May/June Update!

Hello Everyone

Thank you for choosing to follow along on my journey! I am happy you are here.

I am going to try to do a monthly update at least while I am still in the states, and will probably move it to weekly once I leave. I know it’s been a while since my last post and I wanted to update you on a few things as I am preparing for this journey.

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Life update

I have been, as most people tend to be in the summer, quite busy. As the warm weather hit I helped my family set up our food garden, as well as maintain the flower gardens and the yard in general, essentially eating up all my free time. I even built a small patio! I also just drove with my family to pick up my two nephews so they can spend the summer with us, as they do every year. The youngest is 6 and the oldest is 13; they are both funny and rambunctious boys with a lot of energy to spend and I am happy to have them for the summer.

My mother is doing better with her foot and has moved from the boot to an ankle brace and as she gets more and more recovered and I am very happy to see it! She has been given some poor news from her recent doctors visits in a different area and can use some prayers (I will elaborate at the end with my prayer requests) I am grateful for your prayers thus far.

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Fundraising Update

God has provided even in my shortcomings. This is true in every area of my life but I have seen it very well in this area recently. I had a lot of responsibilities that had taken priority over finances as the summer started, and it had slowed progress on reaching out to people. The beginning of June was approaching and I can say I was a little overwhelmed and discouraged and trying to push through. I did not do all I said I wanted to have done by that point and it felt a little unmotivated, and, though I know I am going to get to go on that trip, for the first time I felt a little bit of wonder on how its gonna happen. God knows my heart well and loves me very much so two days into June I get a text saying I won a drawing, for posting my merchandise they had mailed me, and had received $1000 dollars off my trip. I had not even gotten to worry about anything before God gave me a gift to remind me that He is in control, He provides, and this is where he wants me. He talks to me with flowers and when I asked Him about this trip initially he had given me one whose symbolism told me that if I am willing to work for it, it will happen, so I knew I would have to be willing to step up and step out from the beginning, so I had been starting to feel like I had let Him down on my end. He is God, powerful and Holy, love, full of mercy and patience, and He cares for me even in my shortcomings. In my weakness He is strong and I cannot deny His hand in my life as I have seen it now and so many times before. And He has used this incident to comfort my heart and encourage my mind and I praise Him for it.

What I still need for the trip is $11,890, which means God, and everyone who gave have raised 38% of the goal and I was able to meet the quarter deadline just fine. To be honest with you all, I am not really all that comfortable telling people about the price because I am afraid to make people feel like I want them for their money. Everyone who has given any support to the trip has my immeasurable gratitude for stepping out into what God calls them and being a part of my story and walk with God, and I would much rather just portray that. But God is growing me to see that it is a need, and a need can’t be met by those who love you unless it is shared to those who love you. God is big enough to meet any need whether said or unsaid, but, to experience the blessing of community, He gives us the opportunity to be His hands and hearts and be the carrier of His blessings and to share in the good they bring. I don’t want to be in the way of anyone’s opportunity to do just that, so I ask for grace as I navigate expressing this need.

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Spiritual Update

God is growing me more and more to love people well. It has been a big focus revealed and developed over many years. I can see the pieces and parts coming together as I am assessing where I am at and trying to prepare for such a big journey. In a text to a friend I had been elaborating on the stress of “what I am motivated to do in life” vs “what I feel I am expected to be motivated to do in life”, when it hit me that loving people well had been God planning ahead for me, and when they pointed out that the priorities reflected in “what I was motivated to do” reflected the heart of God to them, it gave me some peace. As my thoughts changed from stress to peace, I think it came with a little bit of a heart change. I realized had been worried that I would not be able to love well so many people in so many situations with such a little time and God had taken that moment to address it. He let me see His preparation He made in me, let me know that He is and always will be in this with me, and reminded me He already loves them well (much better than I could ever) and so I have everything I need to do so. I am honored to be Gods hands, feet, mouth, heart, to tell and show people the love He has for them. I don’t need to be fully equipped, I just need to be willing and He will do the rest. He in this case, as a blessing, has also lovingly helped me be a little equipped too and I am very grateful for that.

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Prayers

Please pray or continue to pray for my trip. Pray for God to bring in what I need. Pray for my heart and mind to stay aligned with His. Pray for the community of people (you included) that are rising up to support me in this. Pray for the people I will meet on the trip. Pray Gods love pours into the lives of everyone affected and His blessings and miracles rise from every situation.

Please Pray for my Momma, she has been diagnosed with osteoporosis and is a bit discouraged to add that to the list of things she already has to struggle with. Pray that the treatment she choses is directed by God and that He is able to reverse this situation even before she gets to that point.

God is big, to say the least, and cares about even the smallest of things, so please join me in coming boldly to Him. I pray His will be done in our lives and that He fills your hearts with love and your lives with blessings

Thank you

Thank you all so much. There is not enough words to say my gratitude, but just know I am so grateful you are here.
So please stick around and see what God has in store.