"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything."

Hey guys! So I wanted to keep you updated on my trip and how you guys can be praying for me specifically because PRAYER WORKS and I really need ya'll.

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Going into this trip I'm realizing how much God wants me to "pray about everything" and really ask God for things knowing that He will provide and thanking Him for what He has already done! There are a few specific things that I would ask you guys to keep in mind as you pray for me:

•sleep-lately I haven't been sleeping well, I've having nightmares and just not getting enough hours and that's been really affecting me

•enemy attacks-God's word makes it so clear that spiritual warfare is real and we are in the midst of it, please pray for clarity to recongnize when the enemy is trying to break relationships or fill my head with unproductive and negative thoughts 

•support raising-as of right now it looks like I will be able to earn over 2/3rds of the little over $9,000 it will take to be apart of my Discipleship Training School and Outreach to East Asia with YWAM. (Praise God!) Please be praying for more job opportunities (babysitting, house-sitting) and fund raising opportunies so I can raise the remaining $3000-4000! 

•open ears and wide eyes-be praying that as I prepare to leave that I wouldn't miss any lesson or teachable or reflective moment God has for me

Thank you guys so much for your emotional and spiritual support. I'm so grateful to call you all family. 

Here's a little more info on the cost of my trip for those of you that would like to help!

The cost of this journey will be around $9,000 total. It's about $3,800 for the 3 month lecture phase (to cover the cost of food and housing), and $4,000 for the Outreach Phase to East Asia! ($2,000 being for airfare). I'm budgeting about $1,000 for my airfare to Orlando and other expenses (passport, packing supplies, laundry etc.)

Right now I am work two jobs (full-time nanny for the best 10-month old ever, and part-time as a server at Ice Cream Company). I'm hoping to work as much as possible to raise the full cost! So please keep your eye out for babysitting or house sitting opportunities. :) I will also be working on some home made projects I'll be selling to help raise the money (updates to come). 

If you feel called to support me financially in anyway (every little bit helps) you can visit: http://www.ywamorlando.com/payment and click "Payment for a student", fill out my name and school (DTS) and the amount. I'll be sending out Thank-You notes, pictures, and updates to those of you who are supporting me in that way. I am SO grateful for you. 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and to pray for me, I'm so exciting about everything God is doing in my life and the lives of those around me and I can't wait to see what He has ahead!

When God says "Follow"

I call myself a follower of Christ. "Where you go I will follow..." I've sung those words about a thousand times but recently realized that not I'm sure if in my heart of hearts I really understand what it means to "follow". 

fol•low 

/fälō/ :go or come after (a person or thing proceeding ahead); move or travel behind

To follow Christ is to go after Christ, to move behind Him.

Recently God's been really pressing on my heart to ask for more, to go after more. He is doing incredible things and He has specific things in store for me and I want to be at His heels, soaking it all in.

Last summer my brother James and my best friend Lael went to a Discipleship Training School in Orlando, Florida, and I got to visit them, meet the staff, and see the campus. Long story short, I've been thinking about going to a DTS ever since and recently God made it clear through amazing timing and circumstances that I should attend this summer's DTS in Orlando also. 

I'm so excited to go out and learn how to come after God in a way I never have before. If you want to know more about YWAM Orlando click here. Going into this trip I'm praying for perspective -I've never really been out of Modesto for an extended period of time- and boldness. I want to share my faith without self-made boundaries of insecurities and doubt in God's ability to work through me, a messed-up mumbler. 

I know God is doing great work, and like a child with his father, He wants to take me to work with Him. He wants to take me out of my ordinary and show me what is really means to move or travel behind Him and to pursue a relationship and time with Him in a very intentional way. I'm also overjoyed to be apart of a specialized "Resound" track during my DTS that focuses on Worship Leading. I can not tell you how excited I am about this. I love helping people meet God in His throne room with music. Ah. So powerful, I could go on and on (but for the sake of this already long post, I won't).

Anyway, I wanted to share with you all what's going on with me, what I'm up to and give you all a chance to be apart! I'll be posting updates on my travels, prayer requests, how I'm doing on support raising (post to follow), and lessons God teaches me along the way. I'm so excited to start this journey in learning to follow.