I was ready to turn back around and give up the entire trip. My nerves and anxiety had never been higher than they were right then. Nothing but negative thoughts circled through my head. What if I can’t make friends? All for something that shouldn’t be scary. It would be fun helping at a fundraiser like this, plus I loved serving others—I just didn’t realize it yet.

I stumbled through the doors alongside my two older brothers who were attending the mission trip with me (they had been on two trips prior). However, that didn’t give me any comfort. Being the “sister,” I was going to have to meet new people by myself with no easy way in. 

There was a group of other kids who looked my age sitting on the ground as we walked in. Instinctively, I crouched over and sat down on the outer edge of the circle. Then, I heard an excited voice over my shoulder. 

“Hi! You must be Olivia!” 

I whipped my body around to see a smiley face on a young woman, her arms spread open and ready for a hug. In the moment, I forgot this was a fundraiser through my church—there were going to be lots of hugs. 

“Hello,” I responded back, nervously being a 14 year old I was. 

“I’m Tiffany,” she said, greeting me as she pulled me in for a tight hug. 

I wasn’t a big hugger, but little did I know that was the start of our friendship. For the next, continuous six months, Tiffany and I saw each other on a regular basis: every Sunday for church service and Wednesday evenings for our youth group gatherings. 

I never thought I’d be so involved with my church, based off of the fact I avoided as many meetings and gatherings as I could. But Tiffany, the director of my youth group and also a close friend, strengthened my faith and opened me up to other people. She was the leader who planned out and went on the four mission trips I attended. She was with me through my journey of discovering God. 

It was so easy to talk with her because we related to each other and saw eye to eye. She became a motherly figure to me, someone I could talk to about my day or ask questions about God. And yes, hugs were an often occurrence with Tiffany.

When I first met this church group, my biggest fear was I wouldn’t make any friends. Now, I’ve been on four mission trips through my church and I am proud to say Tiffany has helped me branch out and become friends with the other kids. Tiffany has made me feel like this group is my place to be…somewhere I belong. Five years later and I have made a family—all thanks to Tiffany Kollmeyer, I can't thank her enough.