Try to imagine leaving behind everything you have ever known and moving to another country. As hard as this may seem, freshman Payton Gaddy plans to make it happen.

Gaddy hopes to move to Salatiga, Indonesia before the summer of 2015. She will be staying in Central Java and living with her aunt, who has been a resident of the area for over 40 years. It is up to her to raise her own money for expenses other than room and board, as she will be traveling without her immediate family. Nearly $7,000 will be needed to cover the costs of airfare, a single year visa, and costs of schooling for her tenth grade year. At this time, she has few details about what her schooling will be like, but she will be attending Mountain View International Christian School in Salatiga.

“I have not yet processed what it will be like to leave my best friends and close family,” Gaddy said. “The last time I went there, my mom was the only one at the airport to say goodbye. I remember holding in my tears, but once I was in Tokyo, it all hit me that it was really happening and I think I remember crying…just a little.”

To fundraise for the trip, Gaddy is selling hand strung jewelry made from recycled Indonesian magazines.

“I have only raised about a thousand, so six left to go,” Gaddy said. “I am still selling bracelets, necklaces and earrings made from women there, and my Aunt is planning on sending over handmade purses to start selling.”

During a previous visit to Indonesia during December of 2013, Gaddy volunteered at a local day care center called Bright Minds, where she plans to help again when she returns. Most of the children are between the ages of 7 months and 6 years old. On her last trip, she helped the kids in a variety of ways.

“I would help get the kids from their parents, unpack their bags, put on a movie, and then feed them breakfast,” Gaddy said. “During the day, it is a tradition for all the kids to be bathed, so BuRita (the owner of Bright Minds) would bathe the kids, then I would dry them off and help them get dressed. We would go through flash cards and I would teach them colors.”

When Gaddy makes the move, she hopes to teach English to the local children and spread Christianity through worship.

“I felt like God was calling me there,” Gaddy said. “I really connected with kids who were my age.”

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