Leading to where I am now

GOD ALWAYS DIRECTS OUR PATHS.

Before I joined Twenty-Four Seven all that I really knew about myself was that I could do virtually anything with hard work and God, and that I wanted to share the love of Christ with others through ministry like missions. Throughout my life I have always known that the typical college and career life did not suit me, so in high school the military life really appealed me. I have family members that have served in some military branches and/or attended service academies, but I had no real understanding of the military. Despite that I convinced myself of the possible benefits of attending a service academy and pursued this throughout high school. Not only could I reach soldiers and internationals with the gospel, but I could also get paid to protect my country and learn a valuable and interesting trade. Between tenth grade and graduation I pushed myself to have the best possible student resume and worked hard on the application, which required a lot of time, effort, and ability. While interviewing with liaisons,  taking medical tests, training physically, and much more, I excelled in classes, played sports, participated in theater, volunteered in my school, church, and community, and did a lot of other stuff to look good on paper, which I did not mind since I love trying new things and working hard. In my mind serving in the military and earning an engineering degree were worth the work. Despite excelling in many areas, I could not get a nomination from a state or national representative. Slowly realizing that God was closing that door for me, I remembered visiting my cousins in Arkansas at their ministry school called [Ca]dre Academy.

In the midst of my military pursuit, my mother sent me to Little Rock to check out this ministry school and internship program and to see some of my cousins. Since I had little interest in ministry school and was planning to attend Video Games Live with a friend, I mostly went to see my cousins, but did not really even want to fly out. However, once I arrived, friendly faces greeted me and the director talked about all of the amazing growth that took place in students’ lives. God transformed the young people who came through events, classes, and training that facilitated accelerated physical, social, mental, and spiritual growth. All of this sounded so exciting and appealing, and I knew God wanted something like it for me. Once I returned to Virginia, though, I forgot my trip to New Life Church and resumed my business.

After things started to look bad for me and the military, my aunt called my mother to talk about some changes happening to Cadre. God showed me again that He did not intend for me to enter the military. My aunt also told my mom about a similar school in Florida called Twenty-Four Seven that did things the way that I saw and liked during my Arkansas visit. Next I began to reach out to this ministry school and apply. Every detail worked out perfectly for me to come to school in Florida, and my life has forever changed for the better.