My Last Year

Hey everyone! 

I just wanted to write this first blog about my last year and how I got to where I am. I hope you can really pull something valuable from it and learn something new. 

So this time last year, I was doing online school. I had gone to Westminster from 7th grade to 11th grade, but I decided to do something different for my senior year. I’m not the kind of person that likes school, so when I found out I could graduate early, I took that shot. The only way I could do that was by doing online school for my senior year, and I decided it would be worth it to get out of school early. So after working my summer at camp Gamble, I started up with classes. It was so easy for me that I decided to get a job working at a candle factory too. At this time, I wasn’t sure what my future would like, but I knew that I didn’t want to be stuck at home. My parents are on the board for a children’s home in Burundi, Africa, and when my mom suggested I go visit there, I almost immediately knew that’s what I should do. 

So I graduated school in early January of 2019 and went off to Africa. There was a team that was there with me for the first week, then they all left. I was living with the missionary family in their home in a small mountain village in the middle of the African bush. This was totally wild for me. Now I’ve been on a lot of camping trips during my time in Boy Scouts, but it still wasn’t anything like this. We only had water from 7am to 6pm, then it shut off. There was no store to go to or online shopping. You may have heard this kind of story before, but you will not understand it until you go live it out yourself. You just can’t. 

My job there was mainly teaching. However, I also did a couple of construction projects- like going into the forest, chopping down a tree, and making a fence out of it. I taught English lessons everyday at the children’s home, I taught guitar lessons on Saturdays, and I for about 2 months I taught first and third grade to the missionary kids. This was just a step above what I had ever done before. In my experience of teaching, it has all been at leadership camps or conferences, summer camps, or just in the outdoors. This was my first time teaching in an actual classroom. I also had the opportunity to preach in the church a couple of times. This was also something I have never done. 

Coming home was hard. I lived there for almost 4 months, learned quite a bit of their language, and made friends from Germany, Australia, France, Canada, and of course Burundi natives. There was only a handful of people that could actually speak fluent English, so saying goodbye to those friends was hard. 

As soon as I got home, I was straight back into a busy schedule. I only had a little over a week back at home before I left to work at JH Ranch in Northern California. During the weekend I was home, I went to a prom, skydiving, party, and then spoke at church that Sunday. It was insane! Three days later, I was on a plane to California. 

I was hired to work at this Christian camp back in November, and I was told that my job would be river guide and a potential coach. However, as I was getting onto the bus to drive there, I was told how I would have a different job- Equipment Manager. At the time I was okay with it, but man, it was hard. My job was an integral part of running the student programs that hold about 300 students every session. There were consistent nights that I would work from 6am to 9pm. This was by far the hardest volunteer job I’ve ever had, but also the most rewarding. Kids get their lives changed at this place, and it was amazing to be part of it. While there, I made the decision to stay and work during the fall too. I figured that I would rather be out there working than at home doing nothing. During the fall, I worked both in the kitchen and on ropes course maintenance. It was a normal day for me to be 50+ feet in the air hanging off the side of a structure in a harness, then going back to the kitchen to do dishes. I loved working out there in the fall so much. Definitely one of my favorite jobs. 

While I was out there, I felt like I heard God telling me “India”. I really did not want to go there at all. Then about a week after I heard that, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go to India with him in October. I knew this had to be God, so of course I easily agreed to go. We are there helping run a weekend conference being put on by JH Ranch, so it should be a good time.

I got home from California last week, and in about 5 days from now, I’ll be getting on a plane for India. It’s only a two week trip, so I’ll be back home from November to January of next year. Now this brings me to the future…

When I was out in California, I was looking up gap year programs because I knew I wanted to travel. I felt like I was hearing God tell me Ecuador and also Thailand. When I found the website for World Race, they had trips to both of these places. The more I prayed about it, the more I felt led to go to Ecuador. However, I do believe that Thailand will be one of my next mission trips after this. I got accepted and confirmed within a couple days of first finding the website- it moved so quickly and easily and everything just fell into place. Now from January 23rd- August 1st of 2020, I’ll be travelling around Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru doing mission work all along the way. I’m super excited to see what God is going to do there!

Even a year and a half ago, I would have thought it was crazy for me to be doing any of the stuff that I’ve already done. This seems even more crazy, but it also feels right. I have so much peace in my spirit about fundraising and going. As far as after this program, I have no idea. I don’t see myself going to school again, but I’m willing to do whatever the Lord calls me to do.

Thank you so much for reading this long and drawn out story about my last year. If you made it this far, please feel free to reach out and talk any time. I’m always willing for a good conversation. Please keep me in your prayers! Thank you so much!

Matthew