support me as I grew up.

Today also allowed for some time of reflection on my journey thus far. I know that my church has laid such a solid foundation to my faith and who I am today, but that's not something that we often consider. I thought back to all the things of the church that I loved being a part of, church choir with my wonderful music teacher from high school, youth board, the Lutheran Youth Organization, Sunday School, and mission trips. I loved being a part of these things and they left me curious and passionate to pursue more. My senior year I went on a mission trip to Bolivia, South America, to help build a radio and television station. That was my first time out of the United States. Now, living in rural Minnesota, diversity is not a big part of our lives, so it was an eye opening experience for me. Three years later, as I ended my junior year of college, I went on a May Seminar through Concordia College to take a class called "World Christianity". We traveled to Amsterdam, London, and South Africa. Spending most of out time in South Africa, I was overwhelmed by the differences in financial wealth. I had never seen such wealth next to such extreme poverty. We walked through informal settlements and most memorable to we was the school that we stopped at. It was located in the settlement and was filled with beautiful smiling children who sang for us and loved the gift of bubbles we brought with. But, this school only allowed children whose parents' paid to send them there to attend, as we left, they picked out the children who snuck in with us, back out of their gated school. It hurt my heart to know that these children could only watch from afar, but not participate. This lit a fire in my heart to learn more about the world, to see more, and to serve more.

Now, here I am preparing to take a leap of faith to go to a new place to love on and learn alongside children. Yes, I will be teaching, but I expect it to be so much more than that.