I'm back from round 2!

Hello supporters!

First off, I would like to apologize for not having a blog post on my last week in Australia. I was planning a devotional for my team for our last week & dealing with details regarding our departure. The devotional was something very near and dear to my heart and the topic was about being set apart for Christ, the persecution that follows after that, and how we are called to be radical Christians wherever we are. It was a great time for me to dig into the Bible and learn more about how we are to live as Christians. It was challenging to myself and I hope it impacted my team as well. (:

The last week in Australia was so bittersweet! We had our last week of evangelism, our last hangouts with our Aussie friends, our last tram rides, our last family nights, and our last moments on RMIT and LaTrobe. I loved the last day on campus where we hungout at each campus for an hour and did a prayer walk. It was wonderful to say a goodbye to the campuses through prayer. It was an emotional moment for me saying goodbye again to the campuses. I loved lifting the students of RMIT and LaTrobe up in prayer. Praying for those who we talked to, those who heard the Gospel, those who came to Christ, and those who will be talked to in the future. Just to lift up the whole campus to the Lord was such a great moment. It just showed that even though my time on these campuses is over, the Lord is still at work in Australia. He will still move in the hearts of these students and bring more into his family. I also loved lifting the Student Lifers at both campuses up in prayer. These are the few students (about 8) that are committed to the Christian group “Student Life” which is our Cru. They dedicate SO much time to this club and have so much responsibility. However, in the midst of such a small number of people in the club and such a large number of students to reach out to, these few people are SO motivated by the Holy Spirit. God has equipped them with a fire for him that is so amazing to witness. They are so in love with the Lord and ready to do work for His Kingdom on their campuses. There are aspects of their lives that I want to model back here at UCLA. They truly are set apart from the rest of their campus, and that’s what I hope to take back with me here.

So on the subject of “taking things back into the States,” I wanted to share with you all a couple things that I learned in Australia this summer (:

Servant’s Heart: With my position as a leader, I technically was there to serve my team through figuring our logistics and finances. The Lord really put it on my heart this summer to work on my servant’s heart and to learn what it really meant to be a servant. I have struggled with selfishness for a very long time and this summer I was challenged by the Lord to work on that sin and replace it with a want to worship the Lord through service to others. I loved watching the Lord work in my heart in this way! There were bumps in the road, times where I felt like I should be served or that people weren’t recognizing my service, etc. A lot of those conflicts came from Satan trying to keep me away from loving the Lord through being a servant. Besides those few moments, this summer I LOVED being a servant. I loved caring for my team and for my other leaders. I loved serving them through figuring out my job needs, by helping cook, by helping those who were sick, by encouraging, etc. In the moments where I didn’t want to be a servant, I just thought about the greatest servant of all – Jesus. Of all people who should have been served, Jesus Christ himself chose to be a servant. So I tried to model after him and submit myself in humility to whatever the Lord was calling me to do. I loved how God changed my heart in this aspect. It was such a great encouragement when the guys on our team wrote on an encouragement note to each girl and about 5 out of the 8 boys mentioned something about my servant’s heart. God definitely used those boys to encourage me in the work that He has done in my heart. Ah, it was such a great time of growth this summer and I’m bringing it back to my home (:

Finding my comfort in Him: Oh boy, where to start with this one. For a while I have been struggling with finding my comfort in people, specifically my friends and my boyfriend Nate. This is similar to idols, but it specifically affects my walk with the Lord because in uncomfortable or fearful times, I don’t run to Him but I run to other people. Even in my daily life where I may be comfortable, I still find my comfort in other things than God. Friends and relationships aren’t bad, however when they come before my Creator and Father, that’s when it becomes something I need to change. Going into this summer, I knew this about myself, so in my first discipleship time with Jenn and Sarah I told them that it was something I wanted to pray for and to read in the Bible for. It was something God put on my heart and I saw a lot of growth in this area! I began by meditating on passages in the Bible regarding comfort, everything from Psalm 23 to verses regarding peace, rest, God’s promises in my life, etc. I prayed for the Lord to change my heart, to give me a new one that earnestly wants to find my comfort in Him. Even though Nate was on the same project as me, I didn’t have much contact with him. We both decided that we were going to put ministry first during the project and put our relationship in the backseat. Normally, I go to him for comfort, however this summer God showed me what it looks like to run to Him. God revealed to me what holy comfort feels like. When I pray, I feel His presence and I am at peace. He has re-fixed my eyes upon Him and Him alone and it’s something I’m truly grateful for. I loved meditating and praying about comfort and seeing the Lord change my heart in a matter of weeks!

