You know, it really is amazing that God would let me, yes call me to travel thousands of miles away to bless people in a different country. I don't know if all of you know this, but the country of Peru has been intriguing to me ever since....well before I got interested in missionary work. How beautiful that is, that He prepared my heart ahead of time. He knew. And I know that there is more to come! Where, when, I do not know. But I have surrendered my life to His use, and He has promised to bless it!!!
I am going to break away from my usual format here, if that's ok with ya'll. As much as I'd like to sit down with each of you and spend some quality time talking about what God is doing in your life, what your dreams are, as well as the mundane daily things, I cannot. There are just so many of you wonderful people and we are all busy! SO. Here are a couple of things that have been going on with me.
1. Something really nice that I have been doing is meeting new people and getting to know acquaintances better. For example, I have met with several pastors to talk about my trip to Peru. Without fail, these meetings have resulted in my receiving love, wisdom, and encouragement. I understand that pastors are "suppose to" do that, but let me tell you - each man and woman that God calls to be a pastor has their own struggles and challenges. Knowing this, I am humbled and blessed that they would take the time to listen to me ( a youngster in this ministry thing :) and share their life lessons with me!
2. I got to meet a woman whom I now consider a friend at my job this past month. We were sort of thrown together to handle a bunch of kids, without having previously met. It turned out that we could relate to one another well, and it was nice to have that in a what can be trying environment :) I really appreciate her and am thankful that God let us get to know each other!
3. I have two jobs, one working with kids and another at a hotel, doing housekeeping. The housekeeping job is pretty much a seasonal deal, and I have been wondering if I should look for something closer to my home. I very much dislike leaving jobs because I do not want my employers think ill of me (which is ridiculous really). So, I was trying to figure out how/when to quit that job, getting myself all nervous. Then God did His thing. A few days ago, I received my pay check in the mail and with it a letter from the owners of the hotel, saying that they had just signed the papers to sell the business to new owners, and that they would be doing their own hiring. They suggested that I start looking for a new job, thanking me for all the work I had done for them and praying for blessing ( yes, they are Christians:) You see that?!! I am now training for a new summer job.
For those of you still reading this, I applaud you :) I know this has not been the conventional missions trip blog update, but I felt like this was a good idea. If you are anxious to find out how my support is going, then you can read this:
Any gift is still welcome! A one-time gift will bring down the amount I need for monthly support. Monthly pledges can be $5 a month, $20 a month... $100 :) or whatever you feel is right! However the MOST IMPORTANT support I ask for is PRAYER!! Right now I ask that you would keep Pastor Julio Cavassa in your prayers. He is back home and going through therapy, but He still needs more strength and all the blessings you can send His way! The doctors want to give him a mouth guard to keep his jaw from healing crooked, but he cannot open his mouth wide enough to get one in. This is slowing down the healing. His wife Janet also needs prayer, as she is giving her energy in caring for him.
