Wow.
This past week was so much more than I expected and I don’t even know where to begin. I came to training camp thinking that I was in a great spot spiritually, so I prayed that God would show me areas that he wanted to work on in me. He quickly helped me realize that I had a lot of baggage that I was carrying, including pride and deep insecurities. It hurt a lot to realize these areas of weakness, but I was also extremely grateful that Christ showed me the areas in which He wanted to make me more like Him.
This week I became very vulnerable and open with my team. Everyone knew I was struggling and I expected them to judge me, but instead I was overwhelmed with love and support and encouragement. One night during worship, God brought me to me knees and I immediately felt 5 pairs of hands fall of me and lift me up in prayer. I am so thankful that God demonstrated His unfailing love to me through the sweet people I get to call my teammates.
This week I…
slept in a tent by myself.
shared a tent and the rest of my gear with a teammate after half of our teams gear was “lost by the airlines” for a day and a half.
slept under a tarp in the middle of a forest in a state park in Georgia.
slept in a community tent with 13 of my other teammates and it was the {best} nights sleep I had all week!
slept in a bus with the rest of my teammates and that was the {worst} nights sleep I had all week.
went on a hike with all my gear in tow.
did one of the most intense workouts I’ve ever done in my life and actually had to step out and let one of my team leaders take my place. {The most humbling experience of the entire week}
cooked dinner over an open fire and spoon fed my teammates.
laid under the stars and experienced God’s creation untouched by civilization.
Overall, I grew so much this week. It was so hard, but so rewarding at the same time. It was full of scary realizations, but moments of great excitement as well. There were moments that I cried, and moments that I was absolutely full of joy.
God showed me so much about himself this week and I have no doubt that He will do amazing things during my teams 9 months on the field. I met my teammates for the first time, and I am so excited that I am going to do ministry with an all ladies team! I have no doubt that God will establish a bond between us that is deeper than anything we’ve ever experienced. We’ve already shared SO many laughs together and collectively established that we all share a love for candy. These girls are hilarious, selfless, kind, uplifting, encouraging, outgoing, strong, and seek the heart of God. I cannot wait to serve with them.
This week, I learned that I will be spending my time of ministry in Guatemala, Thailand, and Botswana. I know that God has already started a great work in these countries and I can’t wait for him to reveal the things He wants me to take part of.
My team and I will leave the first week of September, at which point I need to be fully funded.
By August 22nd, I need to have $1,650 more dollars in my account. If you would like to partner with me and help me get to my goal of being fully funded, you can do so by clicking the Support Me tab on the left hand side of my blog.
I am so excited for the journey God has for me and I am so thankful for everyone who has helped get me to where I am now!