Oh man, this summer was something different. God was SO PRESENT amongst our team! We were blessed to be used by the Lord is amazing ways this summer! We initiated conversations with around 925 people. About 530 of those turned into spiritual conversations. In about 260 of those, members of our team got to share the gospel. And of those 260, 8 people RECEIVED CHRIST! These are wonderful stats, and it’s totally an underestimate because there were days we didn’t take stats. For the tough soil in Australia, these stats are AMAZING. I was overwhelmed with how many times the Gospel was presented and how many people came to Christ! Praise be to the Lord for expanding His Kingdom through using our team!

One of the things I loved about this summer was that our trip was coated with prayer. We prayed before, during, and after each conversation. My prayer life has changed immensely due to this summer and it’s something I’m bringing back to the States. Communication with the Lord is so vital in everyday life just as it was vital while doing evangelism. In reality, I am always on mission and I must be just as reliant upon prayer here in the States as I was in Australia.

God worked in miraculous ways this summer in Australia. Both in the hearts of the people we talked to but also immensely in my own heart. My own walk with the Lord has changed so much! I have fallen in love with the Lord so much more than I was before. God’s glory was shown on the campuses in Australia and I am so blessed to have been apart of the Great Commission.

Thank you again to ALL that supported me. Thank you for your prayers.

And thank you God for the experience you gave me this summer. Thank you for You! Thank you that I am your child and that I got to witness more children come in relationship with you this summer.

Glory be to God forever and ever, Amen.

Only 2 more weeks left!

This past weekend my team was able to travel to a nearby beach town called Barwon Heads to have a mid-project retreat. As a leader, we don't get much free time during the week and the times that are free are mostly consumed with planning our next step or figuring out different situations. This past weekend of retreat was a time of relaxation both mentally, physically, and spiritually. I was able to, for the first time on this project, just relax in the Lord's presence. I loved spending quality time with the lovely ladies on my project and getting physically rejuvenated through sleeping in. I was mentally at peace because on Saturday, besides cooking dinner, the whole day was completely free. Then, spiritually I was able to have a great quiet time at the beach and rest in the Lord's presence and glorious nature. The beach was so beautiful and refreshing to my soul. Saturday night was filled with a family dinner, men and women time and prayer/worship. My favorite was worship at the end. I connect to the Lord the most through worship, so this time of worshipping with my project family was amazing. We were all singing as loud as we could to be praise to our Lord! My heart was overflowing with joy from the Lord at that moment. That moment will forever be with me :)

Now as we jump into the last two weeks of evangelism, major prayer is needed. Lots of our students are feeling burnt out, mentally and physically. Two and half weeks of evangelism 5 days a week can take a toll on your health, but please pray for our students to rely on the Lord for their strength! I am excited for these last two weeks, but also sad as well. I don't want to leave! I love doing ministry here and I am just really connecting with some Australian girls. I've been able to meet up with friends that I already had from Australia, and I don't want to leave them so soon! The Lord has renewed my spirit for evangelism and has given me this urge to keep going! I know the Lord has blessed me with this spirit so that I may encourage those on my team who get tired throughout the day. Pray for this spirit to stay within me and that I constantly run to the Lord for my dependency.

