ECUADOR!
We recently learned our first ministry location! My team of six will be serving in Quito, Ecuador for our first month of ministry. We do not have many details at this point and if I learned anything at training camp last month, it is to be FLEXIBLE. We will be trying to reach the needed people in surrounding neighborhoods. This could mean building relationships, building houses, or building our trust in Jesus to show us how to minister.
This is what I love about the World Race! We completely rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us and show us the way. For those who know me, you know that I am not a huge fan of structured plans. I love to be spontaneous and leave decisions open ended. Nobody LOVES huge changes, but after 3+ years in an office where I had a status for every part of my day….let’s just say I am SO ready for this crazy unknown year ahead!
SO, I will leave July 12 from Miami, Florida. Oh, and guess what else? As of today, June 21, 2011, I only need $48 to be FULLY FUNDED!!!! $48! God and your generosity has completely blown my mind during this fundraising process. I can only say thank you and promise you that I will be a good steward of your investment in God’s kingdom.
So as I prepare to leave I ask for your continued prayers. I am learning to enjoy this time of rest before I take off on this adventure, I am currently living in Buena Vista again with my parents and am LOVING being unemployed. JI certainly do not want to waste this precious time with family and friends before I say goodbye and I want to use this time intentionally. I am in the middle of reading “Radical” by David Platt. It is all about challenging you to think outside of the American dream and how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. I will leave you with several quotes that have stood out to me as I intentionally prepare to leave behind comfort and loved ones:
“…we are saved to know God. So we yearn for him. We want him so much that we abandon everything else to experience him. This is the only proper response to the revelation of God in the gospel."
"Because [I am] owned by Christ, [I] owe Christ to the world.”
