A New Chapter
Dear friends and family,
It’s probably been a while since you last heard from me, but I wanted to provide an update on some exciting plans coming up in my life. As you may know, I graduated from John Brown University (JBU) last May of 2025. I really loved my time there, and I was able to make some great friends, all while graduating with a degree in Graphic Design & Marketing. Immediately following this, God graciously provided me with a job working for J.B. Hunt in Lowell, Arkansas, where I have been for the last year, working as a graphic designer in their marketing department.
Over the last year, I have grown and learned a lot about working in the professional world and stepping into life as a young adult. God has provided new community through a lunch group at work, as well as a gathering of young adult believers at a new church and small group. I have also been able to stay well connected with my friends from college and my brother Ross, who is a sophomore at JBU.
However, there have also been some difficulties and challenges. During my undergrad, I was simultaneously taking some classes to pursue a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in Design Thinking & Innovation. While I continued pursuing this Masters up until the beginning of this year, I have decided to put the program on pause for right now. I was taking classes online that I wasn’t particularly thrilled about, and it was tough to balance while working full-time and starting life in a (somewhat) new place. In all honesty, I was feeling quite burned out from doing work and school for the past five years.
Around that time, however, I had the opportunity (through my parents’ work) to attend Urbana 2025 – a large conference in Phoenix, AZ all about global missions. Although I did get sick, I was able to attend a lot of the sessions, and throughout the whole experience, I really felt the Lord nudging me on with one message – you don’t have to know the whole plan, just take the next clear step.
So through a combination of a lot of doors closing and new ones opening, I have ultimately decided to take a whole year off to do a post-college gap year (of sorts). I want to pursue my relationship with the Lord and further explore more about what global missions looks like from personal experience, rather than what I know about it from growing up as a missionary kid.
Tauernhof Bible School
Starting April 26th, I will be attending Tauernhof Bible School in Schladming, Austria (part of the larger worldwide organization, Torchbearers International). I will be enrolled in the spring term, which focuses on studying the New Testament. In addition to daily lectures, the program includes time for personal study, working around the campus, lots of physical activities and sports, and outreach activities in the area. There will be around 90 students attending from around the world, and I will be sharing a room with three to five roommates.
Serbia Mission Trip
On June 20th, I will be going with a small group from Bible school on a two-week mission trip to Serbia. We will be in Belgrade and Prokuplje, where we will be supporting a local church with kids programs, as well doing outreach in some neighboring areas.
Zambia Mission Trip
For the month of July, I will take a quick pit stop in Switzerland for a friend’s wedding, and then I am heading to Zambia on a one month mission trip with Africa Freedom Mission.
This will be the first time being back in Zambia after 7 years, since my time growing up there. I’m sure there will be a lot of mixed emotions going back, but I am excited to be there doing missions work.
I will partly be in the capital city, Lusaka, where I grew up, and partly out in the rural areas and villages. I will be serving with a team of about 30 young adults, mostly from the U.S., to do outreach and evangelism, street kids ministry, orphan care ministry, as well as youth projects at local community schools.
After this trip, I don’t have anything finalized for the month of August, but I will most likely stay around for a little bit, reconnecting with old friends, people, and places from my childhood. I’m sure there will be opportunities to help with missions in some capacity from all my previous connections there.
YWAM DTS
And last but not least, in September I am planning on doing a Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Discipleship Training School (DTS). A DTS involves a three-month training program followed by three months of outreach in a country overseas.
I am currently looking into two possible locations – YWAM Maui in Hawaii, or YWAM Rogaland in Norway. I am looking into the Surfing Track at Maui or the Wind & Waves Track in Norway. I have been accepted to both, but I’m really not sure which one I want to do yet (tough to decide between two incredible locations :)). I will need to officially select my location this May.
Summary
All in all, I hope this next year is something I can look back on someday and see all the work the Lord was doing in my life. Some Bible verses that have been on my mind have been: Matthew 6:33, Proverbs 16:9 & 19:21, Ezekiel 36:22-30, Hebrews 13:20-21, James 4:13-15, Romans 12:2, and pretty much the whole book of Ecclesiastes. A short book called Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung has also been helpful in trying to understand more about God’s will. I think this next year is the beginning of something new that the Lord is working on in my heart, and most of all, I would like to grow and mature in my understanding of Him.
Thank you for your interest and support!