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.