Ah! Time has flown by so fast. I can't believe I only have two weeks left in this country. I am going to run after the Lord so much in this last part! I am so thankful I am here and I want to make the best of every moment. I am falling back in love with the Lord and I can't wait till tomorrow so that I can share this great love with another Australian student :) Thank you again to all those who supported me to be here! I cannot thank you enough for how much YOU are helping my spiritual walk with the Lord and how much YOU are impacting the campuses in Australia. Thank you again!

Prayer Requests:

We need prayer for health and healing! Three of our boys are currently sick, all with different variations of a cold/flu. There are also a couple of girls that have started to feel the symptoms. Please prayer for healing for those that are sick and for good health for those who are not sick. Sickness is a very big way that the Devil can keep our team from spreading the Gospel. Pray against Satan's attacks on our team. Pray for the Lord to renew their bodies and give them His strength.

PRAISE REPORT:

Just today, another person came to Christ! :) I haven't heard the full story yet, but I am excited to find out how another brother came to know Christ! Praise the Lord!

Leaning Upon the Lord for our Strength

The Lord is mightly at work here this summer in Australia. Already, in the course of 2 weeks of evangelizing on campus, 5 people have come to know Christ! The stories are amazing; some people accepted Christ for the first time and some rededicated their lives to Christ. I can feel the Holy Spirit residing amongst our team. Thank you for your prayers. The prayers for salvation are being answered. Jesus’ light is being proclaimed upon these campuses. God’s Name is becoming famous. We, as His workmanship here in Australia, give all the glory to the Lord for these 5 people coming to Christ. The Lord has been working in and through us in ways that we couldn’t have imagined.

Even in my own times of sharing my faith, countless of times I see the Lord fill me with His Spirit. He gives me the words to speak and leads me to the people he wants me to talk to. I am so overjoyed to know that my God is taking care of me and guiding me to do His work.

Australia is hearing Christ’s Name, seeing His love, and accepting His gift of salvation. I am overwhelmed with how many people have came to Christ, with how many Gospel presentations are told each day, with how many spiritual conversations last for hours, and to see how the steps of faith my team takes to proclaim the Good News to the students in Australia.

Of course, there are hard times in ministry, and I can tell your our team is feeling them. Feeling of fatigue, exhaustion, and a stubborn heart are trying to keep us away from evangelizing. I know from my own experience that the Devil is using my exhaustion to keep me from wanting to go out sharing. These moments of weakness I pray to the Lord to be my strength. It is in these moments of an unwilling heart that I pray for the Lord to give me a new heart. A heart that breaks for the lost like His does. A heart that loves unconditionally likes His does. A heart that is willing to stretch thin to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. It is in these moments that I am leaning upon the Lord to work in and through me for His Kingdom.

Please be praying for my team’s energy level. Evangelizing every day all day can become tiresome, so please pray that the Holy Spirit will give my team joy and energy to persevere. Pray for us all to fully depend on the Lord during these times of weakness. It is when we are leaning upon our own strength that we feel most weak. Pray that we turn our eyes to the Lord and His mighty power and love.

Continue to pray for the students at LaTrobe and RMIT Bundoora. Pray for more students to know Christ. Pray for the students that do know Christ to want to join Student Life and create a Christian community around them. Pray for those involved in Student Life that they would not feel overwhelmed, burdened or alone in their faith, but they would find their comfort and purpose in the Lord alone.

This weekend we are off on our Mid-Project Retreat. I cannot believe that it is already almost the middle of the project. I don’t want to leave so soon! It’s all going by so fast! The one good thing in this is that it is making me cherish each and every day that I am here, because I know from past experience that it goes by extremely quickly.

Thank you for reading this blog & for all your prayers :)

The Lord is SO GOOD!

I am going to apologize from the beginning if this blog post is kind of sporadic, but I am just so completely overwhelmed with how much the Lord is working and moving on this project so far. He has revealed himself in mighty ways and I am getting blessed beyond belief to experience His clear love for the lost. Also, I would like to apologize for not blogging as much. Life on project goes by so fast and with being a leader I feel like it goes by even faster. I rarely have downtime from ministry, but the Lord is working in my heart so much!

