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Jennifer Wilt (Submitted photo / June 9, 2012) |
Jennifer Wilt, 19, has a calling that has taken her to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico in recent years.
The 2010 graduate from Shanksville-Stonycreek School District has chosen a life of spiritual work after a seminal trip to Jamaica in 2007.
"I was changed by that event from the head to the heart," she said. The trip was to a small town located near Montego Bay.
The church group was helping to build a third floor on a church and school building. Wilt remembered flying into the island and being struck by the sights.
"I was incredibly amazed at just how beautiful the country is," she said. Moving inland the island was still beautiful, but the poverty and need of some of the residents was more apparent.
"It was the first time I'd seen that kind of poverty," she said. "I remember being really angry at how much I had back home."
That anger didn't last long.
The daughter of Brian and Donna Wilt soon found herself amazed at how well the Jamaicans she met dealt with those conditions and still seemed to find kindness, caring and joy in their lives.
That attitude made her re-evaluate everything she knew.
"I spent time with God like I never had before," she said. "I would wake up to watch the sun rise over the ocean every morning."
