Hey all!
I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on what’s going on in the life of Natalie right now:
- PRAISE! I am currently 88% funded with only a little more than $2,000 left to raise in order to be FULLY FUNDED! The Lord let me know back in October (when I was still only considering applying!) that I would be funded before I leave in September. But He also made it very clear that the funds would be raised via asking people in my “community” (personal contacts, church family, workplace, etc.) for their support (no “fundraisers” allowed). As always, God has been faithful to His promise and I’ve had the privilege of being blessed by 47 different individuals/couples/families financially and countless others through their prayers!
- PRAISE! I “think” I am just about done purchasing my gear and supplies for the trip! Frankly, it’s been an adventure within itself trying to research, price match, order and try out different pieces of gear and clothing – but it’s been a lot of fun to watch it all come together and I already dread the process of trying to shove it all into my 65L backpack! (I’ll definitely be writing a blog about that one!)
Many people have also been asking me recently about my schedule between now and Launch. So for all the inquiring minds out there:
- My last day at my job is July 3rd (which is 16 days away – where did the time go?!)
- From there, I will be heading to Rossville, Indiana on July 5th/6th with the CHC youth group for their annual mission trip through TeenServe for the week
- I will then fly from Indianapolis to Atlanta on July 12th to attend a weeklong Training Camp for my trip
- I’ll fly back from Atlanta to Minneapolis on July 19th and I will be in the Twin Cities area for another couple of weeks (book your coffee/lunch/dinner/ice cream/movie dates now!)
- On August 5th/6th, I’ll drive down to Texas to spend the final month in America with my family (including a weekend or so in Arkansas to visit more family!)
- Finally, squads usually “launch” and leave the country sometime in that first week of the month of departure (for me, this would be September) – so it’s pretty safe to say that I’ll be out of the country before September 7th! I’ll get more info and specifics about Launch sometime after Training Camp – so stay tuned!
And there you have it – time is flying! I would be very appreciative of prayers for PEACE right now – continued peace for my support-raising and the last $2,000 I need to be fully funded; peace for all the worrying about any last minute little details that I know will come up in my mind between now and Launch; and peace as I start saying goodbye to many people that I love for 11 months.
For His glory,
Nat
