Looking to the Future

Stop and smell the roses
Enjoy the season
Slow down
Sieze the day
Go for it now
Wake up and live
Live for today
Cherish the moment


All of those phrases mean roughly the same thing. I interpret the meaning of all of it to be the following: tomorrow may have some awesome things to look forward to or some unwanted stressors but that is tomorrow and today will only happen once, so make the best of it.

This concept is becoming more and more important to me. Don't get me wrong. The importance of it does not mean it is easier to put into action. I still have my moments when I am can't focus on anything for the day because my brain is completely consumed with tomorrow or next week or even things next year. In those moments, I try to turn my thoughts to prayer and pray for what I'm looking forward to in the future. I have two main things to share with you.

Visiting Orphans has graciously trained me and allowed me to partner with them. I will be leading a trip through their organization July 10, 2014. We will be going to Rwanda and Ethiopia. The trip is posted HERE!!! Actually, I checked earlier and I should be getting on the international flight in 290 days. Things are in full swing for this trip, well.....as far as the winds will push the swing right now. Personally, I am already fund raising and mentally planning for the trip. I am beyond excited to take my experience from the past four trips I have had with VO and use that to lead a group of people through a life changing experience.

Prayer Requests:
future team members will have open hearts and be willing to GO when God calls
fundraising will continue to progress for me and for members as they sign up
God will blend our team together in unity from the very beginning




Africa Inland Mission is an organization I learned about in the airport in Ethiopia as I was just beginning my journey in March of this year. Sometimes, I begin to think that I was on that trip so that I could be placed in the right moment, by the right person, at the right time to learn about AIM. (Although, I know that many other great things happened on that trip.) AIM's mission is to have Christ-centered churches among all African peoples. AIM's priority is Africa's unreached people. I encourage you to learn about them and the impact they are having.

I have started the application process to be part of a two year program that they call TIMO. This is a two year team outreach program designed to equip new missionaries for ministry and to reach Africa's least reached peoples with the gospel. I am unable to put my excitement into words for this opportunity.
A few quick things:
1. I don't know exactly where I'll go. This is the one thing I have absolute peace about. The team I'm on may not even be thought of yet. The team I'll join may be full and someone will have to withdraw in the later stages. I really have no idea. I do know that God has a place for me with AIM and He will make sure that I get there. [However, I would absolutely LOVE to land in Rwanda!!!]
2. I also am not sure what I will do....not even in a roundabout sort of way. I have expressed my desire to work with children or in a women's ministry. AIM is also aware of my experience in the medical world. God will ensure that this gets worked out also!!! Of this I am sure!!!

Prayer Requests:
for God's timing to happen with the application progress of AIM
for His will to come to fruition for #1 and #2 above
I'd also like to ask you to pray for whatever you feel led, whatever is on your heart. There are so so very many aspects of going into full time ministry. Some of them, maybe most of them, I don't even know about. Please pray about this opportunity I have as you are led by the Spirit.



Meanwhile, I'll be trying to smell as many roses as I can. I know in my heart that this is God's plan for me but I know this will not be easy.

One day at a time
One hour at a time
One moment at a time
I will try to my best to cherish them all!!!!

The Girl that went to Africa

Impacting the world is a grand task. Although, how does one know if he or she truly impacted the world? I suppose the inventor of the wheel can rest in peace knowing that the world has been forever changed. The same probably holds true for the inventors of electricity, automobiles, planes, air conditioning, Netflix, Facebook, skydiving, batteries, and the list could go on and on.

What if we take it down a few notches? Is it possible to impact the life of one person? Would it then be possible to know with certainty that this happened. I often get flabbergasted at the number of people that I have crossed paths with in my life. I suppose it is possible to live in a small town of a few hundred people for one's entire life. Go to a community college or progress through the job ladder straight out of high school. Marry. Kids. A dog, of course. Possibly a special vacation or two. Kids graduate from the same high school. And so on. That person might come into contact with a few thousand people in his or her life.

Moving, at any point in life, is hard, stressful, and most importantly life changing. I've lived in four states and a few more cities than that. I've traveled to two other continents. I've played on seemingly countless sports teams. I've worked in customer service. The people I've meet are beyond measurable using Earthly means.

The number of people I have met through any sliver of my life amazes me often. The more I think about it, the more I think that Six Degrees of Separation is true. But I have no idea if I had any impact on those people. I have no idea if we had a meaningful conversation or if I just brushed by them on a bus. Maybe I never talked to them in class or never said hi from across the aisle at church.

[keep reading...this will all circle around and make sense eventually]

Laughter has happened with so many dear friends. Smiles have been exchanged with orphaned children in foreign countries. Sporting events have been won. Little notes at random times have been left to be found by someone deserving it. Pizza has been purchased and delivered at the end of weeks that were less than ideal. Finances have been shared when the receiver wasn't always willing to receive.

I would like to think that most of these things had an impact. It may have been short lived and only cured a need for an hour or a week or a month. Possibly, it lasted longer. Not to sound too egotistical, but, I'm fairly certain I have a few friends that will [hopefully] always remember me. I may have done more impacting than I have any idea about. Often, I still wonder. I wonder if I helped that person. I wonder if I left a smile on their face. I wonder if they even really heard whatever I had to say.

A few months ago at a yard sale for a friend going on a Visiting Orphans trip to India, it happened. God blessed me with confirmation that I had truly impacted someone and it warmed my heart. It was a slow part of the day. A lady had come and walked around everything. Everything is important because when we have fundraiser yard sales, we really have a yard sale. I still get surprised at how much stuff gets donated. She walked down the hill of a driveway we have and crossed the street to her car. I stood there, talking to my friend. We slowly noticed that the lady wasn't leaving. I distinctly remember commenting about what could she be considering purchasing that much to stand there for so long. Then, we made eye contact and the situation really became weird! We locked in for probably 2 or 3 seconds that felt like 2 or 3 minutes. I unexpectedly started walking down toward her. She walked back toward the sale. Then the words come straight from her, the words that I will never forget. A smile full of curiosity and gladness spread from ear to ear as she excitedly yelled, "Are you the girl that went to Africa?" My heart leaped! I know lots of girls that went to Africa but sure enough I am "the girl" that she was asking about. She had been to one of my yard sales and recognized me. We talked about my trips and she mentioned her trip. That's right! Because our paths had previously crossed, the road on the future had altered. God, of course, knew where we were going but we didn't expect it. This lady told me that I had planted a seed in her and it grew over the last few months. Now that it is blooming, she is going on a trip to Africa with her church. It was so exhilarating to have been blessed with this follow up of crossed paths.

Two things I would like you to consider:
1. What are you doing to impact each and every person that crosses your path?
2. When was the last time that you shared with someone how much he or she has impacted you?


Here are two stories of how people are leaving a lasting impact in moments that could have had completely different endings:
Young DQ manager amazes customers
Drive thru customer with unexpected response