103 Days...September Updates!

God never ceases to amaze me with His guidance and the wonderful way he provides. I have only 3 ½ more months until I step onto that life changing plane, yet already things are coming into place and this trip is starting to become more and more real. I remember the night I filled out the application online and after I was done (as cliché as it is J) my mouse just floated over the Submit button. At 2 in the morning it was dead quiet except for the bazillion questions flying around in my head. Do I press the button? Is this crazy? Am I crazy if I don’t go?  What about work? What about those children?? How am I going to be able to do this? How can I not do this? And then that so familiar voice came to me. Stephanie, my child, you just follow and leave the how to me. Ok God, I said, and clicked the submit button. But I’m not going to lie, there have been moments of “WHAT AM I DOING!” being screamed in my head. However I do know that the Lord will provide and that He has these amazing plans for me. A couple of weeks ago I made these little, super simple, bookmarks for the ladies in my bible study. On it being a verse that has really been on my mind lately.

Matthew 17:20

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Faith as small as a mustard seed…Jesus doesn’t say “You have to know the bible word for word and be completely and utterly perfect.” He says you have to have faith as small as a mustard seed. It’s amazing what happens when you have faith in the Almighty.

I come to you again asking for your prayers and offering up some grateful praises to the Lord.

• The biggest praise would be the overwhelming amount of support that has come in from friends and family. The Lord has truly blessed me by surrounding me with wonderful people who support me and the work I am doing for the Lord.
• My garage sale was held 3 weeks ago. It was a great weekend. It was everything I could have hoped for and more! I would really like to have another one in September some time because we still have a lot of things left over. The bake sale was a huge success! Thank you to Sarah and Mom for making some awesome baked goods! And thank you to Rachel for donating some things for me to sell in my garage sale! Please pray that I have another successful garage sale. That we would have nice weather and a lot of people stopping by to buy stuff!
• I official have all my shots for Africa! Yay! And I didn’t act like a huge baby when they stabbed me with 6 different needles. Medically speaking, I am ready to go. I have my prescription for malaria pills and my yellow vaccination booklet.
• My passport came! Yay!
•  Just a general pray that I would continue to relay on the Lord and that I would have great faith in the plans that He has for me. That I would be open and willing to learn what He has to teach me even now before I leave. That I can show God’s love to those around me. That I wouldn’t feel like I have to go to Africa to show God’s love to people but that I can do it today or tomorrow. At the store or at work. To my brother of to the stranger I just passed on the street.

As I said the Lord never ceases to amaze me and I hope to never get to a point where He does cease to amaze me. I want to be in awe of Him for the rest of my life, because he is my Abba, Creator, Redeemer, Teacher, Light, Comforter, Counselor, and Guide.

165 Days...Fly Me to Uganda!

I have a ticket to Uganda....I have a ticket to Uganda! I feel like pinching myself every time I say this...I cant believe it is really happening...I remembering finding the Amani website at 12 in the morning on may 15th. Decided to fill out the application and ended up sending it in at 2 in the morning. I woke the next morning giddy and in a slight panic thinking to myself "Did I really just send in an application to go to Uganda!???" But so excited to see what would happen. After Praying for months for God to show my where He wanted me I figured that if He didn't want me in Uganda I wouldn't be accepted. But i was and I am THRILLED! I can not wait to Serve the Lord and the Amani Baby Cottage.
There are times when I still have to slap myself to make sure I'm not just dreaming but that this is really happening. And now I have a TICKET!!!

Please help me by praying for
- Doctors appointment for Immunizations
I am on a waiting list for a travel clinic. I talked to a nurse at the clinic a few days ago and she told me that I will meet with a nurse first and then they will give me a timeline for the shots that I need. The nurse assured me that it would only be a couple of weeks until an open appointment opens up. Please pray that I am able to get in and everything goes smoothly.
- Letter for Support
My letters are being sent out soon. However because I grew up in an age of technology I don't have alot of snail mail addresses, please pray that I am able to get addresses for people and that they letters will make their way to people safely.

"Acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought."
~1 Chronicles 28:9

In Christ,
Stephanie

167 Days

167 Days...23 Weeks...5 1/2 months...
God has a plan for me. A beautiful, wonderful, amazing plan. One year ago I signed up to become a Tastefully Simple consultant. I have no idea why I was possessed to sign up; I'm not outgoing, I don't like talking to people I don't know (just because I'm scared) and Ive never had a job other than at the daycare. But I just felt like I had to, so I did. It was scary, thrilling, and awesome all at the same time. I learned so much from it, it made me step out of my comfort zone. Now, one year later I am so much more outgoing and I love to talk to new people. Its amazing to look back and be able to see how God has worked in your life. Going from "Why am I doing this??" to "Ooooh that's why you wanted me to do that, God" This past year has been an amazing journey. But this journey is not over. Its like God is saying "Good Stephanie, now for the next step!" God is calling me, I am following. In May I applied for a short term volunteer position. Just one week ago I received word that I was accepted to work at the Amani baby Cottage in Jinja, Uganda. I am so excited! I know that the Lord will work in me before, during, and after I go. I have 167 days before I go but I'm sure this will go by fast. There is so much to do before I go! I know that God will be with me through it all and that with Him all things are possible!