Hey everyone!
My name is Elsa. I am a God-fearing woman of God who is on a mission to spread His great and perfect love to everyone.

I was raised in a Christian family and became a Christian when I was five years old. However, as I grew up, it came to my attention that my faith was not my own but my parent's. They told me to do my devotions, pray, and tithe and brought me to church. I never sought out God on my own. When I was diagnosed with Epilepsy, God started working in my heart, and I began to seek a relationship with Him. Through my medical journey, God taught me to lean on Him in every situation. He showed me that He isn't going to take away everything hard in my life but help me through it instead of growing me. God also made firm my identity in Him.

The next major life event that was getting me ready for God's purpose for my life was a mission trip to Zambia. My relationship grew deeper with God on this trip. I also realized that things/stuff won't ever make me God on this trip. I also realized that things/stuff won't ever make me happy. No matter how much I have, the property I own isn't getting me to heaven. Before this trip, I wanted to be a Dog Trainer. When I returned from Zambia, I became a Professional Dog Trainer and started working as a trainer. I had grand plans of starting my own business. However, God had different plans for my life. He clarified that I was not supposed to be going into dog training. I felt called to missions. I prayed for the next step in my life to be made clear, and it was through my sister and parents. I applied and got a job working in the daycare at Gateway Mission.

Through small nudges over the past few months, it came to my attention that I was hogging and not sharing anything I learned from God with others. In one of my devotion times, I read about the great commission. These Bible verses struck me and made me think about how I am spreading the Word of God. I prayed, "God, you lead, and I will follow wherever you want me to go and spread the gospel." During this whole time, I still felt a call to missions. I continued to pray about it and started looking at mission trips. I was looking for something where I would live on little and be in the culture with the people. Experience Mission came up. I talked to my parents about it and then applied. Praying God would open or shut this new door in my life. Then I got the crazy, exciting news! I could go!

God has called me to go and spread His love among His people in Costa Rica and different parts of Africa. The mission trip is nine months long. I chose this trip to experience what being a missionary is all about. I read about it in books, but I want to understand the ups and downs of being on the mission field and experience it myself. I also would like to know if being a full-time missionary is for me or not. Your prayer and generosity will make this trip possible for me to attend. Thank you so much for reading my journey and for your prayers and gifts.