So here it goes :)

My team is THE BEST. I am so in love with our team dynamic. Every woman and man on this trip is so clearly walking and loving the Lord that it is so clearly shown in how we all interact. We have been blessed with so much unity, it's crazy! I am so encouraged by my team and leaders! The Lord has overwhelmed me lately in regards to how great my family is here. I am so grateful for my brothers and sisters in Christ!

This past week we had our first discipleship time, which was amazing! Like I touched on before, the Lord is teaching me to make Him my comfort. I have been meditating on some great verses that are creating peace within me. The Lord is blessing me with His Holy Spirit and I can feel it within me, producing unexplained joy, happiness, and peace. The Lord is making me more dependent on Him and less dependent upon myself and others. I am falling back in love with the Lord and I am LOVIN' IT! :)

As many of you know, I went on this project last summer. I actually went to the same campuses that we are on. But man, it hit me on Monday when I stepped on that LaTrobe campus. This is the campus that I had my first evangelistic experience. This is the campus where I have had my most challenging conversations. This is the campus that I have seen people come to Christ. This is the campus where I made lasting friendships. This is the campus that God has placed me at once again. AH, I can't put it into words how I felt, but I basically felt the Holy Spirit living inside of me. Stirring in me a heart for the lost once again. Breaking my heart for what breaks the Lord. Giving me a vision of missions. It feels so great to be back and to be back to do His work for the Kingdom.

So day one of evangelism on LaTrobe went so great! For the first talk, I prayed over Carly & Nina who had an amazing conversation with a girl Vee who expressed interest in meeting up again and potentially joining Student Life. After this conversation, Carly & I had a semi-difficult conversation with a girl named Monty. Her responses to the survey were short but we were still able to shed some light on Christianity. She didn't want to meet up another time, but I know that the Lord is working in her heart and I just pray that something I said resonated within her heart that night. The next conversation we had was with a girl named Maddy. She alluded to some background in Catholicism but she was still seeking for community in her faith. So then we were able to talk about Student Life and how great a community that is! She gave us her contact info and we are going to be following up with her about getting involved! :) And our final girl that we were able to talk to was the most encouraging.

The Lord clearly had this conversation divinely picked out because we randomly didn't talk to 3 other girls before her. We then approached a girl and asked to do a picture survey with her. At first, she seemed to be just plainly answering the questions, not really giving any vibes that she wanted to have a longer conversation of any sort. But then, we had her pick a picture that represented her spiritual life and she picked a picture of nature. At this time, the Holy Spirit made us all of a common ground of seeing God's glory clearly in nature. After having this in common, Kat was able to open up to us more. Towards the end of the survey she started as questions about us and her attitude and vibe completely changed. She was so joyful and happy and excited to be talking to us. She expressed great interest in meeting up again, hanging out, and potentially joining student life! This was such a great encouragement to Carly and I. We just walked away from that conversation with huge smiles that stretched across our whole face. We are hoping that we get to hangout with her soon and just show her the love of Christ!

So this leads into today! Our second day evangelizing. Again, I was placed on LaTrobe's campus but with different members of our team. I went with two people, Blake and Emily. So typically when we go in a group of three, two people talk and one person prays, so that we don't overwhelm the people we are talking to. So as Blake and Emily approached a group to do a survey, I went off and prayed for their conversation. I love praying over people's conversation, I feel like a prayer warrior, fighting off the evil spirits that are trying to enter into their interaction. During my prayers for them, I felt this tug on my heart from the Holy Spirit. He was telling me to just walk and talk to someone on my own. I was super nervous, but I follow the Spirit to guide me and to give me the courage to just talk to someone. As I walked, I sat next to a girl who was reading. After I prayed for a little, I started conversation with her, letting the Spirit take the rest, and He totally did! We got in a great conversation, just about fashion, college, life, etc. Then her friend came up and continued talking to me. It was natural and fun! I was enjoying getting to know them both so much! Then Blake and Emily came and found me and we all continued to talk for about an hour! They wanted to meet up again and hangout and I am so excited to show Christ's love and joy to them again as well!

