Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!! What a wonderful time to spend with my family before leaving again. As I am writing this, my whole family is asleep. If you see the time of this post... yes, it is only 5am. I am wide awake. I was working on a special Christmas gift for my parents in the middle of the night, and am now wide awake. But, that's ok. I love being with my family this Christmas.

I attended Christmas Eve services at church with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend. I love seeing them all in church. I pray that they will have the desire to continue going to church on a regular basis- not just Christmas and Easter. I ask that you also will pray with me for my family- that they will come back to God and experience a true relationship with him.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas, filled with joy and happiness, surrounded by loved ones, and in celebration of the birth of a baby born over 2000 years ago.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Getting Ready

Christmas is coming. Just a few short days away. I have been preparing for Christmas for the past few weeks. I am excited about Christmas this year. Last year, I was not home for Christmas; I was in Venezuela. While I loved experiencing a Venezuelan Christmas, I was really really homesick. I spent several hours of Christmas Day on the phone with my family, attempting to share Christmas with them even though I was 3000 miles away. What a blessing God has given me to allow me to spend Christmas with my family this year.

I am also preparing for the next big adventure that God has given me. I leave in just 2 weeks. It is so close away, and yet, it still feels so far. I think it will "sink in" more once Christmas is over, that I will be gone soon. There is so much to do over the next 2 weeks. It will pass so quickly. Before I know it, I will be heading to the Caribbean and jumping into the work that God has already prepared for me!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Here we go again...

Over the past 10 months, I have been patiently waiting for God to guide me on my next path. When I heard about Doulos Discovery School, I began praying and asking God if this was where He wanted me to go. He confirmed it to me in May, and I began the road of support raising and preparing to go serve Him in the Dominican Republic.

It has been a long, hard journey. Support raising has not been easy. I began to wonder about God's plan for me and if I really was on the right journey. I continued to pray and seek His Guidance, but things became more and more difficult. Trials and tribulations have come with increasing intensity over the past several months, not just for me, but for my family as well- culminating in the last couple of weeks. Several times, I asked God if He really wanted me to go or if He rather I stayed here, serving Him in my own home and church. While I wasn't always sure what He wanted me to do, I trusted Him to guide me and trusted that He would show me and give me direction on where He wanted me to be. And He did!

This week, I was finally given approval to proceed. Today, I purchased my flight tickets. I will be leaving on January 5- traveling to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. I am excited to finally be able to go serve Him in the DR.

I ask that you please continue to keep me in your prayers as I prepare to leave. Pray that God will continue to guide me as I work with the other missionaries and teachers of Doulos, working with the children of Jarabacoa, and reaching the people with the truth of Jesus Christ.