Imagine a young girl in a car with her mom and little sister. The mom is frantic and trying to decide where to take her kids while she has plans to drink at the local bar. As she is driving towards the bar and about to give up the search, they pass a little church that was hosting Bible school. The mom drops off the girls with little to no communication with the workers and drives off. That young girl, well that was me. Essence Whisel, 8 years old, standing with her 3 year old sister and no clue what to do. Little did I know that the moment my mom dropped me off would change the trajectory of my life. Slowly, I convinced my mom to take me to church regularly. At the time, I simply wanted to go because there was free food, warmth, and I loved to sing. For the next 5 years, I was introduced to the beautiful and sweet love of Jesus Christ and soon at Winterfest a youth revival in Tennessee, I gave my heart to the Lord. That following summer, I felt the call of the Lord on my life; I felt as I was called to be a youth minister. Throughout high school, I felt ashamed to spread the love of Christ and the things he had been doing for me, but I felt the most misunderstood when I shared that I wanted to be a pastor. I got bullied and ridiculed and even called names by the "Christian" kids. For the first two years of high school I lied about what I felt called to do. Soon after, Covid arose and I began to see that I do not need to be ashamed of what God has promised. He is a faithful God and he does not call us to something that he believes we cannot do. So, from then on, I was brave about sharing my faith and I even began to pray for those around me. I plan as I have stated to be a youth minister and do the work of the Lord. I feel most called to teenagers and middle schoolers who struggle with substance abuse, physical abuse, mental health, loneliness, and identity issues. I want to use what the Lord has brought me through to encourage others around me. I also plan to further my education and work towards a Masters Degree in Crisis and Mental Health Counseling at either Lee University or Pentecostal Theological Seminary.