I love my Bible study.
It is made up of graduate students and young professionals who love to discuss the Bible. This month we went through the book Ruth, which gave me pause. At times I feel like I'm sure Ruth did, preparing to leave her homeland to follow a calling. In this case I am following God's calling in my life, and yet it can be intimidating. I find it a bit nerve-wracking at times, trying to prepare for what is going to be a very grueling trip (both culture -shock, and language barrier. I have been there before, but it's different anyway).
Sometimes this time of year is hard for people, with the cold and darkness. What kinds of stresses are you going through right now?
This week I was reading in Psalms during my devotions, and I came across this passage:

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

This bit of scripture couldn't have come at a better time for me. 

Just as God had a plan for Ruth, He has a plan for you and me.

I hope that it brings a little bit of light for you too, whether your stresses are related to work, family, school, or friends. 

God will be with you this week, so God bless.

In my last post, I didn't mention how you can support my trip.
First and foremost, I need prayer warriors who will stand at my side. Some prayer requests I have right now include: Health - the water is not drinkable; Wisdom - for gathering the right supplies, and when to gather them; and Witness- to be prepared to testify to the gospel in every circumstance.
If you wish to join my team as prayer warriors, please comment on the post - it won't be posted, but I will add you to my newsletter.
Secondly, I need to raise $3,400.00 for my in-country expenses, and my flight there and back. If you wish to give toward my trip you can use the link to the right of this post which will take you to my website with Impact Ministries. If you do not want to give online, my church Christ Chapel has set up an account for me. You can send a check made out to Christ Chapel, with Guatemala 2016 in the memo line, to the address: 160 Graham Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850.
For any, and all support, you have my sincere gratitude, and may God bless you ten thousand times over!

The Adventure Begins

Wow, a new year, and so much adventure ahead!
For me, it has started with a call toward missions as a kid; Feeling the need to serve those who have nothing, and tell them about the hope of God's grace and love.

From my trip to India as a teenager grew the calling to be a nurse, and I can't imagine doing anything else. It has been my dream to serve overseas as a nurse, helping to heal the sick and needy. My dream came true two years ago when I went with Impact Ministries to Guatemala. Impact has built 7 schools in the mountains of Guatemala, where the roads are terrible, most people don't have electricity, or clean water, and people die of starvation every day. Because of the extreme poverty, alcoholism is everywhere, leading to major cases of abuse in children and women. Often the women have to survive on their own while the man has multiple families in the same village. Impact started with building schools for the purpose of teaching about the love of Christ, and in order to do that, they offer free health care, a free meal, and school supplies for the year. Every child that attends has to pay something, even an amount equivalent to one penny here. If they cannot afford even that, they have the opportunity to work for their education. That way they are invested in the school, and are more likely to stay. The ministry has grown so fast that there is a waiting list to get into the 7 schools that have been built. My job is to serve in the clinic (the free healthcare), providing service to the parents and kids who go to the schools. The clinic is so popular that we also often see many people who don't go to the school.

Guatemala is a very war-torn country. Civil war has been raging for decades, and the rural people have suffered for it. Poverty is everywhere, to the point that the majority of citizens do not have any electricity, water, or even wells. For their drinking water, they set out buckets to catch the rain. This, as well as having open campfires in their houses, leads to many different diseases and pestilence. We will see many cases of worms, asthma, and high blood pressure, as well as injuries from fights, and infection. We will also do many prenatal care appointments. Since there is so much poverty, many people cannot afford medical care, medicine, or even preventive hygiene such as toothbrushes and toothpaste. The clinic attached to the schools is free, and run by Guatemalan nursing students, who bring in medical teams from Canada and the US. 
I enjoyed my time there so much, that I am going back April 10th, and staying for three months. I hope you will join me in my time there, with prayer. 

Here is some of the beauty that will be with me for three months: