life updates!

       hey y’all! Wow so much has happened in these past couple weeks! My squad got a route change, PVT(parent vision trip) happened, and we had our debrief! Through all of these things the Lord has taught me a lot and I would like to share all of it with you guys. 

       Right now I’m on a plane heading to Ecuador! A couple weeks ago we found out that our squad had to make a decision on what country we are going to. This was a personal decision we all had to make. In the span of 24 hours people were praying and asking the Lord what they should do. The night we found out 13 of us would be going to Ecuador and 23 to Romania was heartbreaking. Everyone was grieving that we wouldn’t be all together anymore. Teams were split up. Friends split up. It was hard to understand. I just kept asking questions to God. Why God are you splitting us up? What are you trying to teach me through this? I was fearing a lot, and ultimately I did not understand why. About four days later, we found out Romania was too big of a risk so they decided it was best for all of us to go to Ecuador. At this point I finally felt settled with splitting up and super pumped about going to Romania. So again, I was confused. I had no idea what Ecuador was going to look like.  I had no expectations. Looking back on all of this now I can see a very clear lesson that the Lord was trying to show me. He was saying, grace stop relying on other people for joy and trust. People are going to fail you, but I never will. It turns out I was leaning on all of my friends for fulfillment and not leaning on God and ultimately trusting him. I learned as well that community is a beautiful thing and is such a blessing. My squad has become family and I learned how much I really do love all of them. So now the squad is back together, and these next two months are going to be filled with empowering each other, prayer, and a whole lot of going to the Lord first above anything. 

       PVT!! My dad got the opportunity to fly all the way to South Africa to come see me! Wow I am so blessed! It was such an amazing time filled with joy and laughter, but also tears and hard conversations. While he was here, my team and I had our last two days of ministry. Saying goodbye to Timion was so so hard. These people we worked alongside with these past few months became our brothers and sisters. The last day was hard, but special. We all got to share favorite memories, and just how grateful we are for each other. They got to pray over us and then we said our goodbyes! I know that that goodbye was not a goodbye forever though. I would love to come back one day to visit and see how the ministry is doing. The time I had with me dad was so special and I hope that he was encouraged seeing everything. I love you dad:)

       Debrief was an amazing week of rest and restoration. It was encouraging to hear from our leaders as they taught us about this opportunity we have to finish these last two months our strong. I think it really started hitting me over debrief how close the end of the race is coming. It makes me sad, but also excited for what’s next after the race and taking home everything that i’ve learned over the past nine months. We also got the opportunity to go on a Safari at one of the biggest national parks in Africa! It was so incredible to see God’s beautiful creation. It’s crazy to think how creative God was when he was creating all of these exotic animals. He is so so good. 

       This was a big update, but I hope it was encouraging to you guys. I’m excited to start my new ministry in Ecuador with my new ministry team! The leadership gave us the opportunity to pick our ministry! So I am with four new girls and I can not express how pumped I am to serve alongside of them these last two months. Team aurora is still a team, but we will not be doing ministry together anymore. I’m excited to see what God is going to do through all of us in Ecuador! Prayers for a smooth transition into our last country! 

-grace