today is start of the biggest event of my life (to this point). in a few short hours i will hop on a plane in dallas, fly to miami and by tomorrow night i will be in mexico. there is nothing that i have accomplished in life that will have more of a lasting impact on me personally and spiritually than this adventure that i am about to embark on. i could go on and on about all the nostalgic thoughts and ranging emotions that have been dominating my head for a few days now but as hard as it has been to organize my thoughts i dont dare to attempt that. anyways, i want to thank all of you who have supported me fiancially and in prayer. i feel like i just won an oscar and now is the time that i have to thank all the folks who have helped me along the way. there are the men that i consider mentors: lee epstein (youth pastor in texas, head pastor in arkansas and now mission pastor) who has beat into my head over and over again the truth of letting your light shine before men as well as nurturing and fostering this passion i have for mission work and making Jesus famous. there is len lenon who has taught and showed me what selfless but passionate service for Jesus truly looks like. there are my parents who might think i am a little bit crazy for endeavoring to do this but nonetheless understand my calling and the necessity of being obedient to Christ. there is a great friend called flick who gave me a chance to discover my passion for missions as well as being the one who put me in contact with A.I.M. about 5 years ago. God had a plan for me and the seeds were planted that summer. there is my grandmother, who was the spiritual head of our family and demanded my brother and I spend the weekends with her so that we would get exposed to the Truth and aided in my feet getting planted on the narrow path. chris hill was and is a great advisor and has been a good friend for almost 20 years now. i thank ben messner for his passion and intensity who led my first aim trip 5 years ago in chicago (that trip also changed the lives of several of our students). i could go on and on but i will cut it off now.
there is still work to be done. counting my pledgers, i am closing in on $10,000 in my account. i feel somewhat happy about that but there is still another $4,000 or so to raise. i would like to go above and beyond that so that i can start to get reimbursed for personal expenses in preparing for this trip. I hope for many of you right now that God is tugging on your heart strings and placing me in your thoughts and prayers. by supporting me you will be ensuring that the truth of Jesus is being taken to places where his name has never been heard before. by aiding missionaries, you are helping touch eternity and reaching out to lost souls. there is nothing more important you can do with your finances and prayers.
today is truly the first day of the rest of my life. thanks and farewell to all the friends and family who are supporting me in this most important time of my life
