It is hard to believe that in exactly 64 days I will be arriving in Haiti and officially beginning this amazing journey. When I first felt God nudging me toward the international mission field I was somewhat resistant. I thought that it would be too expensive, too time consuming, and impossible to fit into my senior year of college. Thankfully God wasn't put off by my lack of faith and he continued to "bother" me with stronger thoughts and feelings towards mission work. I was so excited when I finally decided to respond to Him and explore the volunteer opportunity presented to me but I quickly became overwhelmed with the cost and time commitment aspects of the trip. I expressed many of my doubts and concerns to my sweet aunt and she continually reminded me that God would make it possible and that I should surrender my doubts, fears, and anxieties to Him through prayer rather than trying to figure them out myself. Eventually she suggested I look up Philippians 4:6-7 (Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus) After referencing this verse for what seems like more than 100 times this year, I believe it is officially ingrained in my memory ! I think I will continue to need to draw wisdom and strength through this verse throughout the next few months (and probably the rest of my life!) Anyways, God of course showed me how silly I was to even worry. The only weeks that were available at the orphanage ended up working perfectly despite my schedule filled with graduation, job searching, and NCLEX preparation/examination. Most amazingly, God has led my family and close friends to bless me with AMAZING and CRAZY generous donations. I was afraid that I would not be able come up with all of the funds necessary for me to go on the trip ($1,600 seems more like $1,000,000 to a poor college kid!) but with prayer and faith God has shown me how incredibly awesome He is because as of earlier this week my donations exceeded $1,600!!!! What a blessing these donations will be for the children in the orphanage! I feel overwhelmingly loved and supported by my family and friends. It blows my mind how generous, loving, and supportive they have all been and continue to be. I'm also so happy, excited, and at peace with this trip knowing that I have so many people loving me and praying for me and the kiddos I'll be with in Haiti. I can't thank my supporters enough for everything they have done for me :) I am praying that God blesses each and every one of you for your generosity and wonderful hearts. I'm beyond blessed to have you in my life.
I'm so excited for this journey and I hope to keep everyone updated and involved throughout this process with this blog!
Love you all :)
Holly
