Experience of a Lifetime

Here I am in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, checking in!

"It's in South America. It's like America....but south!" (Thanks to Up for that quote.)

I am so blessed to have made it here. I've had a week full of adventures, from struggling to communicate in Spanish everyday, to visiting the impoverished Ayoré communities, to trekking around the city on a scavenger hunt, to walking around the university campus with CCU students collecting prayer requests and inviting students to their weekly meetings, and so much more. I wish I had time to get into more details, but hopefully I'll give a fuller debrief after I return to the US.

Now we're prepping for the Ayoré camp that's going to run from tomorrow, Sunday, to next Saturday. The purpose of this camp is to share with the girls about God's love, and to let them know they are valued by Him. These girls are trapped in a cycle of injustice, where prostitution can become a lifestyle they get sucked into in order to make money. This coming week we'll be telling the girls Bible stories in Spanish, worshiping in multiple languages, taking part in dramas, and I'm sure so much more that I don't even know about yet. Please be praying for myself and my team, that we will stay healthy (already a few members of the team have gotten sick), that we will be able to communicate effectively with the girls, that we'll have joy and energy, and for the Lord's protection against spiritual attacks.

The GATHER ministry is taking great care of us so far, and I've made some amazing friends. My team has had some great bonding experiences as well. God is doing a great work here, and I'm excited to be able to take part in it. God is also teaching me a lot about myself, and every day I am challenged with something new. Thank you all so much for your support. I can't say thank you enough! Please continue to keep myself and my team in your prayers! Hopefully I'll be able to post a picture after the camp. Stay tuned!

Dios te bendiga!

Oh, The Places I'll Go!

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Oh my goodness, the day has finally arrived!

After six months of preparation and anticipation, today I leave for my Global Project in Bolivia! I cannot even begin to describe the emotion I'm feeling right now. Try mixing together excitement, nervousness, joy, and panic all into one. It's quite a complicated emotion.

So far, I've already had quite the experience in preparation for this trip: fundraising, trying to learn Bible stories in Spanish, cross-cultural ministry overview, and packing by candlelight when the power went out the other night. It's like the pre-adventure warm-up. And now, here I am, about to board my plane in a couple hours and say 'adios!' to the US for three weeks.

Thank you, everyone, for all of your amazing support through my entire journey. All of your love, prayers, encouraging words, financial support, gifts, and everything else in between - it honestly means the world to me, and has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. I couldn't do this without you. I am so incredibly blessed. I feel as if I don't deserve it. I am so excited to be able to share in this awesome mission experience with you!

I ask that you continue to pray for myself and my team, that God would ready our hearts and minds to engage the culture of Bolivia with Christ's love, and that we truly would have servant hearts. Some other prayer requests include:

• Health for the team
• Peace for my family (and friends) as I travel miles away from home
• My eyes became incredibly irritated this last week, possibly due to the overwearing of my contacts, so please pray for healing on that!
• For the hearts of the people we will be ministering to
• For safe travels and favor going through customs

I can't wait for what's in store in Bolivia. I know I'm going to return from this trip changed, with a new perspective on the world. I know God is going to use this time to draw me closer to Him and teach me how to rely on Him even more. I will try to blog at least once or twice while I'm down there (June 24th-July 15th), but other than that I will not be checking my email or able to use my phone. So, if something extraordinary happens in your life and you need to tell me right away...well, it's going to have to wait. My apologies. Send me an email, write me a letter, and I promise I'll read it when I return! But keep an eye peeled for more blog posts!

Muchas gracias! Dios te bendiga!

Bolivia or Bust!

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Phew! What a week!

This week has been very good practice if I end up going on staff with InterVarsity. Each morning I woke up, worked on e-mails and various things for Large Group planning for the UWW IV chapter this next year, and then worked on prep and fundraising for Bolivia, and also tried to catch up with friends. Cleaning the house fits in there somewhere as well. Oh, and babysitting.

Along with that, my sister got married last Saturday! So congratulations to Carolyn and Chris! It was a beautiful ceremony with perfect weather at 7:30am on the beach in Fontana. It was great to have the family all together! Prepping for that kept me busy last week - totally worth it!

But I digress. Thank you all so much to those of you who have donated to my Global Project! I would not be able to do this without your support - it means so much to me! So far, I've raised $1655. This is a huge jump from where I was last Sunday. Praise God! That puts me at a little over halfway to my goal of $3000. If you haven't donated but would like to, check out my previous blog post! Or if you want to talk with me more about my trip, I'd love to chat! It's been about the only thing I've been able to talk about for the past couple weeks. And be prepared - I'm sure I'm going to have a TON of stories to share when I get back!

All right. So, for my supporters in prayer out there, I do have some prayer requests! I leave next Sunday, which is coming up fast, and I still have a good amount to do. So, prayer requests are as follows:

• That my heart would be in the right place and I would have the right mindset leading up to and throughout my time in Bolivia
• For my Spanish skills to develop as I prepare to leave and while I'm in Bolivia
• For health and strength going into the trip, and for good health for myself and all of my team during our entire time in Bolivia
• For all of my financial support to come in before I leave
• That I would have motivation to get everything done at home that needs to get done before I leave
• That all the nitpicky (yet important) stuff that I ordered for the trip would come in time
• That God would calm my nerves (I've been told it's natural to feel nervous before a big trip like this...) and give me peace
• For peace for my family as I'm gone for 3 weeks with minimal contact

I'll be posting more prayer requests some time next week, so you can be praying over specifics while I'm out of the country! Thank you again - it really does mean a lot to me! I am so incredibly blessed by all of you who are supporting me.

I will get to blog at least once or twice while I'm in Bolivia, so keep your eyes peeled!

Until next time...

Dios te bendiga!

(God bless you!)