Hello everyone! My name is Savanna, I am 21 years old, the oldest daughter of only two girls, and from a little southern town called Ponchatoula in Louisiana. I love eating good food, reading good books, and anything that has to do with being down the Tangipahoa river in my dad’s boat. I have just recently graduated this year from Southeastern Louisiana University right outside of my hometown where I studied evolutionary biology for four years. I have always possessed an intense attraction to adventure and the mysteries of this world and how all of life somehow has a common spirit. I guess you could say this great attraction led me to study biology as well as leave my university with more questions than I had starting out; understanding that life, especially the human person, is one of the world’s greatest mysteries. A mystery, however, that I love and everyday marvel at. I find myself always looking for chances to discover more about people, more about life, and more about who I am.
This has all put me on a path of seeking. Seeking what truly makes my heart do crazy flips, what begins to quench the thirst, and what makes me fall more in love. Ultimately, seeking the heart of God in very concrete ways. Heart’s Home has been something very recognizable and very concrete to me. I was blessed to encounter Heart’s Home through my best friend who went on mission in Ukraine a few years ago. I was able to visit her and to put it short and sweet, I fell in love with the simplicity of the mission, with the power of simple love and compassion that was constantly being given and received! During the summer of 2014, I was blessed again to be able to spend a couple of months with the Heart’s Home community in India. This experience changed my whole being. I encountered love and friendship in ways I never have before. Among my community, and especially among the poor, I was taught how to be a beggar and how to truly be poor in spirit. I met the heart of God among the suffering. I had to have more.
So, with a deep love for this mission of compassion and a heart filled with gratitude, I will spend 14 months among the beautiful faces of Uruguay! I look forward to having my eyes opened even more and to encounter the heart of Christ in every person I meet. To be a presence, to bring authentic love, and to continue to discover the colors of this world. As I wait (basically like a little kid in line to ride a rollercoaster) I pray for the grace to be able to live this mission in the ways God oughts. Let us all share in this mysterious beauty!
History back