Africa, Georgia, Jesus

I slammed the door and ran outside to
the field. I didn’t know what I was doing or where I was going, I
just knew I needed to be alone. The grass in this field was taller
than I was, and thankfully a truck had driven through and bent a
pathway of grasses so you could walk safely through. I usually
avoided this field because I feared green mamba snakes chasing me and
biting me…or a child I was with. I ran to the middle of the field
anyway. I sat in the middle of the field to just BE. I was having a
difficult day, and was upset because my voice wasn’t being heard by
my teammates in South Africa. I sat in the Father’s lap there and it
was so, so good. There is something about being outside that makes me
feel like Jesus is with me there… not that he isn’t always, but
it’s different. I sat there in the field and in His lap for a while.
The next thing I knew, children I hold so dear to my heart were all
over me. In my lap, hugging me, kissing me, playing with my hair. The
children of this orphanage saw me in the field and ran to me to spend
time with me. One of my favorite memories of my time in South
Africa…

…

I’m sitting in a wooden chair fighting
off bee’s that think it is fitting to interrupt me when I am reading
a book, and fighting off the strong need for sleep that the Georgia
sun has helped bring on. Instead of falling asleep in my chair and
facing the possibility of doing something embarrassing in my sleep
(like my eyes not being shut all the way?!?!) or swallowing a bee, I
put my book down and run. I don’t know where I am running, all I know
is I would prefer to not trip and land in an ant hill or rip a hole
in my leggings. I end up in a field with grasses as tall as I am. The
grasses go as far as I can see…which isn’t far because there is a
drop off. This field is more like the top of a steep hill. It is so
beautiful and the wind is blowing the grass in all the same ways that
the Holy Spirit is flowing in me. I feel so surrounded and loved that
I need to sit down to soak it all in…

…

We are running hand in hand, over
mountains and through valleys. Sometimes we stop running to dance,
and He always leads and never steps on my feet. The grass is so lush
and green, the flowers are so bright and none of them are pink, the
sky is always full of clouds. All of a sudden, he lets go of my hand
and runs ahead of me expecting me to follow Him. He runs ahead and
lovingly looks over His shoulder to see if I am following. I
am…just with a lot of uncertainty and skepticism. We are on the
edge of a cliff, and He is very quickly approaching the drop off. He
turns around and reaches His hand out to me and beckons me to come
meet Him where He is. I won’t come to Him. I’m afraid of how close He
is to the edge, and the intense look He is giving me. His eyes show
how passionately He is in love with me and how Jealous He is for me,
and it frightens me. Then He jumps off the cliff and the white linens
He is wearing are whipped around in the wind as He falls. I run to
the edge of the cliff to see if He is okay and, somehow, He is. I see
Him looking up at me from the bottom with that same passionate look
as before. I can hear him beckoning me down there with Him, and I see
him holding His hand out to me, but I won’t jump. He repeatedly
assures me it will be okay, but I still won’t. I don’t doubt Him
when He says I will be okay, I am afraid of the process of getting
down to Him. Being on the cliff is great, and being down there with
Him is even better, but the in between is the worst. The fear of
falling keeps me from going to Him. The jump, the feeling of being in
the air with no control, keeps me standing at the top of the hill,
peering over the edge of the cliff. After debating for a while (or a couple months?!), I walk away from the edge. I then abruptly turn around and make a run for the open air. I know who is going to catch me. Am I going to fall, or fall in love?

…

Hopefully you can see how these 3
stories correlate. I’ve been home from Ambassador Leader Training for
almost a week now and I am so excited and encouraged by my time in
Georgia. I am in love with my co-leaders and they are such an answer
to prayer. We mesh so well and we prefer each other! The Lord
perfectly placed the three of us together. We are so excited to meet
our students, and are using our time from now until the trip to get
to know and to pray for our students! I have hope that the Lord is
going to do some freaking amazing things in Swaziland through us. Or,
that the Lord is going to do some freaking amazing things in us in
Swaziland. Either of those, or maybe even both!

I will be leaving Pennsylvania on June
27^th for Training Camp where my co-leaders and I will
further prepare for the trip, and where we will finally meet the
whole Swaziland Team! I will not be back until the very end of
July/very beginning of August.

I still have around $500 left to raise
before my trip is fully funded. Would you prayerfully consider
supporting me? I need to be fully funded in 2 months! So, if you have
been planning on supporting me but haven’t gotten around to it, now
is the time! I won’t be able to do it without you and your PRAYERS!
If you aren’t supporting me financially, please be supporting me in
prayer!!! To begin supporting me, you can can sign up online. Here’s
how…

1. If you go to the “Main Menu” below my Main Picture you will see a lot of cool options. To support me, click on “Support me here!” (circled).

 

2. This is part of the screen that will come up after clicking “Support me here!” You need to select “Ambassador” on the drop down menu and then enter the amount you would like to put into my support account. Below this box (not pictured)