One Month

One month from right now I'll be leaving Mobilise to head to the airport to go on my adventure. Besides packing, most everything is (FINALLY) done. I've gotten my shots, ISIC card, plane ticket, met with other students who are going. I'm putting the last few things for my visa paperwork together, and will mail that off in the morning. That's been the bane of my existence these last few weeks, I'm so ready to be done with Visa stuff, bleck.

As odd as it seems, its only starting to just sink in that I go in 31 days.I know saying goodbye to everyone here is going to be really hard, and I wish I could fast forward to just being there and not having to do that. It's always in the back of mind everyday, yet I still feel like I have so much going on right here and now and people that I want to spend time with and things to be involved in at Jubilee that I don't feel like I'm leaving soon. But I am, and it's starting to loom...I'll be extremely excited one day and then the next day overwhelmed and a little scared. For someone who's usually pretty even from one day to the next, it's hard for me not to get annoyed by these ups and downs. When I'm up, I've just enjoyed feeling excited, and when I'm apprehensive, I just try to remind myself of the evidence of God leading me into this. He's been so faithful to open up this opportunity for me, and I have a hard time not feeling guilty that I'm not more excited 24-7! I would really appreciate prayer for that, that God would prepare my heart to go and show me the right attitudes and mindsets to have.

Wow, this post is more of a downer than I anticipated. I just think I should end by clarifying that I AM pumped about this and excited to see what God is going to do and in no way second guessing this! There's just other emotions that are surfacing as well. But I have 31 days here to enjoy before I go have an incredible adventure, so enjoy them I will!

Details, details

Alright, here are the facts:

--I fly out of St. Louis on January 17th to arrive in Cape Town 11 pm on the 18th. Yes, I will literally be leaving from Mobilise to go to the airport...which means I will be packed and ready before I check in to the conference. Disclaimer..I have no idea what state I'll be in that weekend!

--I have orientation on the 20th, and my classes will start on the 25th.

--I will be living in a house with other international students off-campus. I was going to be on-campus, but UWC has closed half of their dorms to remodel them to make them more suitable to host visitors flying in for the World Cup in June! The hotels will be overflowing, thus the universities are helping out. No room left on campus for us internationals, but I'm actually really excited about having a house with other students!

--My classes end sometime early June. The official last day is June 11th, but I will most likely be done before then; they have a "re-examination week" at the end of every semester, in which any students who has failed a test(s) throughout the semester can re-take that test. I don't plan on failing any tests, so I should be good! ...hopefully...

--I was encouraged to get out asap, as travel prices rose dramatically from June 11-July 11th due to the World Cup. However, I really wanted to stick around for a little bit more, and continue to help/be around/ hang out with friends I will have made at Jubilee Church. Besides, I can't leave and just barely miss the World Cup! Tickets were crazy high, but I finally managed after lots of digging to find a relatively good priced flight--I will land back home in St. Louis at 8:45 on July 4th!! Happy Independence Day!! I already know I will be so happy to be home :)

Things are coming along, and my checklist is getting smaller, although there's still several things to be done! I'll post again very shortly on some specific things I could use prayer for, but this is all for now! 53 days left... ( the photo below is from my friend Ali's trip to Cape Town..mountains AND the beach!)

picking up speed

Hello again! It's been a little bit since I blogged--mainly because I've been waiting until there were more developments in regards to my actual trip. I've officially been accepted into the study abroad program, and am currently working on completing my application to UWC. A few weeks ago, I received a letter saying I was awarded the Henry Mitchell Scholarship, which is given to one student from each UM school to study in Cape Town. This is a HUGE blessing, and is even more apparent to me that God is leading me and providing for me. It's completely humbling to know that God granted me favor in the site of the panelists on the scholarship board.

Last weekend was the Jubilee Women Conference. I was praying with my good friends Amie and Caris, and Amie had a word for me in regards to my trip to South Africa. The week before, I had felt my excitement for my trip waning, as I was looking at all these practical things that needed to get done. I was trying to navigate through what I did and did not need for my visa, what shots I had to get, the various health insurance forms the university required, figuring out what classes at UWC would count for my UMSL degree,etc. etc. I knew when it was "go" time, that this would be the case, but I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Amie had a picture of me in South Africa, and really got a strong sense of the kind of women God wanted to develop in me during my time there. She was reminded of Esther, in her time of preparation before meeting the King, and that God wanted this to be a time of just me and Him, of Him bringing me into a deeper understanding of my role as a woman of God..she actually kept getting the phrase "wild woman", which is incredbily exciting for me! It was my first prophetic word about my trip, and I'm excited to pray into more in the next few months. It helped me bring things back into perspective--that yes I am going on a exchange program, but ultimately I'm going because God is leading me there, and He is going to be working in me and completely blowing my mind and heart for Him during this experience! I got caught up in the practical side of the trip and lost sight of what I really ought to be preparing my heart for..this incredible adventure that God is taking me on!

