Hello Everybody!
We are coming up on my month check in since I have been accepted to go on the race. Right now I am still getting started on my fundraising. Let me tell you guys some of my ideas because I will be reaching out for help here in the next couple of weeks. My mom and I have come up with this idea called “a dime a time.” I will be passing out jars with a note on them explaining on how to participate. To sum it up, just put a dime in the jar whenever you have one handy or have some spare change! Once the jar is full, I’ll be back around to pick it up and put it towards my race fund…simple! I will also be designing t-shirts and still just accepting open donations which will be a huge part of my fundraising. I thank everyone who has supported me this far and will continue to support me until I leave/while I’m out on the field. The support I have gotten from friends and family has been awesome! I find myself at the lost for words at our you guys have responded to my out cry. If you haven’t donated or supported me but you are interested in that, there is a link on my blog page! I pray that God puts it in your heart to help this outreach move to the nations. 9 more months at home!
So here’s what been happening since I’ve been accepted…
I had no idea how much God would be moving in my life once I was accepted into the program. I guess I just pictured my life changing once I got to training camp and to the field..wrong! God has been showing me so much just in this last month and been giving me great wisdom on how to prepare for my upcoming adventure. I have been challenged just by the group conversations I have had with my squad. I love the questions that they ask or the topics they bring up to challenge me and ultimately draw me closer to our God.
As you all know, we are in the middle of the holiday season. It really started to hit me that I’m not going to be home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, Easter, etc. next year and that kind of hit me hard. Not spending the most wonderful time of the year with my family?! As I started to pray about this to take my stress away, God has just been showing me the kind of family that I will be with next year, my amazingly sweet squad. I have never been one to get homesick but being away from my family for more than an entire school year is really starting to get my nerves up! I ask that you pray for me as I walk with God in this totally crazy outreach. I pray that He continues to grant me wisdom, love, guidance, and strength to further His kingdom, and grow closer to him in a much more radical way.
Blessing,
Maria 
“I find myself at a lost for words and the funny thing is that it’s okay.”
