I grew up in a Christian home, so I've heard about Jesus my whole life. From the time I was old enough to understand, my mom would read biographies of missionaries to my sis and I before bed. I admit, I did not always have a great attitude about this, but when I heard the story of Gladys Aylward, my attitude changed.

If you don't know, Gladys was a missionary to China (back in the days when they were still allowed). Long story short, she went to China and started a huge orphanage and kept them all safe through a war. She fell in love with China, and never went back home. It is an amazing testimony of a woman who followed God's call, despite pretty much everyone she knew giving her a million reasons not to go.

I was so inspired by this story that at the tender age of six, I resolved that when I grew up, I was going to be just like her and have an orphanage in China.

However, as I continued to grow up I began to be distracted by everything in life. I still loved God and wanted to follow Him, but I put Him out of focus so that I was thinking more about friends and what I wanted in life rather than thinking about what God wanted from me. I thought salvation meant you ask God into your heart, and then do the good things the Bible talks about and live happily ever after.

Then one summer, when I was about twelve, I attended the bible camp I had attended every summer since third grade. There wasn't really anything special about the speakers that year, they said pretty much the same things I had been hearing my whole life. There weren't any special kids there, most of them I knew from the years before. What changed was inside me. For the first time it clicked:

God wanted to know me! And an even bigger revelation: He wanted me to know Him! It was such a duh! moment, but I finally understood that a relationship with God was exactly that- a relationship! I could get to know Him and He would get to know me.

I would like to be able to say that after that, I pursued God with all my heart and have been listening to Him ever since, but I would be lying. I continue to be distracted by life and the things going on around me. I am one of those people who can be entertained and enthralled by practically anything. I get frustrated with how often I have to turn around and say, "Sorry God, I'm really listening now. You were saying?" But my latest revelation is that surrendering your life to God doesn't just happen at the time of salvation. A life dedicated to God has to be constantly lifted up to Him. And He is always there to get me back on track.

Although I constantly become distracted with life and everything it brings, I could never forget the story of Gladys and my passion for missions. In eighth grade, I had the chance to go to Mexico with my youth group. Our project was helping to finish a new building for an orphanage in the Baja Peninsula. I cannot begin to describe the impact meeting the orphans had on me. They came from broken or nonexistent families, and yet were so willing to love. I spent every possible moment with them, learning as much about them as I could and taking every opportunity to invest myself towards loving them. But the kids did more for me than I ever did for them. Seeing the pure joy of God embodied in the most adorable children I have ever seen shook my world and left me craving more.

In 2009, I was blessed beyond belief to go with an organization called Teen Missions International to another orphanage in Thailand. It was a learning experience on all levels and once again, words cannot express how much I enjoy loving kids.

It just feels right.