Seven Years Later

2018: The year it all started.

During the spring of 2018, I was hard at work as a student athlete at Newberry College (GO WOLVES ALWAYS)!

During this time, I started attending Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and I met the famous Don Lawrimore, “Doc", the FCA faculty leader at Newberry College.

To be frank, I met him, but I wasn't really drawn to him. I would see him on Monday's when we gathered. I respected him as our leader, but nothing more.

Then one Monday, this old man shares with everyone,

"I am taking a group of students to Haiti on a mission trip this upcoming fall. If you are interested, come to the interest meeting and get more information there."

And just like that, the internal battle began:
Do I go? Should I go? Why would I go?
Question after question.
Fear after Fear.

But I ended up trusting in the Lord and this old man so on December 8th, 2018, we flew to Haiti.

During a 7-day trip, my life was wrecked and transformed forever.
I saw God in ways I had never seen Him.
I saw God begin to place in my heart a love for the Haitian people.
I saw God begin to break down the religious to-do list, the legalistic mindset, I had for so long.
I felt God begin to tug at my heart for missions.

Fast forward to 2021: The old man was now my college mentor.

Throughout the next three years, the tug in my heart for missions never went away. Yet, I was terrified to admit it, or even acknowledge it.

However, life continued.
I continued to pursue my degree.
I continued to play college baseball.
I continued to attend FCA.
I continued to have Don Lawrimore disciple me and encourage me to keep seeking a life that honored God.

Graduation came May of 2021, and my time at Newberry College had come to an end.

But there was still one more thing left to do: go on a second mission trip with Don Lawrimore and a group of my peers before stepping into the "real world."

We had been trying to go since 2019, but had zero success. Safety in Haiti was a concern, along with the famous COVID that shut our world down for a couple years.

Yet, the trip finally made June 2021.

I went to Haiti for a second time and on the last day of this trip, I knew.
I knew God was calling me into missions.

Two months later, I accepted a position to be a full-time missionary and I created Reflecting His Heart.

From terrified to going on a trip in 2018…
To fully committing to be a part of the local staff on the ground in 2021.

That’s only three years later.
But the title says “Seven.”

Seven Years Later

On May 10th, 2025, a full-circle moment took place.
God's grace was and still is unfolding in my life and for that I am grateful.

I, alongside my wife and dear brother Jamey, had the opportunity to pick up Don Lawrimore from the airport as he brought a group of students from Charleston Southern University to Santiago to serve with us.

I used to be that student, the one he would bring to see what God was doing in other countries, through other believers. Now, I was the one picking him up from the airport so that he and his group could come and serve with us.

Throughout this week, God moved in mighty ways.

These students and this team loved the kids of this country so well. The joy and happiness they carried within, and shared so freely, left me in awe of God’s goodness.

Seeing the same old man who loved me and discipled me continuing to do the same for others left me praising God—because His grace is still unfolding in our lives, even when we can’t see it.

And if that wasn’t enough of a “full-circle moment,” Britt Smallwood was also a part of this week. The same missionary who was in Haiti in 2018 and 2021, who led and helped guide our teams throughout those trips, was now in Santiago visiting us while Don Lawrimore’s team was in town.

How does one even write a story like this?
We can't.

Brothers and Sisters, I encourage you: continue to walk in obedience.
Even when we don't understand what God is doing, keeping walking.
You may look back seven years later and see God’s grace unfold into a beautiful picture you never could have imagined or painted yourself.

I speak from experience.

Seven years ago, I was just a college kid, unsure, afraid, and wrestling with questions I didn’t have answers to.

But I said “yes” to God, and that one step of obedience became the first brushstroke in a masterpiece I never could have painted on my own.

From student to missionary, from being led to leading, from questions to calling, God has been faithful every step of the way.

This story isn’t about me. It isn't about Don Lawrimore.

It’s about a God whose grace unfolds slowly, purposefully, and beautifully over time. So if you’re in a season of questioning or waiting, take heart. Keep walking. His grace is still unfolding.