In preparation... mentally.. physically.. spiritually..

Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!"

Being a procrastinator its so easy to fall into the "oh I dont leave for 6 more weeks, I can do this later" state of mind. I keep thinking I can just wait, I can do this in a few weeks, or why would i buy bug spray almost 2 months before I leave? This doesn't work. I refuse to not be packed till 4 am Aug 31 when Im trying to get in the car to leave for the airport. I also refuse to think I can wait till the week before or even during, to read the list of scripture I am determined to enjoyed. And I am refusing to wait till I am in Costa Rica to walk a million miles a day. I think in short, I want to be prepared for this trip in so many ways I never thought I would need to be, I keep putting it off, and thats just not okay. Therefore I have lots of work to do and it's going to be great!!

Therefore, tonight I finally picked out travel insurance... I am now covered if anything major goes wrong and even added additional coverage for Hazardous Activity. I feel pretty confident Ill be covered. I have also decided to start walking/jogging more (even if it is 110 degrees outside.. It might be that hot in Costa Rica.. who knows!) And I have been reading more of the verses on the healing scriptures list. Deuteronomy 30:19 is one of my new favorites! It just pushes me to actually live and really has opened my eyes. God is so good!

I also want to give a huge thank you to all of my supporters! I just never thought going on this trip would bring about so much love and sacrifice. I have had so many friends and family tell me how much they love me and how proud they are, it has been such a blessing!! I am so thankful that God has put all of these amazing people in my life! Thank you all for the prayers and financial support. You truly do not realize how much this means to me. I am so blessed! 

Thank you Lord, for all you have done for me. Thank you for this opportunity to go out of my comfort zone and travel worlds away to try to impact and pour into others lives. I feel so blessed to experience You using me for your will. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for letting me be apart of this and for showing me that this is one of the reasons why I am here on Earth. I pray you continue to prepare me for this journey and that you equip me with your word so that I may pass it on to the people of Alajuela. I pray you open their hearts Lord, so that they may hear of your love. I pray you continue to open my eyes and soften my heart for the needy. Lord I pray, You continue to break my heart for what breaks Yours.  

The Date Is Set!!

I am happy to announce that last Sunday I booked my flight for Costa Rica!! I am so excited! I leave Aug. 31 at 6 am, arrive there at 3:40 pm and will be leaving Oct. 13th!! I am so happy and so blessed that God has made this happen! I literally jumped up and down! Then 2 minutes later reality sunk in. I am leaving for a 6 week long adventure in 2 months and I have nothing else prepared.

So after spending about 2 hours at Academy with my dear friend Kelsey Schulz, I returned with some awesome clothing and shoes for my trip. I have a backpack, camelback, pocket knife, passport, and flip flops ready to go! I just need to find some skirts, bedding, rain jackets, possibly some rain boots, bug spray, and I'm sure a million other things I haven't even thought of yet! I'm sure everything will come together nicely though.

As far as fundraising goes, I am extremely pleased and VERY GRATEFUL for all of my supporters and how amazing my friends and family are. So far I have raised about $1800. I also have a pancake breakfast fundraiser scheduled for July 23rd! So far it looks like there will be a great turn out! God is so faithful! I don't know why i even worry about some of these things.

In all honesty the other day it hit me that I had been really focused on all the worldly things I was trying to prepare for. That just isn't going to work. I really need to be focused on letting God continue to prepare me for this journey. I'm going to dive into His word more. After praying about what to study, I found this list of "Healing Scripture" verses that was from high school small groups. I've decided to study all of them and hope to memorize several. Also the lifegroups pastor at the Edmond campus gave me this amazing book, "When Healing Hurts" that I just haven't finished yet. Hopefully after this reading and continuing to pray and seek God, I hope I am as prepared as God needs me to be. I am so excited to see how much God works through me and how much I will grow during this journey.

I am so thankful, Lord. Thank you for all of your blessings and all of the good you bring to my life. Thank you for this adventure and the memories I will treasure always. Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone and really guiding me to follow your will. Thank you for giving me a family who truly supports me and has faith you will keep me safe. I pray You use me for Your glory and You break my heart for what breaks Yours.