Live Original (Sadie Robertson) (19 page)

Our church found out about the needs of Neiba through World Radio (the international ministry my great-grandfather started). Poverty is a big problem there, so that’s where they decided to go.

Now most of our family goes to Neiba every year. We really fell in love with the children at the orphanage there. One of the coolest things about our relationships with them is that we are getting to watch them grow up. We send them presents and things at Christmastime, but we only visit them once a year, and we are so excited when that time finally rolls around every summer. When we are not with them, we miss them—they have become like part of the family. Thankfully, social media makes it easier to keep in touch with them, but that is a little challenging because they do not speak much English. Some of the older boys do know the word “hey,” so we sometimes have whole conversations with them by just saying “hey” back and forth several times. Even though we only hear that one word, being in touch with them makes us happy, and I hope it helps them remember that we love them and care about them.

Before my first trip, I thought I was going to go to this faraway place, see true poverty for the first time, and make the people so
happy. I hope I made them happy, but the surprise was that I was the one who was made happy. I could hardly stop smiling because I realized in a new way that things do not make people happy; happiness comes from the inside. Our friends in Neiba do not have much at all in terms of worldly possessions, but they have so much joy and love.

LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT

One person who means a lot to me is a little girl named Maria. As I’m writing this book, she is about twelve years old and lives in the orphanage. When we got to Neiba in the summer of 2013, we noticed that the mattress on her bed was not straight and firm, like it should have been. It was lumpy and sunken, as though it had no supports under it.

One day, Maria and I were outside playing. She was so happy that day, and I was happy just to be with her. While we played, my mom and some others from our group went to a store and got Maria a whole new bed. They moved out the old one and moved in the new one in a pretty short amount of time.

When we went inside, Maria saw her new bed. We will never forget the look of total happiness and surprise on her face. She fell to the ground in tears. She was bawling, and all her tears were tears of joy. I had never seen such pure, overwhelmed emotion. She was so grateful!

That day, I realized I have never received a gift that totally overwhelmed me and brought me to tears. In my country, a lot of people
have nice beds. For most American kids, a bed is something their parents provide for them, not something that would be considered a gift. But for Maria, the new bed was one of the best gifts we could have given her. She appreciated it so much, but I think she appreciated even more the fact that we loved her enough to give it to her. Seeing her so happy made us happy too.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

I got my passport when I was eleven years old, before my first trip to the Dominican Republic. I definitely look eleven in the photo, braces and all. I’m glad I got the passport when I was so young and was able to travel overseas to do mission work at an early age because of the difference it has made in my life.

A mission trip is a great way to do something to change the world, and while you’re at it, your life will be changed too. I encourage everyone I meet to take one of these trips. Maybe your church takes a mission trip every summer, or if not, maybe you could go with some friends through their church. In addition, there are several mission ministries that offer trips for teenagers and young adults. Doing something like this might only take one week out of your summer vacation, but it could be the best week of your whole life. Or you might end up like I have, visiting the same group of people every year and really getting to know them, love them, and watch them grow up.

I don’t think there is anything as good for a teenager as a mission trip. That kind of experience usually makes people more grateful and selfless. It gives an up-close look at poverty and real need, and it teaches us how really blessed we are. More than that, it reminds
us that money cannot buy love or happiness and gives us an opportunity to love others in new and selfless ways. It teaches us that part of our responsibility as Christians is to care for people who do not have as much as we do.

One lesson I have learned on my mission trips is that I do not need all the food and conveniences I have in the U.S. In the Dominican Republic, we eat beans and rice for a whole week. We do not have hot water or air-conditioning. But we don’t complain (that wouldn’t change anything); most of the time we are having so much fun and are so amazed by the people we meet that we don’t even think about hot water.

We also learn to share, even when we don’t think we have “much” the way we usually think about “much.” (We always have much, compared to our friends in Neiba.) Think about it. We have smartphones; they do not even have clean water. In fact, the water in their community is so bad the locals don’t even drink it. We take bottled water to share with them, and where an American might drink three-fourths of a bottle and throw away the rest, they will beg for the little bit that’s left and drink it with gratitude. They even think a breath mint is a treat! I’ve become a much more grateful person since I’ve been going on mission trips, and I think that has made me a better Christian and a more loving person.

I love the freedom and joy the people in Neiba live with. They really do not care what anyone thinks of them, especially when it comes to praying or praising God. They have so much love for Him and so much faith. When they sing, we might think it’s off key, but it’s awesome because it’s so passionate and sincere. They sing praises to God with all their hearts, and that’s what makes it beautiful.

