Boldest, best year of my life

The Kivu Gap year program is unlike anything you'll ever do. I was pushed out of my comfort zone in the most beautiful of ways, learned how to live in community and found friends who will be my people forever, and gained a better understanding of the world around me and where God can be found in everyday life. Wether it was in Urban America (I was in Denver), or the second semester of travel (living with a Rwandan host family, hiking Mt Kilimanjaro, exploring the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, seeing the exact places Jesus performed his ministry, or swimming with whale sharks in the Philippines), I grew more as a person than I could have ever prepared for. The Kivu team took my peers and I into each location with no expectations, but rather the freedom to find our individuality within a global setting and explore our faith in a genuine and bold way. I learned how to make each moment in my life hold excitement and purpose, I learned that life isn't gonna be completely wonderful if I try to plan it myself, and that there is so much more out there than the American Dream. This program taught me how to immerse myself into cultures and be open minded, how to love the 'least of these' like Christ did, and how to live fully; any future travel or city living I'll experience has been made so much greater because of the things I learned at Kivu. I could go anywhere in the world (wether that be Europe or a classroom) with confidence and understanding, and this year has forever changed the way that I see the world and interact with others. I've grown more into myself and who God has called me to be. I've grown as a follower of Christ, as a student, as a sister and daughter, as a friend, and simply as a human being. It's now been a year since I ventured off on this journey, and I can genuinely say that as I'm now in college, I continue to learn things from my Gap Year every day. I'm so thankful for this program and for the way they take students out of their comfort zone and into the great big world.

Do Kivu Gap Year!! You won't regret it.