Hola! This is a story about a little girl with a small piece of her Father’s big heart. This little girl lived her whole life in mild Indiana in the United States, a place where the winters are somewhat cold, the summers are somewhat hot, & the land is somewhat flat. This little girl was blessed because she grew up in a family that loved God, & they taught her to love Him too.

Meanwhile, the little girl started to grow up. She grew busy with things like SAT scores & college application essays. She spent lots of time thinking about her career & her future & less time thinking about how to love God’s people. She continued to love God, as she had been taught, but she loved Him with part of her life. She forgot that He gave to her an entire life only so that she could love Him & His children. She forgot that her career was to work in His service & no one else’s.

went to college.

The girl was always thinking about her next steps, & during her first few months of college she thought about what she should do that summer. That is when God began to whisper to her about a small piece of His big heart. He began to tell her that His children were hurting & that she could help.

The girl began to wonder if God wanted her to take a break from focusing on her career. She began to wonder if He was asking her to take the summer to learn how to better serve Him & His children.

But the girl had not practiced listening to her Father very often, & so she wondered if she was mishearing him. She applied for two jobs in the summer. The first job paid a lot & was at a new company with a well-known CEO that the girl knew could help with her career. The second job would cost her money & was in a country far away with people who she’d never met & she didn’t know their language.

Guess which job her Father gave her.

Now that girl is getting ready to go to the Dominican Republic. She will stay there for nine weeks, loving God & serving His children. She doesn’t know how the trip will help her career, & she doesn’t know why her Father asked her to go there. She does know that her Father wants her to go to the Dominican Republic, & she does know that her Father loves her. She trusts that her Father had things He wants to teach her that she can only learn there, & she prays every day that He will give her the wisdom to learn them well. This girl is me.

Toda la gloria a Dios. (All the glory to God.)