{ PRAYER }

Hi, friends!  I am officially FIVE WEEKS AWAY from leaving for Nicaragua, and I couldn’t be more excited!  But, if we’re being completely honest here, there are some mixed emotions about leaving that I’ve got running around in my head.

First, and probably foremost, I am OUT THE WAZOO EXCITED to go spend my summer in Nicaragua!  I’ve reached the point where even just saying the word “Nicaragua,” I start to smile and my heart begins to race.  It really is more excitement than I may have ever felt before (including graduation and the fountain party with free food on campus last Friday).

But see, I’ve also got some early homesickness and nervousness about the trip.  Sure, when I hear “Nicaragua,” my heart races of excitement, but it also races of nerves and worries and all those negative feelings.  I’m scared to leave my home and family for the three months that would have been spent completely with them.  It makes me sad to think that I’ll miss Father’s Day and my dad’s birthday and the family’s fourth of July celebrations.  I’ll miss my family’s concert back at Ridgecrest (if you haven’t heard about that yet, you should be there).  There are a lot of things I’m going to miss, and that honestly makes me sad.  Sure, I’ll have Facebook and Skype and different ways to communicate, and sure, I’ll have great experiences while I’m down there, but that doesn’t quite take away the twinge of sadness that comes with missing some of my favorite parts of spending summer with my family.

On that note, I’m extremely excited for all that I’m going to experience while I’m in Nicaragua.  I cannot explain to you how excited I am to experience the Latin American and Nicaraguan cultures, eat local foods, and work with the teams that come to base.  I seriously cannot wait to show Jesus’s love and hope to all the little kids God will place in my life at Tae’s House.  It’s going to be an amazing experience.  I have no idea whatsoever what it’s going to look like (and if you know me at all, you know how much not having a plan can stress me out), but I know God is going to do amazing things.  I cannot wait to see all that He has planned and how He works this summer.

So, with my departure being so close, I have some prayer requests that I would love for you to pray alongside me:

Pray for peace to take the place of the homesickness.  I want to be able to serve God to the best of my abilities, and ongoing homesickness would probably combat that.  I know that some homesick feelings will be completely natural, but I’m praying that they aren’t ongoing and that I can easily acclimate to the culture, people, and environment that I’m in.  I’m praying that I feel the peace of God siempre (always) and am able to find my home in Him and not in my location or distance from my family.

Pray for my physical health.  Like I said before, I leave in five weeks.  Currently, I am wearing a fracture boot for a foot injury I’ve had for about eight months, and we’re still not sure what is wrong with it.  Pray for guidance, that we and the doctors can easily determine how my foot is hurt, and pray that it would heal quickly and I’ll be able to be on my feet and working while in Nicaragua, not bogged down by the boot.

Pray for God to do AMAZING things this summer and the rest of the year!  I’m not the only intern there, and some are staying even after I leave.  Pray that God does an amazing work and changes lives in Nicaragua.  Pray for my strength and that I would find everything I need in Him alone.

I cannot thank y’all enough for all your prayers and support these past few months!  It’s been a crazy ride getting to where I am, but it’s been so fun.  I’ve loved seeing just how God provides (I’m fully funded!) and how He takes care of me.  Him providing the funds was a reassurance I really needed to know that He is sending me to Nicaragua, and it’s not something I need to doubt.  He has provided the way.  I cannot wait to share stories with all y’all of how God is moving in Nicaragua and just what all He’s doing at Tae’s House!  Thank you again for all the prayers, support, and love.  You’re the greatest!

"Estén siempre gozosos.  Oren sin cesar.  Den gracias en todo, porque esta es la voluntad de Dios para ustedes en Cristo Jesús."

1 Tesalonicenses 5:16-18 (RVA-2015)

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)