accepted!

Yesterday I had my One-on-One with a representative from AIM (Adventures in Missions).  Basically, she told me I was ACCEPTED into the program and she went on to tell me about the next steps of the process and sent me a ton of paperwork to read and fill out in the next couple of weeks.  As I began reading through it all yesterday, I had so many thoughts running through my head:  I am so excited to see what God has in store for me in this next year of preparation for The World Race.  I need to make sure I can take time off student teaching next spring to go to the mandatory 10-day training camp.  How in the world I will be able to fit everything I will need for a year into a bag that I can carry on my back?!  I have never been good at packing, but I have a feeling by the end of this trip I will be a master packer! :)

Through this whole process, this verse keeps coming up:

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

--1 Thessalonians 5:24

I have faith that since this is all part of God's plan for my life, He will somehow fit all the pieces together perfectly!

Update

Just thought I should give you all an update on the process...

I received an email from The World Race a few weeks ago saying if I completed my application by July 20th, I would still be eligible for the $13,800 trip.  Otherwise, the cost would go up to $14,300.  I sent it in on time and set up a phone interview, which I did last Thursday.  Thanks for all the prayers--it went really well!!  I got an email a couple days later saying to call sometime this week for a One-on-One and they will fill me in on the next steps of the process.  Things seem to be moving along, which makes me more and more excited every day!

On a more random note, I have decided to grow my hair out from now until I get home from the trip in July 2011.  I plan to donate it to Locks of Love when I return.  I have also decided to start trying something new (food) every day until I leave.  For those of you who know me, you have probably discovered that I am the pickiest eater you have ever met!  So far, I have tried orange chicken, fried rice, chow mein, and onions.  And last but certainly not least, I am working on reading through the entire Bible before I leave next July!  I have already learned so much and have been so blessed!!  I can't wait to see what else God has in store for me this year :)

Well, I think that's all for now...I will continue to keep you updated throughout this process.  I really appreciate your support!  Thank you and I love you all very much!

GO!

Last night I got some pretty awesome confirmation that I AM supposed to go on The World Race.  As I said in my last post, I have been feeling discouraged and not completely sure if this is what God wants, but after last night I can say without a doubt in my mind that it is part of His plan!  I have really been asking God to give me confirmation on the whole thing, and last night it was almost like He hit me over the head with a 2-by-4.  I was at a women's gathering for church and a pastor from India had come to speak.  He talked a lot about faith, which is something I would need a lot of to go forward with this trip.  God must have known that I still had some doubts, because at the end, Brother Harry Gomes began to pray for a good twenty minutes.  I did not understand a single word of his prayer until about halfway through when he said God was telling him that there would be a missionary rise up from that group of women.  She would travel to many different countries and help the people and children and tell them about God.  I was completely shocked.  Right then, I knew he was talking about me!  I just began crying and crying because I could not believe that I had ever doubted God.  When he was done praying, Diane went up and talked about how Harry had spoken some pretty awesome and prophetic words and if any of us feel like he was speaking to us we should go share it with her after.  She was looking straight at me when she said if we felt like we were the missionary he was talking about, come tell her so she can begin praying and talking about raising support.  We sang a couple more songs, then it was over.  I first went up to Jeanne Taylor (one of my moms out here in Colorado) and she asked me what the Lord spoke to me tonight.  I began telling her about the dream I have always had about going on The World Race and she immediately began praying for me.  Next, I went up to Nancy Swanson (one of my favorite ladies in the church) and told her the big news--that he was speaking to ME about missions!!  She said she already knew it--while he was praying, my name popped into her head when he was talking about a missionary!  We talked for a little while and I told her a little bit about the trip, then she prayed for me that I would be able to cast out the lies of the enemy and people telling me to not go.  Finally, I went up to Diane (the pastor's wife) and informed her of what God had been speaking to me.  She wasn't surprised either!  She also said that my face popped into her head as Harry was prophesying about a missionary emerging from the group!  As if that wasn't confirmation enough, I got an email from Diane earlier today and she said when she went home and told her husband Bryan (the pastor) that she had a chance to talk to me last night, he said he already knew before she even told him the details!!  What an awesome and mighty God we serve!!  

I need to raise $13,800 in the next year and I know without a doubt that God will somehow provide it!!  I will be leaving in July 2010, a little over a month after I graduate from CCU.  

Check it out at www.theworldrace.org

The World Race

A few years ago, I heard about a mission trip called The World Race (check it out at www.theworldrace.org) and I almost instantly decided I wanted to go on it at some point in my life.  As time went by, I kind of put in in the back of my mind and almost forgot about it until just recently--God has really been pressing it on my heart again.  When I tell people I'm looking into this mission trip that travels to 11 countries in 11 months and it costs $13,800 they usually tell me I'm crazy.  I began listening to the lies and feeling discouraged, telling myself that it will never happen.  However, as I was reading the book of Nehemiah sometime last week I began to glimpse a new hope.  God told Nehemiah to go and rebuild the wall, and Nehemiah obeyed.  Throughout the building process, people kept telling Nehemiah that it wasn't going to happen and that he should just give up.  But Nehemiah knew that since God had told him to do it, He would somehow make it work.  As I read this story, I really felt like God was telling me to stop listening to people and start listening to Him.  If it's truly in God's plan for me to go on this mission trip, He will provide everything I need to make it happen.  The first possible trip I could go on leaves a year from now, July 2010.  It's a pretty scary thing thinking about where I could be in a year!  Please join with me in praying for God's will to be revealed to me.