In my life, I’d been searching for freedom. I wanted to be free from my struggles — from worry, from the need for approval, from shame. I looked within myself and found only a deeper need, a deeper longing.

I tried to hide myself by being like other people. Outside, I fit in. Inside, I was dying.

My life changed when I met Jesus through a group of missionaries.

I discovered the less I looked within and the more I looked to Jesus, the more I found real freedom. The more I searched for God, the more I found real life.

I didn’t have to hide anymore. I could be the real me in God’s freedom. My old life died, and new life had come.

I became a missionary by serving as a volunteer translator with YWAM Thailand. Now, I serve with Restoration Initiatives at YWAM San Francisco. Our mission is to restore, empower and serve marginalized people in the Tenderloin neighborhood.

I met a homeless man through our ministry who had faced so many struggles in his life, he decided to end it. He tried to jump in front of a moving car, he told me, but God kept him safe. God saved his life.

Through serving with YWAM SF, I’ve heard stories of broken families, broken marriages and broken dreams. I’ve heard stories of addiction and bankruptcy. I’ve heard stories of searching for freedom, stories so much like mine.

I’ve listened to people, but I’ve shared with them too. I’ve shared the Word of the Lord and encouragement, and I’ve prayed with people. I’ve seen sorrow turn to joy, hate to forgiveness, brokenness to wholeness, despair to hope and death to life. The life God birthed in me has overflown into the people around me.

The man who tried to end his life on the streets ended up meeting Jesus instead. He entered a rehab program and now he’s off the streets. He’s finding real freedom, real life.

I’m a missionary because God brought me from death to life, and now I want to help others find life in God’s love.