You wanna know more, more, more about me? I'm the girl who's beggin' the coke machine...
Welcome to a slice of my life!
My name is Kristina, if you haven't already caught on to that!
I've been on an adventure with Jesus through these past 23 years of life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I like to think I've passionately, whole-heartedly loved Jesus since I came out of the womb... but let's be honest here. That's just not the truth.
I have had a heart for Jesus since a young age. Boys came and went. Friends came and went. But Jesus was always, always, always there.
I didn't truly understand the concepts of TRUE love or TRUE sacrifice until I was a bit older. In college, I was a part of a large campus ministry called His House. This church helped me see the world in a new light. It helped me grow more spiritually in-depth than I could ever imagine. It was a place where I learned what I truly value above anything else in this world. Where my heart lies, and what my mind wanders off to think about more often than not.
It was here where my heart for missions exploded. Each year, we had the opportunity to go on a spring break mission trip. We could choose from anywhere around 12-15 locations, different fields, styles, leaders, etc. I had been on random trips with my home youth group before, but never quite like these. Each trip I went on taught me something new about myself.
Once I was done with school I thought, I wonder if the mission trips will stop there? I knew my heart so deeply wanted to serve others. But honestly, I had no idea where my career path would take me. I've never been one who "fits the mold", if you will. I'm not one who makes my job my life, nor one who pours herself into the habits of this world. I've always just needed a sense of adventure. Something to carry me on the next phase.
and boy did God have something big up His sleeve for me.
I started going to Haiti in October of 2014. I was reading a book called, "Love Does" by Bob Goff { and if you haven't read it you need to go out and buy it right now } and I felt God was reaching out to me to go and LOVE. I don't mean just check in with friends, hug my family, or talk to someone I haven't seen in a while. I mean sacrificial, unconditional, real love.
I had recently joined a new church called 242. At one of the first services I attended, they announced that they go to Haiti with an organization called "Raincatchers". The next trip that wasn't full was planned for April of 2015. So I emailed the woman in charge { now turned mentor, friend, and an amazing leader } and asked her if I could sign-up. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I thought, "Hey... I have lots of time to prepare! April is so far away!"
Joke's on me. God said, "There's a spot open in October, you're going sooner".
So as I prepared { and slightly freaked out } I trusted in God that this is what he wanted for me.
October rolls around, and we board the plane for Miami. { at 3 in the morning I might add } I am nervous beyond belief. Meeting up with a bunch of strangers, none of whom I've met before. Leaving for a foreign country I know little about... and taking a leap of faith.
Round 1: I was terrified. I walked out of the Port-Au-Prince airport with fear in my eyes and a queasy stomach. I decided I was an idiot. I had absolutely no idea what I had gotten myself into, and I wanted to turn around and go home. I called my mom when we made it to the hotel, with misty eyes, "I am scared. I think I am going to die here..."
Okay, yes... I realize this is a tad overdramatic, but at the time the nerves { and the devil } got the best of me.
Round 1, Day 2: I woke up and looked outside. To the most incredible view I had ever seen in my life. We got ready to leave, and climbed aboard the Tap-Tap { basically a glorified dump truck, with a pole down the middle and straps to 'hold on' to } and I thought to myself, "God, this is the biggest adventure I have ever been on. I'm not going to let it go to waste."
... and from that point on, I fell in love. I mean deeply, passionately, crazy, in love with Haiti.
I have never experienced a love so real in my life. I can't even put into words all that I feel for the country + the people, but when I am in Haiti, I feel my purpose in this world. I feel the reason I have breath in my lungs, and everything that I've learned over the years { skills, passions, etc. } I can see them come to use in this place.
The love that they show is incredible. I can't go more than five minutes from waking up + going outside to where I'm having my hand held, or given a hug. I am constantly in awe of the sheer happiness + joy in their hearts. This joy is deep. It's not the fleeting kind we have in America, based on buying an item of clothing that we will wear 2 times, or eating a meal. This joy comes from a well deep inside of them. From a place that most of us don't ever get to experience.
But I am thankful. I am ever so thankful that God has placed me on this journey with Haiti. That he took a heart that was old and dusty, and He told me, "I created you for a specific purpose". And this is it.
I'll apologize now for my ramblings, my tangents, and my sometimes-confusing way of writing... but thank you for listening, reading and taking it all in! I hope to bring light to the darkness, to give hope to the hopeless, and to create a world that God intended here on this earth.
