My Story

First of all, I just want to say I was free! I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and it was apparently “buy one, get one free day” at the hospital, and my brother just so happened to come out first. At the age of two, our family moved to Ohio where my Daddy planted a church called Word of Life Christian Center. We all currently serve here together as a family.

Early Years

I was homeschooled by my Momma along with my twin brother, Michael, and younger brother, Matthew. The most asked question I get about being homeschooled is if I ever felt left out of things. It was actually quite the opposite. My family was very active in our town’s homeschool group, sports, as well as in the church. If I was given the choice, I would do it all over again.

At the age of five, I asked Jesus to come into my heart. I know that I was only five but I remember looking up at the stars knowing that God holds them in place. If He could do that, I wanted Him to hold my heart in place too. I told my Momma that night I talked to Jesus, and she said that was good but wasn’t excited like I thought she would be. She didn’t realize that I was talking about the most important decision I would ever make in my entire life! All we remember is that it was sometime in October 2000.

Growing up in a Pentecostal church around the age of ten, I realized that I had to make more of an effort to follow Christ. It was a personal relationship of listening to Him, lifting my hands during worship, and reading His Word. At age twelve, I felt God call me to the mission field. I knew that someday I would go to a foreign land and tell people about Jesus. Not that I really went around proclaiming this to people, but I knew it was going to happen in His timing.

In the meantime, I read a lot of books about missionaries. Amy Carmichael, Elisabeth Elliot, Lillian Trasher, and George Muller to name a few. I admire them for their courage and great faith.

Teens

My teenage years with school, sports, and being a part of the Unashamed Youth group at my church were definitely the best days of my life. I know back then it didn’t always feel like it, but I lived for basketball games and youth group events. I started my dream job working at Hobby Lobby. I was so happy and content working in a store filled with nothing but crafts and décor.

Fun fact: My Momma got hired the next week and we worked together there for five years!

When I was seventeen, I went on my first missions trip with my Daddy to Nicaragua. It was really eye opening for me as we traveled every day to different churches to preach. From one church on top of an active volcano down to walking through the sewer to the children’s home, God truly protected us and moved mightily. We even had gangs trying to stop us on the streets. I also remember a little girl running down a path to come to church and she was wearing a dress that was made by a lady in our church back home.

No matter what you do, you can make an impact for Jesus if you give it to Him!

Pre Covid

To be honest, I always thought I would get married at a young age, but when I began asking God to open a door for missions, He did. At twenty-one, I decided I wasn’t waiting on a man to do what I felt God wanted me to do. I don’t know why I thought I needed a husband to fulfill my calling. Of course I still want to get married eventually, but most missionary women went to the field alone. So if it was God’s will, I could too.

I remember the exact spot where God spoke to me while I was working at Hobby Lobby. He told me to go to Thailand. I quit my full-time job and went on an internship for two months. It was there God called me. We just crossed over a river coming back from Burma into Thailand. One of the trucks in the back was stuck in the river so we were waiting for them. As I looked out my window into the rice field the Lord asked me, “Who do you see out in that field?” I said, “No one Lord.” He said, “The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Will you give Me one year here?” I quickly grabbed my phone to take a picture of the field just before we drove away. Such a small moment that changed my life forever. I finished out my two months and returned home.

I got a job at the bank the day after I got back from Thailand. It was crazy that I was out applying for jobs because jet lag is a serious thing! I got the job but during those seven months I was miserable inside. I wasn’t doing what God asked me to do. I even enrolled in Bible college to get a degree in missions hoping that would qualify me more to be on the mission field. God told me I would get my answer at the JSM Youth Campmeeting. I have to say, never doubt God’s Word because I really did get my answer at the campmeeting and it was the night I least expected it. I was prophesied over that I was going to be a missionary! I couldn’t stop crying because I felt God all over me that night and it was powerful.

The year 2019 will forever be the best year of my life!

It wasn’t easy but of course looking back, I remember mostly only the good. My entire year was documented through my blog which was later published in my book, “When God Says Go.” It talks about my ups and downs, how I didn’t have my family, how I didn’t know one word of the Thai language, being allergic to seafood, and overcoming typical daily struggles. But through it all, God was with me. I knew that with my whole heart. My faith grew in the Lord so much because He was the only one I could rely on.

Now - 2022

The year 2020 was a different story. I remember at the beginning of the year everything was going just a little “too good” if you know what I mean? God told me not to be scared if He called me to “something less.” I took that as a warning that my plans would fall apart and of course, they did just that. I went and served in South Africa for two months and came home just in time for the entire world to shut down from COVID. Personally, my little world was shaken too.

I think most of us would say 2020 wasn’t a year of vision and we would rather just say it was a game of who could collect the most toilet paper and stay inside the longest. I think we all went through a shock of not seeing people at all to seeing them wearing masks. I remember in Thailand having to wear one and I felt so weird and uncomfortable in public. Obviously it goes much deeper than a mask…there were a lot of deaths, sicknesses, rioting, loss of jobs, etc. 2020 is a year of hurt, confusion, and depression for a lot of people. Even though it was hard, I know God wanted to change my vision and perspective. At the beginning of the year, I was planning to go to Jamaica, Indonesia Papua, and then back to Thailand but instead it ended up feeling like I’d wasted the year.

When the time was right, I left the missions organization I was working with. I always knew that I would have a ministry of my own one day and in the fall of 2020, God told me it was time to start.

Looking back I know now why God didn’t have me go to Thailand in November. He had something else for me to do. I know in everything the Lord does, He always has a purpose and with that He prepares you for it. I’m excited to be on this journey with Least of These Ministries! Please check out the “Purpose” tab of the ministry website to learn more behind the name. You can also read more about what the ministry is doing if you go down and check out the “Projects” tab!

This has been my life up until now and I know I am truly blessed by my Heavenly Father, family, and friends!

Least of These Ministries is in full launch and growth!!!

Oh Thailand…No matter what, it’s a stressful adventure. But I know God is using you to prepare me for what is to come.

This place causes me to lean more on the Lord, holding onto His grace in my darkest nights.
This place has taught me a lot about myself; good and the bad. Victories nor failures come easy.
This place keeps me on my knees for souls and humbled that I’m even a part of this mission serving the One True God.
This place makes me independent as I’m alone in a foreign country but the Lord faithfully pulls me through.
This place shows me more and more each day that it’s not my ways but His ways, and when things are out of my control I can rest in the fact that they
are always in His.

I know God is taking my hard present, which will be in the past, to mold me to become who He has called me to be for the future.

Now…I’m trying to live in the moment. Somedays I’m thriving and other days I’m surviving and I’m ok with that. Even in the waiting there is working, and I’m thankful He is working in me.

So here I am, Lord. Use me and mold me while I’m still at this place in Thailand for however long You wish that to be.

I have to say I miss my family like crazy and the answer is no, it doesn’t get easier the longer you’re away.

I just want to say how thankful I am for those who have supported and partnered with Least of These Ministries. Your prayers, your love, and your support mean the world to me for I wouldn’t be here without you! I cannot express that enough. We are doing this together! Teaching children, being in homes of Buddhists, Bible studies, and feeding the homeless (giving them clothes and hygiene items as well).

God has been SO GOOD through it all!! I just can’t stop praising Him!

“The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.”

– Elisabeth Elliot –