After many months of just kinda waiting then doing a little bit of work, then waiting some more, things are now picking up quite a bunch...which makes sense, since my departure is just a little over 3 months away! Ah! More to come...

Wherever You Are,Be All There

I remember hearing that phrase in high school and finding it extremely challenging, considering I spent large amounts of times not actually being fully present and engaged where I was. It was much easier to contribute half-halfheartedly to what was going on at the present time, while in my mind think of places and areas I'd rather be, people I'd rather be with, the exciting things that I'd do in my future. It resulted in an underlying discontent in where I was, and a false (dead) hope in my dreams and how in my perfect world things would go.

Over the last few years God's given me a lot of grace in this area, and He has blessed me with the ability to fully savor this phase of life; I am absolutely loving it! I was a little nervous about how I would be once I knew for sure I was going to South Africa--if I would check out and instead dream of how I thought it would go, if I would just want to leave already, etc. That's what Martha's flesh would tend to do. Jesus in me, however, has given me this incredible focus over these past several weeks for where I currently am! I'm excited about what God is doing in St. Louis and in various locations across the country. I can hardly even think about saying goodbye for 6 months to all the people I've come to know here without starting to miss them already! I am thankful to be an RA, despite the crazy schedule and lack of sleep and paperwork, because I know I get to directly influence many student's lives. In fact, I have found myself forgetting that I have this trip coming up because I'm so focused on the work to be done right now--which is very very very NOT of me!

On September 13th, Jubilee goes to two services. Amazing! I can't wait to help in that transition, and am so glad I get to be a part of it. LATITUDE (our college group) is growing, and the semester hasn't even started yet. I live in Oak hall, where almost everyone I know doesn't know Jesus and is living in loneliness and darkness. I LIVE right there; I am in the thick of hopelessness, and I get to love these students!

I guess I say this to show how God is faithful to take an area of weakness of in our life and completely turn it around-not for us, but for His glory and to see His mission accomplished! I'm excited for this trip, but I am not there yet. I am here, and I do feel like I am 100% present on what is going on currently, and not what is going on in 6 months. A LOT can change in that time period, so for now it works so much better for me to be about what God has me doing TODAY. I am all here. :)

"I thank my God in every remembrance of you.."

I have the greatest friends.The day I had returned home from vacation was filled with a fun baby shower for Shannon. Gretchen, Chelsea, and I hauled the presents in from the car, then Gretchen and Chelsea suggested we go upstairs. So up we went, and when we walked into the living room, I heard some music. "...Is that the Lion King playing?" I asked, somewhat confused. "Just sit!", I was instructed by Gret, and Chelsea went to her room. She returned with a huge smile on her face and this ridiculous-looking bead thing; at first I had no idea what the heck it was! I then realized it looked like a hat, and it all came together...the girls had made me a homemade headdress, and were using the Lion King soundtrack to present it. I started cracking up! As they handed me the headdress,I looking at all the drawings of tigers, elephants, etc., along with notes such as "The animals can't wait for you to come!" There was also a drawing of an African tribal man named Tomas, which brought a whole new wave of laughter out, along with a whistle attached so I can summon Tomas when I arrive. (For those of you who have not heard the story of "Tomas", that is a whole other funny blog post! In short, there is a running joke among my friends and now family about them being afraid of me meeting some African tribal man, "Tomas" and forgetting all about everyone I love back home and marrying him! Very silly!)

At the top of the headdress, the girls had glued colored popsicle sticks, and at a second glance I noticed there was writing on them. The first one said: "Gretchen loves you." The second one said "Chelsea loves you." The third one, "Gretchen misses you.", and the fourth, "Chelsea misses you." And so on and so forth, around the hat they went.

Admist "I just can't wait to be King" playing and all of us laughing, tears came to my eyes. I was really touched by this silly, creative craft my friends made to show me how they were rejoicing with me and were excited for me. It was a moment where I was keenly aware of what two blessings these girls are to me. The moment passed quickly as I was told eagerly to put it on, and we danced down the stairs to "Hakuna Matata" (Chelsea carried the laptop down) to display my headdress for Shannon and Seth.

I am so blessed to have such beautiful, Godly, funny women as such close friends. Friends who are for me and rejoice when I rejoice are such a reason to be thankful. I hope I can be even half the friend to them that they are to me. It's true that every good gift is from God, and I am surrounded by such an amazing and supportive community of friends and family! Ok, enough with the mushy gushy stuff. :) Thank you Chelsea and Gretchen for my ROCKIN headdress! :)



The making of my headdress one night while I was still on vacation-- they are so funny!

















