Packed and Ready

I just spent the last several hours stressing out over what I should bring with me to Africa and what I should leave at home. I'm usually so good at packing just what I need for missions trips or vacations, but I've never packed for a 10-week trip before. I think I'm finally finished and am feeling much more relaxed now. I also went to church with my family tonight in the middle of my packing, and that really helped me to put things in perspective too.

We are leaving our house tomorrow morning at 8am in order to make it to the airport in St. Louis by 10am. My flight leaves for Washington D.C. at 12:40pm. From there, I'm catching a 15-hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. I've got books, magazines, a couple of Sudoku books, and my iPod to keep me occupied. But I have a feeling I'm still going to be feeling pretty antsy after 15 hours on a plane.

Around 8am Monday morning (Illinois time), I will be landing in South Africa! I am so excited to spend my summer loving on the babies at the orphanage and serving however I can. I can't believe the time has come already!

Please pray for safe travels tomorrow...for me and also for my family who will be on the road between Springfield and St. Louis. Thank you!

Leaving again...

I'm leaving for South Africa in 48 hours! I was just starting to get used to Illinois time, and now it's time to change time zones again. I'm so excited! A little anxious, but really excited.

Back in the U.S.

How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."
Romans 10:14-15

I'm back from Romania! Now I have the next few days at home to recuperate from the jet lag and reflect on all that we saw and experienced on this trip. I know from previous missions trips that it's going to take me a while to process it all and fully understand what God taught me and how He worked in my heart on this trip.



What an absolutely incredible 10 days! God is so good! My words could never do justice to the amazing ways that God worked in Tinca, the Gypsy village, this week. He is so big and so mighty, and we witnessed firsthand this week that our God can do ANYTHING!



Since our group was so big (126 young adults), we were able to do lots of different projects and activities throughout the week. All of us spent the first day picking up garbage in a big field where the Gypsy children play. It was covered with broken glass, dirty diapers, and cow carcasses, and sadly most of the children run around in this field without shoes. I spent the rest of the week painting the front room and the kids' bedroom at the Isaiah Center, an orphanage for Gypsy children in Tinca, and doing Vacation Bible School with the kids in the village.



I have so many stories from our time in Romania, but it would take forever to tell them all in this post! Instead I'm going to summarize the past 10 days with a few numbers:

-11 people from our team were baptized in a river in Tinca
-1 member of our team accepted Jesus as her Savior
-Dozens of members of our team rededicated their lives to Jesus
-22 outhouses were constructed in the Gypsy village
-1 entire house was rebuilt from the ground up
-2 roofs were rebuilt
-1 playground/swingset was constructed at the Isaiah Center for the children
-30 Gypsies came forward to accept Jesus after viewing a film about Jesus in their language
-100's of Gypsy children attended Vacation Bible School all week long
-more than $25,000 was raised beyond what we needed to travel to Romania and was donated to Forget Me Not Ministries to serve the needs of the Gypsy people
-126 lives and one Gypsy village in Romania were changed forever



What an incredible trip! What an awesome God we serve!

Go Time

I'm flying to Romania TODAY!!

Please be praying for safe travel for all 126 of us as we fly out today and tomorrow. I won't be able to update while I'm there, but you can read updates from our trip leader at the Fuel website.

I Heart Revolution

I absolutely love this video from Australian worship band Hillsong United. Their latest album "I Heart Revolution" is focused on being the hands and feet of Jesus across the globe...



p.s. I'm leaving for Romania in less than 48 hours! :)

Miscellaneous

Today I have several loosely related thoughts to share (hence the title).

1. This week I am "detoxing" from caffeine since I am kind of a Starbucks addict and did not want to be experiencing withdrawal symptoms while in Romania or Africa. After my first missions trip to Costa Rica, I concluded that the worst part about going on a missions trip was having to come home again. Now I've decided that the second worst part is the caffeine withdrawal prior to leaving. I feel like my body is angry at me for depriving it of what it wants. I'm drinking a cup of hot chocolate right now in an attempt to ease the suffering. haha.

2. It's been really interesting to hear peoples' responses when I tell them I'm spending my summer in Africa. Most have been similar: people are really excited for me, will be praying for me, can't wait to hear all about my adventures there. But the other day, I got a response that was completely unexpected. I told a friend what my summer plans were. Her eyes got really big, and she exclaimed, "You're going to get so tan!" I don't even remember what I said. I think I just laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess so."

3. Last night I picked out a new suitcase since the one I've been using for my 7-10 day mission trips probably won't be big enough for 10 weeks in Africa. My new suitcase is purple and beautiful, and it was on sale. It just doesn't get any better than that!

8 days until Romania... :)

there is no one else for me
none but jesus
crucified to set me free
now I live to bring him praise

all my delight is in you lord
all of my hope and all of my strength
all my delight is in you lord
forevermore

Romania

Today we had our final meeting for the Romania trip. Last fall when they showed the promotional video at my church, God completely broke my heart over the neglected and abandoned Gypsy children who live there. I felt so strongly that God was calling me to go on this trip and turned in my deposit the very next week.

Now our departure is only 10 days away. In 10 days, 126 young adults from the college/young adult ministry at Eastview Christian Church will be flying to Romania to build outhouses, pick up trash, love on children, and simply spend time talking with and investing in the Gypsy people.

These people are considered outcasts in Romania. They are not thought of as people, but as animals...less than human. They are not even counted in the country's census.

We are hoping to show them the love that Jesus has for them through the time we are spending in their village doing work projects and getting to know them. The language barrier is going to be a challenge, but we do have several translators going with us each day, so that will help!

Please pray that God will be preparing the hearts of the Gypsy people to receive us into their community and to accept the message of hope we will be sharing with them.

Take a look at this video that was made about the trip:

Albertine

I love this song. It's a song called "Albertine" by Brooke Fraser. After spending time in Africa, she says, "now that I have seen, I am responsible."

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice." This concept doesn't just apply to missions. It means that whenever God teaches us something new or changes our heart in some regard, we are to carry it with us. We are now responsible.

In the same way, it also means that when I return from South Africa in August, I am responsible for what I've seen and experienced there. I am responsible for telling people what God taught me and showed me there and how He continued to shape my heart.