Are you excited yet? Are you starting to want to go on a mission
trip? I really encourage you to think and pray about doing it—and to go get a passport, just in case God leads you to take this kind of adventure, you’re ready. Yep, I’m talking to you!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO FAR

I know. I get really excited about encouraging people to take mission trips overseas. But I also understand that not everyone can travel to another country. Sometimes I take mission trips to places as close to where I live as Alabama, or even in our own city. Local mission opportunities are great too. I get to serve in some of the same ways whether I’m in Neiba or somewhere near my home. If people can travel out of the country, that’s great. But mission fields are everywhere. You do not have to go around the world to find one. You might actually have one practically in your own backyard.

Not long ago, I had a basketball tournament game at a school about an hour and a half from West Monroe. Looking at the places we passed as my family and I drove there, I thought,
This looks like the Dominican Republic
. That’s the kind of poverty I saw—and I didn’t have to pack a suitcase or get a passport stamped to see it. It was actually pretty close to home.

No doubt, you have a mission field close to you too. It might not be a place where people do not have much money; it might be an elderly neighbor who lacks company and would enjoy a conversation
with you. It might not be an orphanage full of children overseas; it might be your younger siblings, cousins, or neighbors who need you to be a good role model and to encourage them.

My mission trip experiences changed my whole way of looking at life. I am thankful for that. Whether your mission field is across the street or around the world, I hope you will step out of your comfort zone and do something to help people and make a difference in the world. If something needs to change, you can make it happen.

Live Original Challenge

1.
 What change do you want to see in the world?

2.
 What specific thing can you do to be the change you want to see?

3.
 Have you ever done something really nice for someone who could not do it for himself or herself? How did that make you feel?

4.
 How can you help people in your own neighborhood, city, or state?

DON’T FORGET

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Do something!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

—Psalm 139:13–16

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Live Original

W
hen people tell stories about me from when I was really little, I just have to trust them. I mean, I definitely do not remember everything I did when I was a preschooler. In a lot of cases, someone in our family has videos that show me doing or saying funny things when I was four or five years old—back when people thought I was really cute because I couldn’t say my “R”s. For other situations, I just have to rely on people who are older than I am and remember what happened.

My mom says I was hilarious when I was little because I would imitate other people in the family. Just try to imagine it: young Sadie imitating Papaw Phil or Mamaw Kay. Apparently, I was pretty good at it!

I was also really good at telling knock-knock jokes. My favorite was:

“Knock-knock?”

“Who’s there?”

“Boo.”

“Boo who?”

“Don’t cry. It’s just a joke.”

I thought that was hilarious, and my family played along like it was funny the hundredth time I said it.

I also dressed up in all kinds of costumes and sang and danced or did whatever performance I could think of that day. If I had an audience, I was happy to perform, and I had no problem putting everything out there—whether I was “preaching” on the video about God when I was five years old or doing something else. Okay, maybe I was kind of a weird child, but at least I entertained myself and kept my family laughing.

As a result of those things, when my dad would talk about me, he started saying, “She’s an original.” I guess he meant he had never seen another little girl who did and said the things I did, that I was one of a kind. So he started calling me “the Original.” When Bella was born, he called me “the Original Big Sister.”

So in a way, I’ve been an original all my life. I have never wanted to copy anyone else; I’ve always wanted to just be the best me I can be. When I was young, I did not understand the importance of being who I am and not trying to be like other people. As I’ve gotten older, I understand it better—and I am more determined than ever to keep living original. One of the sayings I live my life by is: “In a world that dares you to be different, be yourself.” I hope you will do that too.

BE ORIGINAL

In Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, one of the definitions of
original
is: “a person who is different from other people in an appealing or interesting way.”
¹⁴
Truly, we are all originals. We all have things about our personalities and about who we are that are different, interesting, and appealing to others. God made each one of us
unique. No two fingerprints are exactly alike. Think about that! It’s really amazing. Even identical twins have different fingerprints and personality traits that make them unique.

There has never been nor ever will be anyone on this earth exactly like you! God took the time to design everything about you, just the way you are. You are an original created by God, and He does not make mistakes. For me, being original is really just about being your own person and being confident in who you are. It means knowing God made you in a unique way, for a unique purpose. That’s something the world needs to see!

Have you ever thought of yourself as original? I hope you have, but some people haven’t. They are so busy trying to fit in that they don’t want to do anything to make themselves stand out. I get that; there’s a lot of peer pressure in school, and almost everyone wants to be accepted. I just happen to think a person can be accepted without being a copycat. It’s okay to express yourself and be bold about what you like and what you do not like—whether that has to do with fashion and appearance, hobbies and interests, or values and beliefs.