In 2015 I made the decision to withdraw from college and apply to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Kona, Hawaii. This decision certainly did not come lightly. I had a plan. A plan to venture on the socially acceptable path of life—school, career, family. When I left school I was nervous and totally out of my comfort zone, yet completely filled with peace for what was to come.
What I’ve realized is, the more malleable I keep my plans, the more God can shape them.
As I reflect on my time with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) doing mission work in places like Cambodia, where I had the opportunity to teach English or in Germany and Greece, where I had the privilege to hear the powerful stories of refugees as well as minister to long-term missionaries, I am in awe of the incredible nations around the world that the Lord has brought me. And as I also reflect on my time with the University of the Nations, I am more than thankful for the invaluable experiences and education that I received. This is where my relationship with God got real—it is where my strong Biblical foundation was laid, incredible amounts of healing took place, hidden passions were given life, and where rich friendships were formed.
It was nothing short of life-giving and life-changing.
I loved the way I met God through YWAM and when I tasted the freedom of what it was like to endeavor on the not-so-traditional path of life, I thought to myself, how could I ever turn back? Every so often friends or family would ask if I’d consider going back to college—my response, “Only if God gives me a strong impression that I should.”
Well, He most certainly did.
During the Truth and Transformation School (or Humanities and Science), in Fall 2018, I had an experience that changed the trajectory of which I thought my life was heading. I used to be someone who dealt with chronic pain and in this particular school, the pain intensified. Of course, people prayed for healing and I also took practical steps in trying to reduce the pain but nothing worked.
Through a particular series of events, prompted by God, I ended up watching a lecture online facilitated by a neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf. In this video, she emphasized the connection and affect our thoughts, good or bad, have on our bodies. Having done all that I knew to do to be pain-free and having nothing work, I knew that watching Dr. Leaf’s video was an invitation from God for full healing. As I listened to the science behind the impact of our thoughts, I asked God to bring forward any unconscious thought to the conscious part of my mind in relation to my physical pain. Within seconds He brought to my attention the ungodly belief that had been contributing to my pain.
I took some time and began to intentionally meditate on a more healthy and godly belief. Within a day my pain drastically decreased.
Through the exploration of science in the Truth and Transformation School and my personal time with God I had begun to realize that the intricate design of this world and the microscopic happenings within our own bodies compliment what Scripture is already saying.
My love and passion are to see people walk in wholeness and to operate in God’s original and unique design. I’ve had wonderful opportunities to teach on inner-healing methods that allow people to deal with past hurts and traumas and at the end of each teaching, I’ve emphasized on how to renew the mind in order to sustain any emotional (and physical) healing.
I believe faith and science complement one another. I believe science is a tool God has gifted us with to discover more of Him, His creation, and how to sustain the abundant life Jesus declaratively promised. It was through understanding the biological impact of my thoughts that brought forth my own healing. And believe me, I am not trying to take credit for it, I believed God used the avenue of science to heal my pain.
And so this is what has sparked my desire to return school and to discover more of God in university, but more specifically, in the field of neuroscience.