Welcome to a slice of my life!
My name is Kristina, if you haven't already caught on to that!
I've been on an adventure with Jesus through these past 23 years of life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I like to think I've passionately, whole-heartedly loved Jesus since I came out of the womb... but let's be honest here. That's just not the truth.
I have had a heart for Jesus since a young age. Boys came and went. Friends came and went. But Jesus was always, always, always there.
I didn't truly understand the concepts of TRUE love or TRUE sacrifice until I was a bit older. In college, I was a part of a large campus ministry called His House. This church helped me see the world in a new light. It helped me grow more spiritually in-depth than I could ever imagine. It was a place where I learned what I truly value above anything else in this world. Where my heart lies, and what my mind wanders off to think about more often than not.
It was here where my heart for missions exploded. Each year, we had the opportunity to go on a spring break mission trip. We could choose from anywhere around 12-15 locations, different fields, styles, leaders, etc. I had been on random trips with my home youth group before, but never quite like these. Each trip I went on taught me something new about myself.
Once I was done with school I thought, I wonder if the mission trips will stop there? I knew my heart so deeply wanted to serve others. But honestly, I had no idea where my career path would take me. I've never been one who "fits the mold", if you will. I'm not one who makes my job my life, nor one who pours herself into the habits of this world. I've always just needed a sense of adventure. Something to carry me on the next phase.
and boy did God have something big up His sleeve for me.
I started going to Haiti in October of 2014. I was reading a book called, "Love Does" by Bob Goff { and if you haven't read it you need to go out and buy it right now } and I felt God was reaching out to me to go and LOVE. I don't mean just check in with friends, hug my family, or talk to someone I haven't seen in a while. I mean sacrificial, unconditional, real love.
I had recently joined a new church called 242. At one of the first services I attended, they announced that they go to Haiti with an organization called "Raincatchers". The next trip that wasn't full was planned for April of 2015. So I emailed the woman in charge { now turned mentor, friend, and an amazing leader } and asked her if I could sign-up. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I thought, "Hey... I have lots of time to prepare! April is so far away!"
Joke's on me. God said, "There's a spot open in October, you're going sooner".
So as I prepared { and slightly freaked out } I trusted in God that this is what he wanted for me.
October rolls around, and we board the plane for Miami. { at 3 in the morning I might add } I am nervous beyond belief. Meeting up with a bunch of strangers, none of whom I've met before. Leaving for a foreign country I know little about... and taking a leap of faith.
Round 1: I was terrified. I walked out of the Port-Au-Prince airport with fear in my eyes and a queasy stomach. I decided I was an idiot. I had absolutely no idea what I had gotten myself into, and I wanted to turn around and go home. I called my mom when we made it to the hotel, with misty eyes, "I am scared. I think I am going to die here..."
Okay, yes... I realize this is a tad overdramatic, but at the time the nerves { and the devil } got the best of me.
Round 1, Day 2: I woke up and looked outside. To the most incredible view I had ever seen in my life. We got ready to leave, and climbed aboard the Tap-Tap { basically a glorified dump truck, with a pole down the middle and straps to 'hold on' to } and I thought to myself, "God, this is the biggest adventure I have ever been on. I'm not going to let it go to waste."
... and from that point on, I fell in love. I mean deeply, passionately, crazy, in love with Haiti.
I have never experienced a love so real in my life. I can't even put into words all that I feel for the country + the people, but when I am in Haiti, I feel my purpose in this world. I feel the reason I have breath in my lungs, and everything that I've learned over the years { skills, passions, etc. } I can see them come to use in this place.
The love that they show is incredible. I can't go more than five minutes from waking up + going outside to where I'm having my hand held, or given a hug. I am constantly in awe of the sheer happiness + joy in their hearts. This joy is deep. It's not the fleeting kind we have in America, based on buying an item of clothing that we will wear 2 times, or eating a meal. This joy comes from a well deep inside of them. From a place that most of us don't ever get to experience.
But I am thankful. I am ever so thankful that God has placed me on this journey with Haiti. That he took a heart that was old and dusty, and He told me, "I created you for a specific purpose". And this is it.
I'll apologize now for my ramblings, my tangents, and my sometimes-confusing way of writing... but thank you for listening, reading and taking it all in! I hope to bring light to the darkness, to give hope to the hopeless, and to create a world that God intended here on this earth.