For people who know me, I tend to be over dramatic and get stressed out about things before I've even had a chance to process what is going on. When I began thinking about the finances of this trip I had a not so minor freak out session, but I was quickly reminded by the fantastic group of people around me here at school that I needed to lay my worries before the feet of Christ; so I did. That night I sat in my bed and cried. I cried out to the Lord and told Him my fears of not being able to raise enough money for the trip, told Him how badly I wanted to go and told Him I didn't know what to do. I felt a peace surround me as I was reminded of the love and care that comes from my Provider.
Not even two months have passed sense I sent out my first 50 support letters and I have already reached my goal of $2000.
I am in awe, blown away and shocked at the willingness of God's people to give. Of how God moved in the hearts of my family and friends to support me financially on this trip. I do not even know how to correctly express my thanks to those people and to God for providing me this chance. Words cannot explain how much my excitement is rising as the thought of returning to Guatemala becomes more and more real.
(Any money that has been or will be donated to my trip that is not used for housing, food, plane ticket, ect. will be donated to Students International in order to enable them to continue and further their ministry.)
~Psalm 100~
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his' we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
My roommate, Kelsey, is going on an SOS (summer of service) trip this summer through our school and as she goes to meetings and talks with the team she is given challenges to get prepared. In order to mentally prepare for my trip I have decided to echo the challenges she is given. Her challenge this week was to have somebody else choose what she can and cannot eat; she asked our friend Katie to decide on her diet and she said 'you're going vegan'. So together we ventured through the week being vegan; no meat and no animal bi-products for an entire week. No chocolate. No chicken. No coffee creamer! As this span of 7 days comes to a close I find myself more thankful for the food I am provided with and hope that during my 6 weeks in Guatemala I am able to persevere through uncomfortable situations, perhaps involving food but also with other things, remembering that I survived a week without my usual diet here on campus. I apologize to all the people I complained to throughout this past week (God knows there are many of you) but know that I did learn from it. And, Kelsey, thank you for allowing me to be challenged along side you and for simply being willing to discuss our upcoming trips, our excitement and our worries; love you, Rooms!!
Some prayer requests as I continue preparing:
- confidence in my ability to show God's love to the people I will encounter
- calmed nerves about language barriers as well as flying into Guatemala
- balancing planning and school work
- the other interns as they are also preparing
- the full time staff living in Guatemala as they continue ministering to the people there and prepare for the coming summer
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