Living in Fast Forward

You know, the closer my departure date becomes, the faster everything seems to be moving. It feels like just the other day I was starting my application for this trip and now all of sudden I'm leaving for it in less than a month. And yes, you did read that right. Less than a month! Which means the next few days are going to be very full of trip preparations and hanging out with a bunch of people I'm going to miss a lot. Like last Friday was my last day at Chickfila. (It also marked one month until I leave for my trip.) Everyone at work was so unbelievably sweet and caring! I guess making sure I'm going to miss them when I'm gone. It's awesome being surrounded by all these people that really do care about me and are supportive for what I am doing.

Today we also had our last conference call before we leave (another weird realization moment). The biggest thing that we talked about is our itinerary for our trip. So here it is for you to see so that you can be praying for us wherever we are:

January 12: Arriving in Fort Wayne, Indiana
January 17- January 31: Partying in New York
February 1- March 7: Hangin in Haiti
March 8- May 1: Jammin in Jamaica
May 2- June 27: Bummin in Belize
June 28: Travel back to the States
July 2: I'm coming home!

Lastly, my roommates have a jewelry store on etsy and I get to sell these fancy cross earrings on their website! All of the profit will be going to help me purchasing all of the super exciting supplies that I will need to have before I leave. Message me on facebook for a promo code to cancel out the shipping cost and I can meet up with you to talk about life and get you your earrings! Also, check out all of the other cool stuff on their website :)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/214749604/cross-earring-benfiting-experience

Days Left: 27!!!

Places Have Names Now!

I know it's only been a week since my last post but we are getting closer so I have more exciting things to share with you! Today I had a conference call with my other team members and we learned more details about where we are going. I of course wanted to immediately share that with you because a lot of people have been asking specifically where I am going and now I know!!

 

First we will be traveling to Petit Goave, Haiti. Petit Goave was one of the places hit by the earthquake in 2010. We will have the chance to work with kids in the local school which could be interesting since I don't know French or Creole but I guess we will have translators for that. Otherwise I don't know how we will be able to teach kids we can't speak to... 

In Belize we will be in a little village called 7 Miles. Originally we were going to go to Costa Rica but recently Experience Mission has been making connections in Belize and felt like it would be a better fit. Little fun fact: English is the national language of Belize. There may be some local dialect that some of them may speak but for the most part there will not be any issues with that.

In Jamaica, we will be staying in Catadupa which is located up in the mountains. There is a train track that runs through the middle of the town. At one point it was a way for tourists to come see the town but it was shut down in the 90s and kind of threw off the economy of Catadupa. English is taught in the schools so they said we will have no problem with a language barrier there. The local language is a derivation of English so I should come back speaking like a pro which would be so cool!!

I also wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has donated to my trip. I totally just jumped in to this trip trusting that God would provide the money I need and He has totally provided in ways I could not possibly imagine! Thankfully, I have been able to work enough and save enough to where I do have the rest but it would mean almost no money when I get back. The rest of the money to pay for my trip is due next week. If you had been wanting to donate, you can go to www.experiencemission.org and scroll down to where it says "sponsor a 3&6 month immersion volunteer". Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and love! I couldn't do this without you!

Tatted Up Like Kat Von D

As I keep getting closer and closer to leaving for my trip, more and more exciting stuff seems to be happening. Everything is moving at a much faster pace than it was moving in the beginning. There's more paperwork and other things I have to take care of but I'm also getting to tell more people about all that is happening since people get very curious when you are getting ready to leave home for six months! The amount of love and support I am constantly receiving is so overwhelming so thank you. All of you. After I make a new blog post I am checking how many views I have had like every 5 minutes because it makes me excited to see people actually want to hear about and care enough about what I am doing to read what I have to say.

So first of all, I officially turned in my letter of resignation for chickfila this week. My last day of work will be December 13th. I really do love my job and I will miss my fellow employees but for my emotional sanity, I need to give myself plenty of time to prepare for my trip. The amount of support and excitement for me that I have been shown at work has truly been a blessing. I love being in a place where people genuinely care so much about me.

As far as recent trip events, last week I purchased my plane ticket to Indiana. Although my mom did help me finalize my purchase and my ticket decision, she refused to help me with the researching part because she told me she was just going to stay in denial. She came through for me when I really needed it though! I've also had a family tell me they would like to purchase my sleeping bag I need for me which is so amazing because that is one big thing I kinda really need that I don't have to worry about anymore.

God has been continuing to show me His faithfulness even when I am drowning in a sea of doubt. I had to get my brakes repaired on my car this week which was not a cheap fix. I became very worried that I would not have the funds I need and began crying out to God asking how He could get me so close and then ruin everything by giving me this expensive car repair. But when my mom and I got to the mechanics they said it had already been paid for by my grandparents. It was definitely a reminder that I don't have to do everything with my own strength. It got me thinking how often God takes care of me and how often I easily forget that. I started thinking that if I got a tattoo every time God showed me up, I would have a lot of tattoos. I'd be like Kat Von D with more tattoos than bare skin. God will not lead me to a place where I know I am following His will and then leave me hanging. This is where He wants to be and He is going to make sure it happens. Even when I doubt He can.

Day count: only 50 days away!!!

"For I am Not Ashamed"

Well this week has for sure been a crazy one! To start off, I had my first conference call with my teammates. There wasn't a whole lot of group talking because having like 12 people trying to talk to each other at once would be wayy too difficult. It was mainly a chance to get a lot of information out to all of us at once. It did make me realize though how much stuff I have to get taken care of before I leave but it was definitely lots of good information. I now get to figure stuff out like flights and other really cool fun things like that. They did say we were only going to be spending 2 weeks in New York which was something I was a little nervous about because in January in Florida is NOTHING like January in New York. But don't worry, I ordered a super cute monogrammed fleece headband to keep my ears warm so I'm set!

I also spent all of Tuesday at the new ER. Not as a patient! Don't freak out. I was learning things about pharmacy. I mean I didn't have this major revelation where suddenly it became clear that pharmacy was my life calling. But I enjoyed it! And it's definitely something I want to look more into. Shout to out Dr. Angie for letting me hang out with you for the day.

I have also decided that Saturday December 13th will be my last day at work. After our conference call, I decided that I needed to give myself plenty of time to make sure I have everything ready and in order before I leave. Besides, who would want be more stressed out than they had to be around Christmas time. I wanted to make sure I was getting to enjoy all of the time I had with my family before I leave.

Here's 2 fun facts:
1) As of 11/14 I am 59 days from heading out on my trip!
2) Romans 1:16 has recently become my new life motto: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel,because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.."
BOOM! Enough said!! God's awesome!

What Day Will Today Be?

As of today, I am 70 days away from leaving for my mission trip. Every day it's become more and more of a reality for me. Some days it's like "wow I can't believe it's so close!" and then other days it's still like "wow... holy mess it's so close..." It's been really awesome to get to talk to people about what I am doing. A typical question for college aged people to get asked is "what is your major?" or "where are you in school right now?". And my response to them usually begins with "well.... you see..." because normally it's like a few word answer like "FSU and I'm majoring in business" or something like that. It kind of throws people off a little bit when you tell them you are taking off school to go on a mission trip for 6 months. Since the word has spread, more and more people at work are asking about it too which has been really awesome to get to talk to them about it. They are all going to miss me so much there but they try to play it off. I can see right through that though!

In the past couple weeks I have become really obsessed with Christmas and getting into the holiday spirit super early which is kind of usually for me. I'm not like a scrooge or anything but I don't normally start listening to Christmas music in October. But I think the reason for that is because with holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas you associate that with being together as a family and that's all I'm going to want to do is be with my family before many many miles separate us. It's super cheesy and sappy I know but I guess this is just how my brain is processing things.

But as always, God is proving Himself to be just as present as He always has been. Even days when I feel like nobody understands what I am going through, I know I'm not alone. Jesus dealt with knowing He was going to be separated from His earthly family and friends but He made sure He spent time with them and let them know that He loved them. Jesus gets it! I'm not alone. And that fact is what allows me to have more of the "wow I can't believe it's so close!" days and less of the "wow...holy mess it's so close..." days.

Stranger Danger!

Well something pretty exciting has happened.. I am now facebook friends with all the members of my team! I mean normally my mom is against my friending people that I haven't actually met before but she seems pretty okay with this. I guess I have to be careful what I say about them because now they can see this.. We have had some "get to know you" questions that people have posted answers to so we can kind of get to know each other. It's crazy thinking that I'm going to become super close personal BFFs with these people for 6 months! One thing I did notice was everybody is from up north except for this kid!! Like do they even know what sweet tea is? I'm going to have to educate them otherwise.

And as you might now, part of the reason for me taking this trip is because I had no idea what I wanted to do as far as major. So my mom and I were thinking about it a couple weeks ago and talking about what classes have I liked or not liked and why and other things I am interested in. She's decided that she thinks pharmacy is the right answer which one of my friends has also been saying that for awhile. So I am going to shadow a pharmacist in a couple weeks to see if it's something I could see myself doing! It would be something I could totally do on the mission field which I love and I would get to help a lot of people!

And in other completely random news, my roommate was looking at job opportunities and saw that Red Robin is apparently coming to Tallahassee!! It's my favorite restaurant so I'm actually pretty pumped about this and yes it is a big deal.

Day Count: 84 days until I leave!!

Change of Plans

Well first of all, plans have kind of changed for my mission trip. I was on the phone with one of the organizers of our trip and she said that Experience Mission had decided to change our last stop from Costa Rica to Belize! I mean I was very excited about Costa Rica because I had actually been there before but it's kinda too like to back out now. Plus now I get to add another country to my list. (In case you were curious, after this trip I will have been to 14 countries!) But I did join a facebook group with my other team members. I haven't actually talked to any of my future friends yet but it's only been a couple days. I got time!

Also, the other day I informally informed work that I was leaving. I had really been avoiding it because I am not the biggest fan of confrontation but it actually went better than I expecting. It's nice having managers that can be so excited and understanding about me participating on a 6 month mission trip. They said they would miss me of course. I mean who isn't going to. Hopefully they will let me come back when I return because I do actually kind of like it there.

On a more deep and spiritual note, recently I have felt very challenged to really focus on my relationship with God. My biggest fear would be feeling inadequate to answer questions people may ask me on my mission trip. Yes, I know we will never have all the answers but I want to make sure I am ready for God to use me whenever. It's not only helping me feel prepared for my future but I've been having less and less doubts about my trip. Funny how that happens!

Days left: 93! It's getting closer!!!

Here Comes the BOOM!! (aka reality)

So first of all, October 4th marks 100 days until I begin my trip and realizing I am about to be down to double digits both excites and scares the mess out of me. A couple weeks ago, I just went through a phase where I had a really hard time accepting the upcoming reality and thinking about all the stuff I need to do almost made me depressed. My mom and I had taken a weekend trip to Destin and I had tried on Chacos which I think are like THE ugliest shoes in the world and because I had let myself start to get stressed about it, just trying them on almost made me cry. I bought some a couple days later because I'd rather get it out of the way. Like rippin off a band-aid. If you don't know what Chacos look like I will show you:

.... Now you see my pain

But just like He always does, God has proved Himself to be so faithful. He has been showing me over and over again how He is going to provide for me. I'm not scared anymore. A little nervous but I think anybody would be. I know God is going to take care of me and give me all of the resources and courage I need to be prepared for this trip, even getting over my fear of ugly shoes. Hopefully within the next few weeks I will be finding out about the team I am going with and being Facebook buddies with them which I'm so pumped about! Thank you for all of your continued prayers and support.

PS thank you to my roommate Rachele for finding a quarter on the ground and donating it to my trip. She's really just the sweetest :)

This Is Not Meant to Be a Guilt Trip! Even if it Sounds like It

So the other night I had another night where I stayed up really late thinking about everything that could go wrong or go right with this trip. At the moment the biggest concern is the fact I have like $6,000 I need to go on this trip and I don't know where it's going to come from. I am working many, many hours at chick-fil-a and really trying to cut back on urges to buy really cute clothes but still it all seems very scary. Like real scary! But I have to trust and believe that God is really in control of everything. Even $6,000 of money that I don't have.

And now, here is my deep, spiritual thought of the day: in bible study we were talking about Hebrews 1 focusing on the idea of who Jesus is in our lives. The Bible tells us He is God's Son and ruler and glorious and all of these wonderful things but who is He to us? Which makes you begin to think about, where would I be without Him in my life? I know one thing is for certain, I would not be leaving the country for 6 months with a group of people I've never met to go to places I've never been and serve more people I've never met. I mean that whole thing seems ridiculous! But that's exactly what I am doing. Because Jesus is a part of my life. In my life, Jesus is also the confidence boost I need to do something insane! And I love it!!

Today (September 5th) marks 129 days away from me leaving!

So Much Yet So Little Time

So today August 15th marks 150 days until I leave for my trip!! Which is why the fireworks seemed completely necessary. It's kind of crazy to think about though. When I think about it like this is August and I'm leaving in January, it doesn't seem that far away. But when I think about it in terms of numbers, 150 days does not seem like a lot of time! It seems scary! It's all becoming super real. I was talking to an old Sunday school teacher Mrs. Lori, who I love and cherish, about how I don't doubt that this is where I am supposed to be but at the same time I don't feel ready for everything. She reminded me that God doesn't pick people to do things because they have prepared and are ready. If that was the case, nothing would be done because no one can be truly ready for something like this. He just tells us to trust Him! It's like a "ready or not, here you go" thing. Until then, I am looking forward to October when I get to start connecting with the people who I will be traveling with which I am so excited about.

I also have been recently overwhelmed by the amount of generosity that people keep sending my way. Yes, I do still have a long way to go but I know God will provide it. He is faithful to us when we choose to follow Him and I am definitely feeling that. If you have donated to me, this is my thank you shout out to you! It really is a huge blessing. Again, if you would like to donate, there is a link on the left side of the page. Donations sent through the Experience Mission website do have tax benefits.

