First, I just want to say how much I have loved reading your posts and how PUMPED I am to meet every one of you. It's so cool to think that God has had this trip planned, knowing that each one of us will be a part of it.

I have grown up in Atlanta, GA with an incredible family who loves the Lord. I am so thankful for parents who have raised me in a household where Jesus is the focus and the Rock. I have an older brother who is almost 26 and married, and a sister who is 23 and moving to Denver this summer. Both have been huge influences on my life, and are my best friends.

I went to the same school for 13 years here in Atlanta, meaning many of my friends I have known since we were 5 or 6 years old. When I started college last fall at the University of Virginia, it was a major transition, to say the least. I knew a few people, but still felt like I was lost amidst the 13,000 undergraduates. Being on my own for the first time, I have been learning how powerful the love of God really is. In learning to be completely dependent on Him, I have seen Him working in ways I haven't recognized before. He brought me to an amazing fellowship group called Chi Alpha, where I have been blessed with friends who challenge, encourage, and love me as the brothers and sisters that they are. I feel like this first year of college has given me a glimpse of what the body of Christ really looks like.

This year, I have been questioning what life as a Christian is supposed to look like in this materialistic, self-centered world. Do I live and love as the "little Christ" that I am called to be? What does this look like on a daily basis and how do we let Christ shine through in even the mundane things? I just want to jump on board with what God is doing because, as He has shown me this year, living for Him is AWESOME and I wouldn't want to live any other way.

Which leads into this summer. I can't wait to be in Nicaragua with yall and to be a part of all that God is doing there. I have never done anything like this before, and so I'm excited to step out, not really knowing what to expect, except that God will be there! My prayer for this summer has been 2 Corinthians 2:14 - "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in a triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." 

God Bless! Can't wait to meet yall!

- Paige

I'm in the middle of this picture with some of my Chi Alpha friends -