LESS THAN ONE WEEK!!

I'm am beyond excited for the Dominican! It's so incredible that this time next week I will be there! Its also kind of scary at the same time! I've have started gathering things together to pack. I think I just bought out Walmart's section of stuff for traveling. Also, I had to buy a bunch of new shorts to take on the trip to work in. It was kinda tricky to find some because for dress code, they had to hit below the knee but my mom and I were able to find shorts that worked. So now, here I am. I just tore my closet a part getting t shirts to pack that I don't mind ruining. This was not a problem at all though because as I have just realized, I have TONS and TONS of tshirts from all occasions. We can leave our clothes down there for the Dominicans to keep if we want to and I think I'm going to take up that offer! It should would help out my closet haha.
Wow, I feel truly blessed to have so many people praying for me and getting just as excited as I am about my mission trip! Today in church, our preacher had me stand up while he led the whole congregation in a prayer. Even though being up in front of everyone was kinda nerve racking, over all it's really a good feeling to know that you have such a large amount of people behind you and supporting you all the way. Not to mention A HUGE GOD ready to shine his light through you. Wow! I'm just so excited.
This will probably be the last post I'm able to write before leaving but I just want to let you all know once again how much I appreciate all of your prayers! I will be sure to get some pictures posted as soon as I can after I get back (June 16th). I can't wait to tell you about all God has done for the Dominican Republic and the change he has made in my life as well!!

Team Retreat

hello everyone!
I'm sorry I haven't been posting anything lately. Ive been very busy with school winding down and exams. Let me catch you up on whats been happening...
Recently, We had our Dominican Team retreat. And when i say retreat... I mean we got together in our school chapel for a while haha. We met Friday afternoon and all day Saturday to prepare for the mission trip. Even though we all go to school together, it was a great way to find even more common ground and get to know each other better. We played a lot of trust games and games where we can learn stuff about each other. We also took inventory on school supplies that we are bringing down with us, practiced some simple Spanish(which I'm learning I'm not to great at! haha), and worked on our testimonies. Two of my teachers that are also going on the mission trip led us in devotions Friday and Saturday as well. It was a great time of worship and team bonding!

All The Money Is In!! :)

I am so excited to tell you all that all the money needed for my mission trip has come in! Words cannot express how thankful I am to ALL of you who sent me, prayed for me, or supported me in any way! God takes care of all of our needs, doesn't he? I still have several events coming up that pertain to the trip so please continue to check back every now and again to continue to read about new things that are happening in my life as I get ready to leave. I get more excited everyday!! :)

Thanks again to everyone who gave. God bless you all!

More on My Mission Trip

I'm so excited to inform you all that the money keeps coming in. :) We have over half the money needed. God is so good. I want to thank all of yall for your prayers and support! Here are some new things going on:

Every Monday, starting at 7 am and going til the bell rings for school, I am attending devotions with the other thirty people going to the Dominican Republic. It's been a great time for each of us to reflect on what God is doing to prepare us for our trip. Also, weekly we study and go through chapters in a workbook called Short-Term Missions by Tim Dearborn. So far we have discussed that our God is a God of missions. I want to share this quote with you all, "The church of God does not have a mission in the world. The God of mission has a church in the world!" How true! :)

Another amazing thing that has happened recently was on February 12. Every Friday morning, my school has chapel. We all get together and worship and listen to a speaker. That morning the mission team was called to the front. Faculty, staff, and members of Student Council all gathered around us and the whole entire school prayed for us and our trip. It was pretty powerful.

Special Prayer requests for this week:
**All papers will be notarized without problems
**There will be no conflicts in buying everyone's plane tickets.
** I will be able to turn all paperwork in on time
** Our Monday morning devotions will continue to be impacting.
** The money will CONTINUE to come in :)

Answered Prayers!!

Already, the money needed for the January deadline has been met! Wooh! I want to think all of those that sent money in :) It is a big relief.