I have decided to follow Jesus, NO TURNING BACK!!

Tiny Step Closer

I got my first donation this week! Yay! I don't really want to call them out in case they don't want me to but thank you so much for helping me out. I love you so much! So at this point I need just under $9,000 dollars for the actual trip as well as the various camping supplies I will need to purchase in preparation. If you are reading this and are thinking "Hey I would love help Audrey out because she's kinda cool" there's a link with some information on the left panel of this blog. You'd be my new best friend!! And in case you were curious, I'm 163 days away!... not that I'm counting

In other good news, I have not had a job for the last month because the Chick-fil-A that I work at has been getting a serious makeover and we are finally reopening this Wednesday! This is a huge blessing because if you have talked to me recently you know that I have been very bored and very poor. Since I am taking a year off of school I knew I would be able to work a bunch of hours and save up a lot of it because I think I need to raising my own funds for this trip as well as donations. So not being able to work for a month has kind of messed with my savings plan a little bit. Plus, it's going to be nice to actually have stuff to do.

I hope everyone is having a great summer! And eat more chicken!! :)

It's About to Get Humble Up in Here!

Here's just a random thought I've had going on through my head the past couple days. Like I stay up until ridiculous hours of the morning thinking about stuff. The other day I looked and saw they had posted the packing list online and I realized there were a couple things I was going to have to get used to with this list. First of all, they recommend that you get some sort of hiking sandals like chacos which I think are like the ugliest shoes in the world! But I know that when I'm really going to appreciate them when I'm over there. So if you have a brand you would recommend, please let me know because this is obviously not my thing.

Also, I knew I was going to have to pack light but I get 6 outfits. SIX! And even though that seems like nothing to me, it's crazy to think that there are people who have even less than that. Like that's a whole new level of humility. In our bible study tonight, we were talking about a verse found in Romans 8:37 which says "in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us." Even though struggle with having so few outfits is not a massive battle, getting over my pride is going to be a huge victory! But I know every day is going to bring new doubts and worries so every one I tackle is one less I have to deal with later. But doubts don't mean I'm any less exited!

PS The countdown down says 178 days today!!! YAY!!! :)

The Beginning Steps

Every day, the reality of this trip becomes more and more real. I have even made a countdown to watch the time until I leave get shorter. It's unbelievably exciting but terrifying at the same time. Of course I can't wait to begin this trip of serving and loving people but I also realize that it means I do not have very long to spend time with my family and friends that I love so much and will miss dearly while I am gone.

As far as my progress with all of the things that must be done, I do have medical clearance to go which was not something I was extremely worried about but it is still a blessing. I also paid my initial deposit which means I have my spot saved. At this point, they told me to focus on support letters and fundraising. Later in the fall, we will begin setting up conference calls and a Facebook group with the other members on my team who I can't wait to meet. 

Until then, I would just ask for continuous prayers for my family as they also are getting used to the idea of me leaving. But I thank God every day that I have a family that is so supportive of my crazy decision. They really are the best!

This is my story:

Warning: This may be one of the longest and most drawn out post I will make. It also may be the most important because it explains what and why I am doing this.

I have been accepted to be part of a six month mission trip starting in January 2015. I will be traveling to New York, Haiti, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. Yes, I am going to be taking a year off school. And yes I know this doesn't really fit in with the way people tell you life is supposed to go but I don't care. When I was trying to figure out what I was going to do after I graduated from TCC I realized I had no idea what I wanted to do after. So my mom told me that I could take the year off of school but on one condition. I had to go somewhere or do something with my life. So I began doing some research and that research led me to a group called Experience Mission. 

My love for missions is something that I have apparently had since I was little. When I was at G.A. camp in I guess 1st or 2nd grade, we had there missionaries come and talk about what they did and asked if there was anyone there who felt that call to missions. I don't know how a 1st or 2nd grader can really understand what it means to volunteer for a life on the mission field but for some reason I decided I did. That's what I guess you would call my first sign or clue as to where my life would end up.

A couple years ago I also got to go on two mission trips to Costa Rica. While I was there I fell in love with the people and the work and everything about it. I loved waking up and drinking coffee while prepping and planning for the day of service we had ahead of us. I fell in love with seeing the joy and the smiles and the hope on people’s faces when they saw us. It was amazing to hear prayers and sing songs praising God even though I couldn’t understand everything that was being said but I loved it. I never wanted to leave. The last day I was there I of course was feeling sad about leaving and going home. But before I left, I had this weird feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time I would be in Costa Rica. And sure enough, that feeling was right.

So here I am. Trying to figure out what to do with all of this obsession with missions and people and traveling. This is the story of my journey. I don’t know what lies ahead of me or where my journey will take me but I just got to go one step at a time, trusting God the whole way.