"Things never happen the same way twice, dear one"

As some of you may know, I've had a pretty intense count down going the past 4 months or so. A little while ago I started a count down on my phone that told me how long, down the second, until my first plane would leave on this adventure I have been allowed to prepare for. Now this count down reads: 8 hours. 15 minutes. 57 seconds.

8 hours.

This picture pretty much explains me right now. But the past few days (mainly yesterday) I've been shaking in my boots. My family keeps asking me "Are you getting cold feet?" and I promptly answer "No!" But what they don't know is that the song "Hold me Jesus" by Rich Mullins has been my prayer for the last 48 hours. "Hold me Jesus, cause I'm shaking like a leaf. You have been King of my glory, won't you be my Prince of Peace?"
In an attempt to calm my nerves I talked to many of my friends. They reminded me that, even though I won't be able to communicate much with family or friends, I will still have my unchanging God. That all of my strength will come from Him.
I started thinking...what am I afraid of? Nothing. And Everything. I'm afraid of unknowns and of what will be different from the last time I was there.
I watched Narnia today and Aslan says to Lucy:
"Things never happen the same way twice, dear one."
I struggle to remember that not having been there in a long time can turn out to be a blessing, because I do not have many expectations. 
Still though, when Lucy says "I wish I was braver" in response to Aslan's call, she hit the nail right on the head. Near the end of the movie, Caspian says:

"I do not think I am ready." To which Aslan responds:

"It is for that very reason I think you are."

I am ready, so very ready. I am ready to go on an adventure for and with my God. I have no idea the struggles I might go through or the thoughts I might think. But I am ready and I am excited. I am scared. But one of my friends, in reminding me that being scared is okay, quoted the Hunger Games to me today:

"Hope is the only thing greater than fear"
When I weigh my fears against my faith, my fears are nothing.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." ~Hebrews 11:1

I am trusting that God gave me the desire to go to Guatemala, and God will walk with me (fly with me) to and through Guatemala. I have faith that God will speak through me to the people I encounter. I may not feel ready, but I am. God has raised me up for this purpose.

I'M LEAVING IN 8 HOURS!!! Holy buckets. I'm a tornado of emotions! I'm hyped up on excitement and there is absolutely no way I am getting a wink of sleep in the next 8 hours.
I'M GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!

Until next time,

Erin

1 more week! Pack n' Pray!

Quiero que los sepan para que cobren animo, permanezcen unidos por amor, y tengan toda la riqueza que proviene de la conviccion y del entendimiento. Asi conoceran el misterio de Dios es decir, a Cristo, en quien estan escondidos todos los tesoros de la sabiduria y del conocimiento.
~Colosenses 2: 2-3~

One more week!! I was talking to a lady from my church  and when she asked me what I had left to do I realized that all that is left is to pack and pray. When I told her that, she responded "pray and pack and pray."
Yes, prayer has been of the utmost importance and will continue to be.
A quick praise report! As I've told a lot of you, I have a small (okay, rather large) fear of airports. A lot of anxiety was lifted when my friend Seth offered to fly from Florida to Guatemala City with me. However there was still a small bit of fear about my flight from Minneapolis to Miami. Well, it turns out that I will have a familiar face on that flight as well! Praise God!

Trying to wrap my brain around the idea of leaving in a week is so hard. I've been waiting for months for this day to come. Well, if you want to get real, I've been waiting for 4 years for this day to come. Today when I tell people that after my trip 4 years ago the day I arrived back in the states I told my mom that I will be going back, I'm not exaggerating. My mom remembers that day as well as I do. And now in exactly one week I will be in the beautiful country where I left my heart.

For months I've been tracking the roller coaster of ups and downs, of being overwhelmingly excited and overwhelmingly nervous. I've gone from "The days aren't passing fast enough!" to "I'm not going and that's that." I'm very grateful to say that my nerves are gone and what is left is pure excitement. 
I'm excited to see how much has changed, how much growth has occurred both physically and spiritually. 
I'm excited to meet the other 3 interns.
I'm excited to work in the art school.
I'm excited to meet the teams that will be there for spans of 2 weeks.
I'm excited to build relationships.
Really there is nothing that I'm not excited for.
I'm excited for exhaustion.
I'm excited to be covered in paint and dirt.
I'm excited that I will look at the smiling faces of my family and friends in pictures and miss them.
I'm excited because as I look through my Bible and read stories of the heros, of the desciples, of the true followers. And the missionaries of today that I've grown up listening to, researching and looking up to. These are the things they experienced and are experiencing. These are the things they were called to. Joy. Always. These are the things that they went through for the sake of others, (in teaching non-believers and encouraging believers) and for the sake of the gospel. And these are the things that we are still called to endure in order to bring glory to our Savior, to our Creator.

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I don't want to pretend that I'm doing this all on my own and I don't want to pretend that I mustered up all this excitement on my own either. God, first and for most, has been my rock. My friends and family as well, listening to me cry in my fear, and freak out in my joys, you guys have been key as well.
Thanks for the support and the prayer. If you wish to pray for me and with me while I finish up packing and preparing and as I'm there, I'm putting a list of prayer requests on my Guatemala page. (If you want to check it out, you can click here)

May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
~Romans 15:13

Peace and Blessin's