Sit down and stay a while

well, let's get started, from the beginning..
i was born into a loving, christian family. went to church when i was 5 days old, and have been involved ever since. i've been blessed beyond belief with my parents. no child could as for more loving parents to show them the way. as an only child, one might say that i've been spoiled, even spoiled rotten, which is probably true, but the way i see it is that my parents have sacrificed things that they have wAnted to provide for me, to give me luxuries that i most likely don't deserve. in no way have i ever deserved what i've been given in this life, but God continues to bless me everyday. i went to a christian school in nashville from 2nd grade to 10th grade, then moved to beautiful, gorgeous, sunny, sarasota florida where i finished high school at another christian school. i was baptized at 13 years old. now that i look back, i can see that i made that decision to take on christ, but i did not fully understand the responsibilities this decision would entail. i don't believe that it is void because of that, because i was indeed seeking God and following His will, but not until later in my life did i really understand what His love means. i began coming to Honduras that year, 1997. i fell in love with TORCH, and i fell in love with this country, and i fell in love with God's work here. i have made some priceless friendships through TORCH and maintain them to this day. i praise God for the people i have met on these trips and have become close with. throught the years, i maintained my spiritual walk, having the peaks and valleys that every christian goes through, but never making a break through that absolutely changed my relationship with Him. i went to freed hardeman to play soccer after high school where i have made some of the best friends anyone could ask for. so, why am i where i am, why am i who i am? during my sophmore year, i got one of those phone calls.. the one when you answer the phone and you know something is wrong by the sound of your mother's voice. i learned that my father was diagnosed with skin cancer. they did not reveal to me how serious this problem was, knowing that i would have left school that second. the doctors gave my father very poor chances on making it. well God has other plans for my dad. people began praying. all over the nation, all over the world and God was faithful to our requests. he went through therapy for almost a year, when the doctors found more cancer. once again the prayers were lifted from hundreds and hundreds of people. today the doctors believe he is cancer free, and he is doing a dose of radiation to kill any cells that might linger. now, i dont know if you have had that one moment in your life when you knew that you needed God more than you had ever needed him before, but my father's cancer made me not only seek God, but crave Him. i knew that there was no way a healing would come without the faith that can move mountains. i have that faith, and i know God will answer a faithful prayer. God has been so amazing to me.
for years, i have put off a summer internship in Honduras with TORCH. needing to work, training for soccer, any excuse i could think of, i used, and i turned down God's plan for me. last summer, i listened to God's calling for me, and i told Him that whatever doors he opened i would walk through. not only did God give me the opportunity to do the summer internship, but the doors were wide open to come earlier, and live here for 6 months. something that i have been finding in my walk this year, is that God doesn't wait for you to seek Him, He actively pursues you and tugs at your heart to bring you close to Him, because that is what He wants, us to be close to Him. so here i am, in tegucigalpa honduras trying to follow God's will for my life, and trying to spread the news about His love.
i know i've been long-winded, so i will wrap it up.
GOD is GOOD, ALL the TIME