After that great conversation, I went and visited my friends who own/work at a coffee house on campus. After that, Blake & Emily had another conversation that I prayed over. Just as we were walking to talk to more people, we were actually given the best surprise of the day. WE were outreached to! Four Muslim women were doing a survey outreach and asked if we would like to do it! Of course we said yes, and after the survey just sparked a great, respectful, fun and loving conversation. We talked about Islam and Christianity and it was not in an argumentative environment at all! Blake was asking a lot of great questions regarding their faith and it was such an amazing time being able to hear their responses. One of the girls, Nisa, was like "Blake, you think you have a lot of questions, I have so many for you guys!" They were so excited to hear that we are free every day to talk. They gave us all their contact info and are very excited to meet and talk about Islam and Christianity again. Blake, Emily & I are so excited as well to get to know them and be able to profess our passion for Christianity. Overall, today was such a spirit filled day! The Lord was so present today! I am so excited for the rest of our time here!

Evangelism Day 2

What I love about all of this is that these are just highlights of my stories. And that my stories are just highlights of my WHOLE team's stories. There were so many beautiful and amazing things that have happened on this trip, and it's only been two days of evangelizing! The Lord is doing mighty mighty works in Australia!!!!

Prayer Requests

• Pray for endurance for evangelism. It is so easy to get burnt out or tired even during the day, but pray that our team will push through those feelings and continue to see the need on the campuses that we are at. Pray that we will see the need and importance of what we are doing.
• Pray for a continued love, respect and unity amongst our team. Pray that we point one another to Christ. Pray for our individual walks with the Lord, that they would continue to seek the Lord for our comfort and strength.
• Pray for the campuses of LaTrobe Bundoora, RMIT Bundoora and RMIT Brunswick. These are the three campuses that we do evangelism on and all are in major need of prayer. Pray for those in Student Life (Cru) and those who do not know Christ.

First blog of the trip!

Hi loved ones!

This is the first post that I have done since briefing and sing arriving in Australia. To first catch you all up on briefing, it can be best characterized by “unforeseen stress.” I knew going into this leadership role that it would be difficult and stretching, but briefing definitely put it into a realistic perspective. However, this unforeseen stress was a direct result of me relying upon myself to accomplish all my tasks. During our leadership training, they described some characteristics. They asked if anyone was feeling stressed, anxious, worn out, etc. All of these would have directly reflected my heart. As the talk went on, the speaker than began to tell that these are all results of a person relying upon their self rather than the Lord. I was immediately woken up to the reality that I was not giving my work unto the Lord and that was why I was feeling instantly drained.

After that message and time of reflection, there were still many things to do, but the Lord had given me a new spirit, one filled with His Holy Spirit. This has been a concept that I have been learning about while being here and I’m so excited for the Lord to reveal to me more about the Holy Spirit. Already since that meeting, the Holy Spirit is giving me peace, joy, and assurance. I am still feeling drained and tired, but the Spirit is getting me through each decision and each day. The Lord is providing in mighty ways and it took me to stop relying upon myself to really see how the Lord can practically guide my work.

He blessed me with a smooth airport experience, safe travels, and has given me wonderful Cru staff and STINTers (1yr missionaries) that have helped immensely since we’ve arrived. God is filling me with His Spirit, because we both know that when I depend upon myself for this work, I instantly feel overwhelmed, which is not what God wants me to feel.

I am writing to you during my “Date Night with Jesus” which is an extended time on Tuesday nights that we get to spend solely with the Lord. I am loving this time because these are one of the few times I have to think about financials, planning, etc. Many of the free times that the students get are instead filled with planning and figuring out our money. God has quickly revealed to me the differences in this time of ministry as compared to my time last summer. I have grown in my walk from last summer, and the Lord is teaching me new things this time around.

