Exciting News!

Oh, what exciting news I have to share with you!

I've been waiting ever-so-patiently by the mail box these last few weeks. Today, I finally received a letter from Blessing the Children International, congratulating me on my acceptance to a six week missions trip next summer in Ethiopia!

Praise God!

If you have followed me at all this past year, I'm sure you have been aware of my longing to return to my lovely family in Ethiopia. The relations I built there last summer were incredible. I have been able to stay connected with social workers and friends via letter-writing. I also decided to begin sponsoring one of the children I met there, Nati. As I have corresponded with him this year, I have desired to be with him so much -- especially through his serious health issues. Fekerite -- a deaf child in the orphanage, has been learning sign language since I left, and I can't wait to visit her and see her new communication skills! I am praising God for this opportunity to return to Ethiopia and be reunited with my friends, family, and children there. It is truly an answer to prayer. 

I don't know a lot of details yet about my trip, but here is what I do know:

I will be leaving in May of 2013 for Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. This is the exact same place Lindsey and I went last summer for two weeks. 

I will be living in a guesthouse and (hopefully) joining a team of other missionaries there. 

One of my main focuses during the trip will be working side-by-side with Ethiopian social workers -- going on home visits, planning church activity days, and working at the orphanage.

I will be enrolled in an Amharic class -- the language of Ethiopia, to sharpen my communication skills during my month-and-a-half stay. 

Ethiopia 2011

I will have the opportunity to teach Sunday school lessons, plan games and crafts, pray with broken families, and discover and serve even more in this country that I fell in love with.

My estimated fundraising goal for this trip is $4,500. While I may have shaken my head at that number a year ago, I now take it with ease, knowing God will provide. He always does. Last summer my sister and I raised over $7,000 for our trip, and God never let us down. 

I look forward to spending this next year planning for my trip to Ethiopia.

Please prayerfully consider supporting me on this mission God has called me to. 

I will post more about donation information soon. 

Also, start going through your kid's closets! If you are doing some cleaning and need somewhere to take your old clothes, shoes, etc., I will be collecting and packing as many donations as I can possibly squeeze into my suitcases!

And more than anything, pray.
Pray pray pray. 

Pray for God's will to be done in this entire adventure. 

"The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful." James 5:16

I look forward to sharing this experience with you over the next year as I prepare for six weeks in Africa. Stay tuned for any new bit of information I get.