Ground Zero

My name is Eliza Edge. I’ve recently graduated with a degree in music(specifically horn performance) from the University of Cincinnati. Usually, this would mean I’m fiercely prepping and taking auditions or on a fast track to graduate school. As fun as all of this may sound, I have instead decided to throw caution to the wind and live an entirely different life for a year.
When I was in high school, I started doing short-term mission trips in my home state of South Carolina to help serve the community and repair the homes of those in need. During and after these trips, I considered the implications of being a missionary full-time and committing my life to serving, but the idea of being shipped to the Amazon without a return date was too difficult for me to grasp. This exaggerated and completely unrealistic fear, however, did not stop this recurring desire in me to serve. As a sort of “okay, Lord, I’ll fill this out and try and then we can get on with my life,” I applied to be a missionary through a program that I was certain I’d be unqualified for and to my surprise was chosen. Now that itching desire I’ve had for years is going to be put to use.
I am going to serve as a missionary for a year in the city of Auckland, New Zealand to work along side the churches there to aid in the lives of at-risk youths. As Arthur Ashe once said “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” I plan to do exactly that. I am under no misconception that I can save a country, a city or even one person, but I do know that God can and has saved the world and all I can do is allow the one who is almighty to work through me, an honest-to-a-fault musician, and so I am going. This blog will serve to tell my tales and to show the Lord at work as best it can. If you choose to read and follow, I hope you find wit, joy, and inspiration and that you too will be infected with the urge to serve in the world around you.