Right now, he is teaching my what a servant’s heart looks like. How I as a leader always have to look after the concerns of my team before my own. Also, God is showing me that I am also a servant to Nate and Jenn who are the two leaders above me. God is filling me with His Spirit which then makes me be reliant upon Him in times of decisions, conflict, my selfish nature, etc. I am learning how to find comfort in the Lord and how to find strength in His power. The more I follow God’s will for my leadership position, the more He can show his wisdom and power to me. So yeah! The Lord is doing great things in my heart and walk with Him already, and it’s only the third day! Bless the Lord, oh my soul!

The practical breakdown of my last couple days have been this:

- Sunday July 15^th: Flying in around 8:30am, finally getting out of the airport around 10am, having a surprise friend of mine Ashlee visit me right when I got out of the terminal, traveling to the Space Hotel, going on a scavenger hunt in Melbourne, having dinner with my team, grocery shopping for the week, and making myself stay up until 9:30pm in order to break jet lag (:

- Monday July 16^th: Sleeping in (becausemy body needed it), having a cultural/evangelism training by the STINTers and an Aussie that is on Student Life (Cru) staff, going to Costco with the cook team, making dinner, having a great bible study with the women, and going to sleep early!

- Tuesday July 17^th: Waking up and having a great quiet time, enjoying a wonderful devo from one of our students, traveling to RMIT Bundoora to get a tour from one of the Aussies involved with Student Life (Cru) at the Uni, doing a prayer walk around the campus, seeing kangaroos (woo!), helping the cook team prepare dinner, having date with my man Jesus, and writing this blog to update all of you wonderful folk (: When I return to the hostel we get to have our first worship/prayer session. Boy I amexcited! Nothing better than worship and prayer!

Prayer Requests:

- Pray that our team continues to bond under the common love of Christ and that no one feels excluded or left out. Pray that our team individually focuses their time this summer on their personal relationship with the Lord and falls more and more deeply in love with God. Pray that our team will continue to be vulnerable with another, edifying, encouraging, helpful, and loving. Pray that we all get our joy from Christ and continue each day with the mindset that we are His workers!

- Pray for my strength and energy level. Pray that I lean upon the Lord throughout the day and not on my own energy. I can already see how this trip is going to be tiresome, but pray that I find rest in the Lord.

- Pray for the students that are already involved with Student Life on the campuses we are going to (RMIT Bundoora and LaTrobe Bundoora). The total number of students involved at these campuses combined is less than 15. This stat breaks my heart, but it wasn’t until I heard it from our guide’s mouth today during our campus tour. Knowing that our tour guide, Bec, joined Student Life when it was 4 people shows how much encouragement these students need. The movements at these campuses are so small, and it reminds me that we are not only here in Australia to seek the lost, but to also encourage, affirm, and help the already committed.

- This week we really want to focus on team bonding and creating friendships with the students involved with Student Life already. Pray that our event with them is successful and that our team would make great relationships with the students in the movement.

Thank you all for reading my blog & taking the time to read and pray about the things I mention. I cannot thank you enough for your support in my mission’s trip. I love you all!

Here's a picture of my wonderful team!

Preparation Prayers!

Hello everyone!

I am writing this from my fellow co-leader's apartment in LA as we take a short time to be with the Lord & update our supporters on how our planning has been. Yesterday, today and tomorrow we are doing our major planning sessions and nailing down a lot of little details for our trip. I am so incredibly excited to go back but I can't help but feel overwhelmed sometimes with all the details we have to figure out. With me being the Operation Project Director my main focus is the finances, which primarily is support raising. This is definitely a stress producing task to take on but the Lord gives me strength each day to fulfill my duties. I am so blessed to be a child of God and to have a relationship with a Father who provides, guides, and fully satisfies all my needs.

