When Courtney Bell graduated from Bridgeport High School in 2009, she could have never predicted the path her life would take.  Although she graduated with two degrees from Marshall University in 2013, it was a different kind of education that paved the way for her chosen path.

 

“In the summers during college, I had the opportunity to go on several mission trips.  I traveled to Milwaukee and Los Angeles and then to Uganda, where I had my first international experience with serving,” Bell said. 

 

At the time of college graduation, Bell was met with endless options of where she could use her talents and education, which included a degree in mathematics education.  To make her decision easier, she turned to a passage in the Bible she had been reading that talked about giving the first fruits to God.  “I looked at the past 16 years that I put into education and wanted to pay that forward by teaching others,” Bell said.

 

Fast forward to 2015 and Bell has just returned from serving two years in Northwest China teaching and doing missionary work.  “Sometimes my English now sounds a little awkward since I have been operating in Chinese for so long,” said Bell, who has become very fluent in Mandarin.

 

Bell was placed in a very culturally diverse area of China that included Tibetan, Hui, Sala and Tu people. “It was amazing to see all the different cultures and languages in China,” she said.  “It was like a country filled with mini countries, each with their own language and traditions.”

 

“The majority of the ministry was to teach English and form relationships with university students in order to introduce the gospel to the them,” she said.  “I had the unique opportunity to share the gospel with people who had never even heard of Jesus before and had very little access to information about Christianity in general.”

 

While in China, Bell visited the Terra Cotta Soldiers.  “I remember learning about them in Mr. Ayers’ class and to see them in real life was surreal,” she said.  She also saw the Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, and the Great Wall of China.  “One thing that I never got used to was that foreigners are treated like celebrities, with locals often stopping us to get pictures with us.  Sometimes they would hold us up for a half an hour just to get pictures with us,” Bell said.

 

After returning in June, Bell says she is a changed person.  Still processing the experience, she is already considering returning to China as a long-term missionary, perhaps serving as an interpreter.  “I love being back with my friends and family, but I can’t wait to see where God leads me next,” she said.