Refinement- 
What can I say?  I have a love-hate relationship with you.  You hurt, yet you heal.  You bring tears of pain, but on the other hand, comes tears of joy.  Refinement, you suck, but I love you!

*This song (to me) is about refinement.*

Amidst my conversation with refinement, I want to fill you in how life has been since training camp.  To be blunt, it has been HARD.  God is stripping me of former issues and preparing me for The World Race.  He is taking what seems like all the lies and replacing them with truth and joy.  So great!  Really, this is awesome!  However, it is very hard!  These lies revolve around my identity and what I knew my identity to be.  Boy, was I wrong!  God has been declaring so many things over me through His word and through my new World Race Community. Z-Squad, I love you all so much!

It’s a great thing, yet super hard.  God has been preparing me in other ways also.  My own spending habits, my ideologies, my community are becoming something new.  What I knew as “my life” is being confronted into what God calls “My Life.”  “My Life” is surrendering everything, EVERYTHING over to the Lord for His use. 

I think as human beings, it’s so easy for us to freak out about the littlest things; they seem so LARGE in the time being, but then it’s really not that big of a deal.  Financially-as of right now, I do not have very much ($50/month) to spend overseas on all of my personal items.  I’m getting to the point of saying, “Okay God.  This is Yours and not mine to worry about.”  In this I feel like God is going to bless that whatever way He sees as plausible.

Support Update

Praise God for what has already been contributed!  I am very thankful for all of you with your support, both financial and through prayer!  I know this is cliche, but I literally wouldn’t be able to do this without you.  I am at $6,900 pledged!-This means I am launching September 6th from Atlanta and will be flying to the Philippines.  I am 47% funded!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Please consider partnering with me on this monthly.  Even $25/month helps in huge ways.  In the grand scheme of it all, that is $275!  That’s a lot of money! 

There are also a few items I still have left to get for the trip. If you would like to support me through a gift, that would also be welcome! Please let me know about this!
  • iTouch-32 GB 4th generation (I will not be taking a computer with me for financial reasons).  I will still be blogging, however. iTouch’s can pick up Wi-Fi and this is also my form of sanity when I just need “my time.”
  • External Hard Drive-for pictures, memory, videos
  • FlipShare (not necessary, but would be a my luxury item *Survivor, anyone?
  • Noise reducing earbuds (ranging around $15 on Amazon.com)
Thank you so much for everything! I love you all so much! I know God is going to bless you through your prayers and support! –Rachel