Wrapping things up

We have a house!! My roommates and I have been looking for the past 3 months for a house for next year and we finally sent in our paperwork and put down a payment! I am thrilled! (It is SO cute, built in the late 50's) This is just God's way of showing me He really does have EVERYTHING taken care of. 

I was in Dallas last weekend for my boyfriend(Cody)'s graduation from SMU. While I was there I had the blessing to visit with my friend's parents, the Burdettes. Mrs. Burdette went to Burundi with ALARM (African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries). We discussed her experiences while there and my hopes for the upcoming trip and my desires to visit the surrounding East African countries such as Burundi,  Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. They are such an inspiration to me as we discussed prayer needs and biblical teachings that are so desperately needed in those areas, just as they are here in the states. The next morning, Mr. Burdette and I went to the ALARM headquarters in Dallas and met with 2 of the people who work in the office, along with the director/founder of the ministry. We sat and visited for about an hour and a half and I discussed with them what I am hoping my trip to look like, what courses I am taking, and what I am hoping to have the opportunity to do in service. We discussed putting me in contact with some of their team members who are on the ground in these countries. One of the people I spoke with was a lady from Nairobi, Kenya. It was such a blessing to be able to sit and talk about her life growing up, then moving to America, her hopes and dreams she and her husband have for her future kids, and the community and lifestyle the African life teaches a person. I feel more comfortable knowing that I have connections in these countries and a Christian network that I can work with or bounce ideas off of. I am so incredibly thankful to both the Burdette's and ALARM for taking time out of their busy lives to talk to me and let me share my desires to them. I admire and respect the Burdette family so incredibly much and truly consider myself blessed to be able to call them my friends.
If you want to know more about ALARM, here is their website: http://alarm-inc.org/

This last week has been such a blessing being home with my family. I have been babysitting my 5 year old niece, Skylar, whom I love to pieces. She teaches me every day what a child like faith looks like and will strike me with amazement with the things she tells me about God's love and how much he cares for everyone. She told me she finally figured out what she wants to do when she grows up: "I want to go and tell everyone about God and his good news. I want everyone to hear about it because I know a lot of people don't know yet."  Christmas is right around the corner and I am constantly reminded that Jesus is the Reason for the season. 

Joy

JOY.  the feeling of great pleasure and happiness. the fulfillment of happiness and satisfaction. the feeling you know only comes through one source. the joy from God.

I have been given the blessing and opportunity to spend 4 and a half months in Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa for the Spring semester. I know that this is the Lord’s plan for me and it has been such an amazing learning experience to watch Him provide for me every step of the way. I will be studying at Arcadia University taking Swahili (the national language), a course studying the peace and conflicts in East Africa, a women's gender study focused on the women of East Africa, and health issues in Africa. I will be studying with 10 other Americans, mostly from the northern half of the US and a few East African students in country. I am the only one from A&M and as far as I know, the only one from Texas, much less the southern half of the states. While I am there I am hoping to be able to fully live and understand the African way of life and use this opportunity to build relationships and bring others closer to Christ. I am more than excited about the relationships I will build with the locals and the village people. If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them, just shoot me an email!

Waiting and watching as God has provided and planned out my route for every step of the way has been such a cool thing to watch and help me grow. As he has provided me a place to live this last semester, given me the opportunity to become a full time student at A&M, granted my acceptance into Arcadia, blessed me with friendships, and opened up doors for relationships that connect me to Africa. He has taught me that I truly can rely on Him fully and He will not let me down. I can be a control freak, I like to plan ahead, I don’t like not knowing what will happen, but I now can hold everything with an open hand. I can plan ahead but I know that His will always prevails and that His plan is better than mine. He has taken away my stress and taught me that as long as I fully rely on Him and give Him the opportunity to show me how much He loves me, He will exceed anything I can imagine. I am so excited to find out what the Lord has in store for me the next few months I am out of the country.