The drawing of Tomas! Be still my beating heart...... :p


The presenting of the headdress..as you can tell, there was a lot of laughter!
Dancing around to Lion King and blowing the Tomas whistle!
Downstairs showing Seth and Shannon what the laughter was about!

So I love adventure....

In deciding what I wanted to name this blog, I realized fairly quickly that I wanted it to have something to do with Isaiah 61. I have kinda taken that Scripture to be the theme for my life--or should I say, I would like it to be the theme for my life! It talks about a messenger, someone who knows God has put it on his heart to announce a year of Jubilee, where debts would be canceled, brokenness restored, where joy would replace despair, and that this good news would be announced to all. If my life could have one role, I would love for it to be similar to that messenger. Just reading it stirs up a sense of purpose and excitement within me.It started a long time ago....

When I was 6 years old, I attended my first Celebration Midwest (a conference held annually by Newfrontiers). Back in that day, it wasn't Celebration Midwest, or "family camp", it was simply called "Warrensburg", as it is held on the UCM campus in Warrensburg, Mo. I was in the children's meeting. I don't remember anything else about that meeting except standing during the worship when a song started playing. It was about the favor of the Lord, and His desire to show His love to mankind, to restore them, free them, and give them joy instead of their sadness. I didn't know it at the time, but it was almost word for word Isaiah 61. During that song, I felt God clearly bring to mind South Africa. I didn't really understand how or why God spoke that into my heart, but I knew it was from Him. I remember telling my parents when they picked me up that someday I was going to go to South Africa.

As I grew up, I never forgot that desire. In 6th grade, I spent the first half of the year researching and learning about the country as part of a "nation notebook". I wrote papers throughout high school and college on the country, or similar issues regarding the whole continent of Africa. There were times I was really wanting to go, and I looked into a bit--but God never really opened that door (which was so good-His timing is perfect).

When it became more apparent that God was leading me to St. Louis for college, my mother actually was the one who noticed that my university had an exchange program with a college in South Africa. Being the first in my family to move away at 18, I remember feeling so overwhelmed and scared about going to the "big city" that I couldn't even think about that, and actually forgot all about it. After my freshman year, I was living with Seth and Shannon during the summer and woke up one morning with Isaiah 61 on my mind. The next few days I couldn't stop thinking about it. The following Sunday John Lanferman spoke on it at Jubilee, and suddenly I remembered my mom saying something about an exchange program. I checked it out online then met with a study abroad advisor, but would have to wait until the next summer to find out if I could afford to go. God kept me very very busy this last year with being an RA, but it was always in the back of my mind (just ask Gret, Chelsea, Myers, or anyone at Oak Hall!). I knew it this was a God-given desire, and I was praying about it quite alot over my sophomore year.

June finally came around, the month I would know if I got the scholarships I needed. I checked my student email every day! Finally, at the very end of the month, I got the email while on vacation with my family. I had the funds to go. I didn't have a surplus, to the point where I don't need to wonder abut the fact that I won't be working for 6 months, but enough to at least get going, which was more than enough for me!

14 years after God broke in on a little 6 yr. old, He is opening this door. It's an adventure I've waited for for quite a long time, but I'm so glad I never went before now; I can see so many things God has done to help me become the adventurous person I am today. Since that first conference, I always loved Isaiah 61. I love the hope it infers, how it shows Gods' heart toward man. I also love that He uses us to show others that hope and truth, how He invites us in on His big adventure. My lifelong dream of going to South Africa is hardly anything in comparison to His amazing plan! I just want to be along for the ride and be used anyway I can...


"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor...."

....Sounds like quite the adventure to me :)

Why I started this blog

Hello everyone!

This is my first official blog post. I decided that if God gave me the opportunity to go to South Africa, I would keep a blog for myself and then also for various family members and friends to hear about my adventures. I figured that would be better than sending a long email to a massive amount of people. This way if someone would like to hear my stories and tales, they are welcome to, but if not, that's ok too! I've been somewhat hesitant to start a blog for a long time, because I don't want to be one of those people who talk but don't actually say anything. But I am excited about this!

I'll post on why I want to go to South Africa and the story behind it soon. A quick summary for now is that my university (UM-St. Louis) has an exchange program with the University of Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town. Consequently, Newfrontiers has a church there, Jubilee Church. I have had my eye on this for the past year, but had to wait to see if I got the financial help needed--which God provided. Technically, I'm not officially going yet-I still have to get accepted into the program, which I won't find out until late September. I'm really not worried about that at all. Once I find out about that, I will know more about dates, itinerary, etc. So this blog will not only be about my travels, but also the time leading up to it and what God teaches me during that time as I prepare to go.

So that's why I started this blog. Follow if you'd like, and if not, still please keep me in your prayers! There is so much to think about and so so SO much paperwork and hoops to go through for a trip like this, but I know this is something God is leading me into, so I'm diving head in!