After wiping her tables and setting all of her toppings down, sophomore Natalie Bales plays the sound of gospel music on her kitchen speakers as she bakes sweet treats for her customers.
Bales has developed a way to utilize her talent in more ways than one. By creating a cookie business, customers get to enjoy a treat while Bales uses the money from her business for a treat of her own.
By bringing her abilities to the spiritual ways of life, she intends to use the proceeds of her business to help cover the costs of her upcoming journey along with Christ.
“I could spread the word of Christ through baking as well,” Bales said.
Bales sells baked goods to fund a trip to the Middle East, in order to accomplish another one of her profound values, spreading the gospel.
Bales is a part of an 8-10 week church program called Vision School, an organization that educates uninformed minds about the teachings of God.
Vision School’s goal is to guide students to the reality of God’s purpose through worship, lectures, prayer, small groups and fellowship to enlighten attendees and strengthen their alignment with Christ.
One of the ways they guide their students is by bringing them to other nations located in the Middle East so they can spread the word of God to those not fortunate enough to have their own church programs.
Bales is hoping to be one of those students this coming summer, but the only way to cover the costs for the expensive trip is to put her love for baking into action.
The total costs remain unknown as of now, but her goal is to raise a minimum of $600. Lucky for her, Bales’ stepdad happily volunteered to cover any left over money for the trip’s cost.
“My step dad wants me to learn more about the importance of money with me raising half of it,” she said.
Bales has been in the kitchen since she was as young as 6 years old. Whether she was there grabbing ingredients or measuring them out, she was always there as a helping hand for her mother.
“I’ve always loved being in the kitchen,” Bales said.
However, as she grew older, Bales took a break from baking after a bad brownie failure. That was until her freshman year, when she took up a culinary class.
That class made her figure out who she was in the kitchen. It allowed for redirection and growth within the art, and it ultimately resparked her interests.
“I went to culinary and it really made me want to start baking again,” Bales said.
Now, Bales specializes in bread-based goods in the kitchen. However her business only sells cookies.
As much as she’d like to expand her variety in treats, cookies are simply the most affordable and easiest dessert to bake in bulk. Making other treats like cakes would take up too much of her time.
“Cookies are just the easiest,” she said.
At Vision School, Bales plays a big role within the program when it comes to fundraising, she is who they rely on most because they most frequently raise money by selling cookies and tres leches.
Both her skill and love for baking is the foundation of their fundraising efforts. Bales is the one who steps up most during this time with her prior knowledge with the art.
“She’s using her talent to bake, to help her peers,” Vision School mentor Elizabeth Pui said.
However, Bale’s personal goal is to spread the joy that she’s received from God to create stronger ties with peers from other countries.
“I want to convert people to Christianity, but the most important thing to me is bonding to these people,” Bales said.
With hopes of successfully raising enough money, Bales continues to sell treats in order to turn over unseen pages for the people of the Middle East.
“I’m so excited to share the love and happiness that Christ has given me to people,” Bales said.
