JUST DO IT

The Kivu Gap Year can completely change your life. Kivu is unique in that it specifically creates a space for you to ask difficult questions about your faith and about who you are. They give you tools and vocabulary to begin trying to explain questions you have never even thought to ask, while providing you with people and resources to guide you through the beautiful mess that is discovering faith and self.

The people I was exposed to during the domestic portion of the program were so different than any I had come in contact with before, and probably never would have had I gone straight to college. But, no doubt, I learned more about community and family from the homeless men and women I got to serve on the streets of Denver than I ever could have in Math 167.

The sheer adventure that is going abroad will shake you up in and of itself. The experiences you have will leave you in awe and exhausted in the best way. The people you meet abroad, whether they be Christians or not, will teach you so much about love and humanity and what it truly means to follow Jesus.

The Gap Year will push you further than you thought, dreamed, or probably ever wanted to go. The people you meet and the unique opportunities you get cannot be matched.

My favorite part of the Gap Year was the time I spent in the Middle East. I was in complete wonder and amazement at the people and culture I came in contact with. Those people and culture taught me so much about my faith and what if means for me to follow Jesus. Everyday since returning home from gap year I find ways to connect my experiences in “normal life” to my experiences while on gap year. The fruits of the experiences I had never cease, and I learn new things each day that tie what God was saying to me then to now.

If you have even the inkling that you should take a gap year, DO IT! I promise you won’t regret it.