It was the last leg of my first international mission trip to the Philippines on a pleasantly cool day in Cavite at the end of February 2017, less than a year after I had been baptized into the church. Alone in the small room I was calling home, I prayed with passion that the Lord would make clear where he’d …

Joy. It’s a tiny word, but it has huge potential! It’s a word that encompasses fullness, gratitude, peace, and love. It’s a word that describes the atmosphere of Heaven. It’s a word we don’t say enough, a word that should be shouted from the rooftops. Have you ever known someone who exuded joy? The kind of person who is always …

After two long days of travel, we finally arrived at our new home — a farm near Sutherland, a remote town in South Africa. We entered the small white dwelling to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings. By now, it was starting to become dark and we were cold and tired. To our dismay, there was no electricity and no …

I love little children! There’s just something so fun and special about watching their minds work, hearing them try big words, and seeing them discover so many new things. For a little child, every day holds adventure, as they have so many firsts to experience and lessons to learn.  Recently, I have spent quite a bit of time with my …

I’m spending this week on summer vacation with my entire family. We’ve had so much fun swimming, riding in a speedboat, and peddling water bikes and a paddle boat, but one of the most exciting activities has been wakeboarding. My sister’s boyfriend has been wakeboarding since he could walk, and he proves to be an excellent teacher. Yesterday, he set …

I’ve been thinking a lot about words recently. My niece is almost three, and her vocabulary is astounding. Not only does she regularly use lingo such as “grandfather” and “adventure,” but she is always trying to learn new words! The past few days, she’s been experimenting with the proper use of many different terms. “Aunty Aileen, what does “hi” mean?” …