Hi Everyone!
I have finally figured all this out and I’m going to take a shot at talking about myself. I grew up in a small rural town outside of Richmond, Virginia. It really must have been what heaven is like for kids. My life was consumed with hours of playing in the woods, climbing trees, swimming in our pond, making bonfires with my Dad and playing hide-and-seek with friends and family. I am the son of two of the most loving parents whom have been together since middle school and are still crazy in love. I have one sister, but a very large extended family who all lives within just a few miles. My grandparents on both sides are amazing Christians and have raised great families. I went through elementary school and middle school just fine, besides the awkwardness of grades six through eight. I was a little shy growing up, but it mostly subsided when I got to high school. The summer of my junior year I decided to do something different and I went on a month long volunteering to a trip to Kenya. I had always had the passion for traveling and learning about oppressed cultures, therefore Kenya was the perfect. It is hard to put into words how much Kenya changed my life and how it has become apart of who I am today. While there I taught at a school and build a new school for the children we were teaching. As a result, I returned to my small town a new person and graduated from high school and used my graduation money to work with street children in Peru.
I go to Virginia Tech, which I believe is one of the best places on earth. I have grown so much while being here and am deeply attached to everything that is VT. As most of you know back in 2007 the largest mass killing in United States history occurred on my campus. It is impossible to put into words that whole part of my life, but I was personally affected by the shootings. I’ll save yall some sadness here but I’m sure yall will one day hear the story. Last spring I spent six months in Ecuador, which was basically awesome. I did a lot of traveling while there and really emersed myself in their culture. However, during that time I met an amazing person, Lauren, who shared with me God’s message and through her daily actions I could see Christ in her life.
I spent the next few months in Ecuador and then back at home redefining myself. Becoming confident in myself, through accepting the past and knowing my dreams and passions. It was not until my grandmother past away that I truly accepted Christ into my life. Knowing that my grandmother went to heaven in her pasting really allowed for me to come alive spiritually. The message of God that Lauren had shared with me months before in Ecuador ran through my body with power. After my grandmothers funeral I returned to school with the goal of surrounding myself with Christians and ending old habits. I knew I needed the support and grace of Christians in my life to strengthen my relationship with Christ. I prayed for this and went to God’s word for strength and found: “So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41: 10-11. God truly answered my prayers because within the first week He showed me four of the most amazing people in the world. They are a walking light for Christ and just happen to have the same passion for traveling and cultures as I do. I instantly became friends with them and they showed me a whole new world here at this campus.
Since then I can’t describe how awesome my life has been. God has now led me to you great people and we are all going to Swaziland (crazy)! I am overly thrilled to meet all of yall and stoked to explore Swaziland and see God in a much different light.
Ryan
