Today, a young woman by the name of Makenzie Muehler will leave the state of Wisconsin and travel across the Pacific Ocean to call Brussels, Belgium her home for the next two years. She'll be working under an organization by the name Convoy of Hope Europe, a faith-based organization that aims to feed the world through children's feeding initiatives, community outreaches, and disaster response.

I've had the pleasure of knowing Makenzie since high school when we both were awkward, afraid of boys, and just beginning to figure out where we were being called to go in life. Makenzie knew, though, that God was calling her to Europe to act and love in His name. I always have admired her for that.

If you know Makenzie, or ever have the pleasure of meeting her, you know exactly what I mean when I say that she lives her life for God and loves every minute of it, struggle and all. She has this exuberant spirit when talks about her faith, and has this undying love for helping people. Her heart holds huge amounts of compassion, empathy, and kindness for humanity, a breath of fresh air in a world where negativity seems to be spreading like wildfire these days. Basically, she's the kind of person everyone should have in their life, because she makes it infinitely better.

I truly think God sent Makenzie into my life, as always, for a very specific reason. I was in a very vulnerable state coming into my senior year. I had grown up very religious, but was at a crossroads in my life. But one day, Makenzie had extended an invitation to her youth group at Life Church to me. To her, it was a simple act of kindness, spreading the word about something she was so passionate about. For the first time in my life, I had felt invited and welcomed into a church community, and that is truly a beautiful thing. I don't know if Makenzie ever knew how much that meant to me, but I found Jesus in that community, and that's something I will always be grateful for, and credit her with.

I saw Makenzie in action when we traveled to Dublin, Ireland together on a missions trip, the summer before we started college. You could just see her excitement to meet people and speak to them about their lives and the struggles they go through. Her willingness to help people is what makes her so unique, and so loved by her friends and family. Her ability to listen and hear, not just respond, is one of her many qualities that makes her a great messenger for God.

At first glance, Makenzie can seem quiet, a very proud INFJ. Over the years, I have loved watching her grow into the strong, intellectual, passionate young woman she is today. The way God has been working in her to prepare her for her journey as a missionary has been so wonderful to watch over the years. And she loves her people so fiercely, something I am so appreciative of. No matter where we've gone in life, I know Makenzie will always be there for me, and vice versa.

And now, she starts the next big chapter of her life. She'll be working to make a difference in people's lives thousands of miles away because she knows that's what she's been called to do. She hasn't questioned her path, she hasn't ran away in fear or doubt: she has followed God's plan faithfully and directly.

Makenzie- I don't think there are any words to thank you for all you have done for me. You are truly an angel that has touched my life and so many others, leaving everlasting impacts. And I know there are so many others in the world that will agree with me. I cannot wait to see all the people's lives that you change for the better. You are so loved on the earthly and divine level, and you are going to change the world.