Testimonials

I jumped on a plane and met a group of around 30 students/medical professionals, of different ages, all from different places, going to a country I had never been before, to serve medically and in the communities. I had never been more excited to help people, gain perspective, and grow my faith. Not only that though! After my first HEARTFIRE trip, I was so on fire for God, as all of us discover on these trips, that I went on another HEARTFIRE trip to an entirely new country and a new team of inspiring people, just four months later! 

Here's the amazing thing though, about how God uses HEARTFIRE to open our hearts. My trip with HEARTFIRE didn’t transform my faith and my passions simply because I felt like I got to see incredible surgeries or felt like I could help out a community. Of course those things happened, but what really truly changed me was going into an environment filled with other people’s stories. Every single person you meet on a mission trip has the chance to impact your life, and they absolutely do. God uses Heartfire to connect you to other students, mentors, host families, doctors, nurses, kids, refugees… etc. All of these people are in entirely different walks of life than you and every single one of them has a story that grows you in your faith and in turn allows you to add a new perspective to how you chose to live your life. The people on these trips and in these countries are never shy when it comes to inspiring you with their actions. Those who have the least often impact you the most. It doesn’t matter why you go on a HEARTFIRE trip, the way you feel afterwards, no matter who you are, is what makes these trips so incredibly special. HEARTFIRE is absolutely my extended family and my relationship with God has grown exponentially since my journey with HEARTFIRE started. I will never stop going on missions with HEARTFIRE if I can help it! Continuing to challenge my faith and perspective while providing love and confidence is the environment HEARTFIRE always brings to the table. 

During the week, I found the perfect, overwhelming presence of Jesus Christ. I watched with awe and wonder as God moved through every moment and every person. Not only did I see God’s light and love in the team He had created from the United States, but I also saw Him in the hope and bravery of the many people whose paths I crossed in the Yucatán as we served. The power of His love on the trip was truly indescribable (a word that the entire team used obsessively when we returned home and discovered that words could not accurately describe our experience and journey). On my first HEARTFIRE trip, I found the real Jesus Christ – rather He found me – and a new sense of myself and my purpose. I came home with a fire and a passion for the Lord that I have never known and have continued to experience.

Now, several years and four trips later, my entire life looks like a complete 180 degree flip from what it used to be. Prior to my first HEARTFIRE trip, I was purposeless, struggling with poor mental health, and stuck in unhealthy relationships. I felt like I was sleep-walking, and I began to lose the desire to continue the journey through life. I still get chills down my spine when I recall how narrowly God saved my life by leading me to Himself through HEARTFIRE. When Jesus revealed Himself to me on that first trip, I felt truly alive for the first time. For a while, I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around what had happened, but the one thought that stuck out was that I wanted more of Jesus. God worked in my life in miraculous ways after my first mission trip, and I was fortunate enough to go on a second and third trip with HEARTFIRE. On each trip and throughout my time in between, I grew in a deeper understanding of my identity in Christ, my purpose in life, and my faith in God. However, my faith journey has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and, when I needed it, HEARTFIRE provided a safe space to ask questions, study, and grow in both maturity and faith.

In the summer of 2019, I went on my fourth HEARTFIRE mission trip to Cuenca, Ecuador. In Cuenca, I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit like never before. I spent each night of that trip overwhelmed with tears in my eyes as I tried to detail in my journal the ways the Holy Spirit was moving in my heart. The power of true prayer and passionate faith was revealed that week as we spent time sharing the love of Christ. Because of all of the experiences I had since beginning my journey with my first HEARTFIRE trip, I knew that I wanted the foundation of my life to be in Christ. So, on July 25, 2019 in Ecuador, I was baptized. I became a new creation that night, and the words of Galatians 2:20 became the words I now live by – “​I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.​”

A year later, my faith in the Lord has not waivered even as my circumstances continue to change. I made the choice to live by faith and to give every situation to the One who understands it all and loves me anyway. In that choice, I have found freedom and joy. One of my prayers moving forward is to use this second chance I have at life to share the love of Christ and the joy found in Him as it was shared through my first mission trip with HEARTFIRE. I am so grateful that every member of the HEARTFIRE family allowed themselves to be used by the Lord to save my life and change the lives of so many of the people I love. If you choose to make the courageous leap to go on this journey with HEARTFIRE, be excited for the extraordinary life change that you find when you place your life in the hands of One who holds it all.

As the week went on, God placed people into my life that, to this day, I would do anything for. Through the grace of Jesus I learned how to love and I learned that no matter how lost or how alone I might feel, God is always with me. I learned how to listen to the things He’s been telling me my entire life. This trip impacted my life so greatly that even others say I am no longer that same lost kid.

Three months later, I went on my 2nd HEARTFIRE trip and I made the decision to be baptized. Looking back, I’ve developed relationships that will last a lifetime. The people that you show up with are not the same people you return home with. They become family. I returned home with a goal to be the best person I can be and to spread the light of Jesus to those around me so that they might realize how extraordinary He really is.

Woah!! I had NO passport, NO vacation time and NO money to pay for this random trip with a group of strangers but it sounded so Incredibly Exciting!! To top things off my husband wasn’t necessarily on board. Long story short, I did everything I could on my end “just in case” I was actually able to go. I left it all in God’s hand because there was only so much I could do and God made it work! I got my passport, the time off and found the money to fund it. My husband was still not on board and at that point I had to decide to sit back and say I can’t or stay in obedience with what God had placed on my heart and walk out on blind faith that he would work in my husbands heart by the time I got back and he did!!! Marriage is great!!

The trips have been indescribable because you are able to experience the true love of Christ right in front of you. I realized how thirsty I was for the word of God and how people are just as hungry for love. A pure love. It truly is the best when they realize on a trip the love God has for each of us. The second trip I got to take my daughter and now I know that my family’s future has changed forever because our walk will remain on path that follows Christ. Things change for you and then you want everyone to know things can change for them as well. That’s what Heartfire Can create for you if you let it!