On March 9th I headed to Dallas to apply for my Thai visa. Little did I know that I was going to spend the next month traveling to different states meeting new people, visiting family I haven't seen in 20 years, getting new supporters, spending time with friends, attending new churches, and volunteering at my first ever (hopefully not my last) Eurasia Experience.
Let's start with Texas. I arrived in Dallas welcomed by my best friend and the gloomy rain. I had a smile on my face and happy heart. Early the next morning I was on my way to the Thai Consulate. Within 10-15 mins I had my visa and was one step closer to heading to Thailand!!! (PS "everything is bigger in Texas" applies to the pot holes too!)
I had the privilege of going to Round 'Em Up Cowboy Church with my cousin Lauren and her family. Great people! There was a potluck dinner before church and let me tell you, it was delicious!I met with the Pastor and he said he the church would support me monthly. That makes me the first missionary that the church supports. What an honor!
I spent the next few days with my family. Most of them I hadn't seen in 20+ years. I don't think I stopped smiling. We had great conversations and made forever memories.
From there I made my way to Vivian, LA with Mary Beth and her dad, Mike. They did missions service at Starting Point church. Mike and Mary Beth shared about their ministries and I got to tag along. I'm glad I did! What a wonderful group of people. I felt like I had known them for years. (Something I'm finding is very common in the south). I sold some Mission: Thailand shirts and got some new prayer partners. Good times.
That was week 1. Week 2 I spent in Missouri. Since I had lived in MO while working for Convoy of Hope a lot of my stuff was still there. So, I wanted and needed to go through it and get it situated before I leave the country. It was all stored at my friend's brother's house. He and his family live in Lake Ozark. I didn't mind to spend a few days there :)As we roughed it on the lake, Mary Beth found an apartment in Springfield. Now she has a place to live and I have a place to store my stuff :D We spent week 3 moving her in and getting settled in. I gave two suitcases full of clothes and stuff to Goodwill, threw some stuff away, brought some home with me, and whittled what was left down to three bins. What a relief to get all of that taken care of. While in Springfield I also got to meet up with some CoH co-workers and some of my interns. And of course stopped by the infamous intern wall.
Week 4 I volunteered with the Eurasia team in Louisiana. Since Mary Beth is the new director I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with her again. And of course see the Eurasia Experience for the first time. (For more information about the Eurasia Experience and to book it at your church click here). This particular event was held at the LA youth convention. 100's of youth spent their weekend seeking Jesus and also got to walk through the EE. I can't post pics of the actual event but I can give you a glimpse of some of it. Several students were called to missions. It was a blessing to have been there and maybe even been a small part of that.
There's no way I can share all that happened in the past month in one blog. I learned much about myself, ministry, friendship, and developed a deeper hunger for Truth.Thank you to everyone that took me in along the way!! Too many to name but know that I cherish each of you. Thank you to the King family that is more like a second family to me. It is always a pleasure to spend time with you. And to Mary Beth, thank you for everything!
Now I'm back in CA working on getting the rest of my funds raised and get on my way to Thailand!
