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.