Introduction to the team: Christina Donovan

So, I thought it would be appropriate for each of us to let you know a little bit about who we are, so we're going to be posting our stories.

 We'll start off with mine.

 Hi!

My name is Christina Donovan and I am currently 20 years old. I'll be turning 21 in Central America on July 15th! I'm currently a student studying for a Elementary Education Degree. I want to tell you a little bit about how the Lord has worked in my life and how He has led me to this place.

I grew up in a Christian home and my parents always made sure I was saturated in the Word and surrounded by a Christian community. I knew all the right things to say, how to act and how to conduct myself and the typical church kid. I went to church on Sundays and considered myself pretty mature because I went to grown up service with my parents. As a child I believed the fact that my parents went and were well known in the church meant that I was saved and I didn't have to answer for my own actions. I believed there was a God, and that He had a Son Jesus who was mentioned a lot, but other than that I was naive to what it meant to be a Christian.

It wasn't until I was approaching teenage years that I began to face the fact that my actions and thoughts accounted for more of my Christian walk than I thought they would. My grandfather passed away and that experience changed my world view in a big way. I had never experienced pain and sorrow like that and it was a new sensation to me. My thoughts turned to "Why would God allow this to happen?" and "If he(my grandfather) was such a good Christian, why would God take him?". It was kind of quick when my grandpa died and unexpected, so it was something I hadn't prepared for. Instead of turning to the Lord I turned to my anger and let it take control of me.

Through a series of angry outburst I slowly pushed away everyone close to me and kept to myself. I decided that even if God was real I didn't want anything to do with Him and I could take care of myself. I let my pride and selfishness take over my actions and lived life the way I saw fit. This proved to only provide more hurt in my life as I developed depressive tendencies and lashed out against my family and friends. I just remember always being angry and upset and seeing my life as being worthless. I actively rebelled just to be rebellious and a headache to my family. It was disastrous, I wasn't getting anything of value from being my own person and "taking control" of my life. The Lord saw all of this and still had compassion on me. It's something I still can't even fathom today.

 One night as I was screaming in my room, yelling profanities in the air, telling God that I didn't want Him, the Lord spoke to my heart. It was a supernatural peace that overtook me and the Lord was telling me that everything I was looking for was in Him. I was convicted of my own selfishness and the Lord softened my heart to see where my pride was getting in the way of a relationship with Him. All the while I was going to a great high school that really stressed the importance of being in Word and finding your solid base in that and building up from there. I started with the Gospel as a source of wisdom.

 "But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13 ESV)

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 The fact that the Lord offered salvation by nothing more than His grace to us, was something I almost couldn't fathom. But I still believed and cherished the fact. It has been a growing process but from that day I dedicated myself to striving for Him and living for His kingdom. The peace and joy i have experienced in my life because of what the Lord has done for me is something I have never experienced anywhere else.

 Fast forward a few years and I found myself being led by the Lord once more. Even when I was younger the Lord has His hand on my life and I felt led to go on missions. Whenever I would hear about missions out of the country I would immediately be interested in hearing and learning more, but the thought was rather frightening. So when I heard that my youth group was putting together a team to go in the summer for 10 days, the Lord laid in heavily on my heart. I decided to listen to the desire and leave it up to the Lord. I applied and was accepted and then the road to Central America began. Our group was pretty large team and we worked hard to raise the funds and we were all able to go.

This trip changed me in so many ways. It was my first time out of country, my first time in a third world country, my first time on a missions trip, and my first time in a place where no one spoke my language. We visited the orphanage, we had a beach baptism, we went house to house, visiting the local church family, we even preached in front of the Catholic church there that has an enormous control over the country, and is our main adversary. I came away from the trip changed and it carried into my everyday life. I changed my major and goal in life, and I would even say that going on the trip encouraged me to join my old youth group as staff and it's a decision I praise the Lord for everyday.

 Fast forward to the next summer and there was little to no doubt in my mind the Lord was calling me back. This mission was slightly different and slightly longer, two weeks instead of two days and localized mainly in Honduras instead of El Salvador. The mission was to help build a house for our sister in need, Dominga. Her husband had been recently martyred and left her with four children and was expecting another on the way. She lived in a barely stable hut that was only one room and had little room fr another child to live in it with them. So, with the mission set we worked hard to raise funds and made our way over to Central America. This trip was different, but so great. I grew a deep compassion and love for my brothers and sisters over in Central America and a love for missions. The passion and desire they have, despite not having as much earthly possessions as most, is so great. I was encouraged and refreshed after I went home, and I knew I had left a part of my heart with them.

I will go into more detail about past trips with testimonials from others, but as a brief over view, the Lord has given me a desire and passion for Central America. I love the people there and the Lord has called me to serve them, and I find great joy in doing so. 

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:27 ESV)

This verse has been chosen as our target verse because it's been a sort of mantra for teams past to remind us what we're fighting for.

I ask and pray that you all keep updated with us as we share our stories and the stories of loved ones over seas.

Love Always,
Christina