You all have financially supported me and I can not describe how thankful I am for that. You all have taken steps of faith and followed the Lord's will in assisting me in my work for the kingdom. From the bottom of my heart I thank you all so much. During these final weeks of preparation, lots of prayer is needed. So another way I want to ask you to partner with me on this journey is through prayer. I am going to need some major prayer warriors before and during my trip. This blog will be a way that I can update you on specific needs for prayer. Prayer is such a powerful thing and it would truly bless our team if our trip was covered with blessings and petitions lifted to God.

Right now there are some things you can be praying for:

• That our leadership team would be fully rooted in the Lord and that God would guide our every step according to His will. In every detail, whether major or minor, pray that it would be what the Lord wants and not what our human nature wants. Pray that you would instill within the leadership team a peace that calms all anger, nervousness, and anxiety. Pray that we would take our leadership seriously and know that we are God's workmanship and that we want to surrender everything to Him.
• Pray for the few students that have not fully finished support raising. There are a few students on our team that have been immensely struggling with finishing their support. They can use all the prayer that they can get. (Also, if you would like to support them, please just let me know - any amount would help!) Pray for them to not give up, to lean fully upon the Lord and to take active steps in raising support.
• Pray for all of our team as the nerves and lies from Satan start to filter into our thoughts. As the project date gets closer, Satan tends to fill our minds with insecurity, fear, and anxiety. Pray that our team would know that the Lord we serve has power over Satan and that the Lord instills within us courage, peace, and security. We have a powerful God and pray that we don't forget that as the departing date comes closer.

There are many more prayer requests but those are the three most crucial in this time. I appreciate your active support in my missions trip and I am truly thankful to have supporters along my side to help and encourage me.

I leave for briefing on July 9th and I leave for Australia on July 13th. The day is getting closer to when I arrive back in that Aussieland and I can't wait! Ah, I love my God, He is so great and wonderful in giving me this opportunity. Thank you again (:

Cheers!

God's blessings!

"God can work, if you give him a chance." 

               Throughout this support raising process, the Lord has been teaching me a very valuable lesson: Don't limit God. What I have noticed is that I limit God daily, not just in this support raising situation. Day to day there are instances that I don't let God take full control in, there are areas of my life that I try to run myself and there are actions that I could take that I don't let the Lord guide me in. In this circumstance I'm referring to support raising. 
              Now if you didn't know; support raising is the scariest, most vulnerable and faith-testing experience that I have ever experienced. Through this time around, I have been challenged to give out more support letters before, to personally ask more friends, to ask my home church and home-away-from-home church, and to make phone calls. All of these test my in drastic ways, but God has definitely worked in each and every one. 
             My support raising goal is still very far away, however the Lord has given me little victories that make all of these struggles worth while. That's the crazy thing with support raising. Right when you feel like you have no hope, there is no way you are going to raise this much money - the Lord provides! And he doesn't do it in a way you would expect. He chooses the way you LEAST expected. The Lord is funny that way (: 
             I am seeing his blessings pour in and I am so thankful to serve a God who cares and loves me. With my church at home supporting me and my church at school supporting me, he is reminding me about the loving family community that he has immensely blessed me with. By seeing friends come alongside me on this journey, I am able to clearly see God working through them in amazing ways. With seeing my family willing to give and support me and grown me closer to them and to the Lord as a whole family. Seeing support trickle in here and there gives me the motivation to keep going and to not limit God because he can work in MIGHTY ways... if I give him a chance. So I am going to give him a chance to work in my life!
            The next practical step for me in phone calls. This is definitely not my strong point and it is the most nerve-wracking experience I have been through all of support raising. 
            Please be in prayer for the couple weeks as I continue to search for support. As one of my teammates said it "I know Lord you have that $5,200 sitting somewhere, I just have to take the steps of faith in order for you to provide it." I know He will provide, but not without effort from me as well. Please be in prayer for my fellow students; some have very little support and are in desperate need of prayer. Please be in prayer for the next weeks of planning as we start intensive planning as a leadership team! 

In a month & a half --- I'll be in Australia. 

Ah, crazy!