Many have already seen or heard, but I will be traveling to Arequipa, Peru in the fall of 2017 to study there for about four months! I am so thankful to have been accepted into the program, and I am extremely excited to experience living in South America for a longer period of time.

So, why Peru?

It all started back in 2012 when my dad and I traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia on a short term mission trip with others from Fellowship Reformed Church. I had never been out the country (I'm not counting my eight-month-old travel experiences). My eyes were opened to what it means to live in a third world country, what it means to be the true hands and feet of Christ, and what it means to love a God who knows no borders. This experience opened my heart to the Spanish language, hispanic culture and Jesus Christ.

Five years ago my entire world was changed by this experience. Because of this trip I have never stopped learning Spanish (I'm on my seventh year) and am embarking on a journey that will bring me back to the Quechua culture in South America.

Studying abroad for a semester is required of all Spanish majors, so what better way to go visit the next door neighbor of the country that ignited two of my deepest passions in life (Christ and Spanish)?

So, I am embarking on this journey early August, and I could not be more excited. Yes, I will miss my friends, family and boyfreind. Yes, I will miss hamburgers. But I will be completely engulfed in a culture that I yearned for over the past five years. I'll never forget the tears I shed as our bus departed for the airport on the last day of our trip in Bolivia. I'll never my dad's arms around me in that moment as I thought "I'll come back here some day. I'll make sure of it."

Well, now's my chance.