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for college. However, I no longer felt like an
American, having only lived there for the first
four years of my life. The thought of moving to
the States away from my Irish home was not
in any way natural for me. I began praying a
great deal about what the Lord wanted me to
do for college. I asked Him if He wanted me
in the States, even though that was not what
naturally appealed to me. However, the more
I prayed about college, the more convinced I
became that God wanted me in Ireland at least
for the time being.

While growing up on the mission field in
Ireland, I was taught by my parents to love this
new country that had now become our home.

My parents had us adapt to the terminology
and customs of Ireland. We tried our best to fit
in as a family in this country where God had
called us. All throughout my childhood and
teenage years, I saw Ireland as my home and
loved living there. Even though I have not lost
the American accent, I feel more Irish in my
culture and thinking than I do American.

When I graduated from high school, people
naturally wanted to know what I wanted to
do. The vast majority of Christians I knew in
America assumed I would be coming home
My dad had heard about a Bible college in
Romania that was coming to do a Christmas
choir tour in Ireland. I began looking at The
Baptist College International (TBCI) website
and decided to take a few courses online. I
loved the coursework and slowly the Lord
directed my mind to thinking about Bible
college. After praying with my parents, I
decided that I would take a one-year church
ministries certificate from TBCI.

My plan was to actually go to Romania for
the two semesters starting in 2020. Before
the semester started, the coronavirus caused
the borders to close and made travel very
difficult. I thought I would have to wait on my
plans for Bible college until travel restrictions
lifted. However, the staff at TBCI graciously
offered to make the classes available for me to
attend live online. I excitedly started my first
semester of college online. The students and
staff made me feel very welcome as part of
the college. I again hoped that by the second
semester in 2021 I would be able to attend
in person, but the restrictions still made
travel difficult once again. When I finished
the one-year certificate, I started praying
again. Did God want me to continue
with the church ministries program and
do a four-year degree? My parents and I
prayed together and decided that TBCI
was the direction that God wanted me
to pursue.

As the fall semester started in 2021, the
restrictions were only beginning to lift,
and this still prohibited travel to Romania.

I started the term online once again. The
restrictions finally lifted enough that I was
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