Departing for Bosnia on October 1st!

Hello friends! 

I haven’t updated the blog in a while because it has been pretty uneventful in terms of Bosnia progress. It has been a lot of waiting, praying and being patient for God to provide and reveal when it was time to go. I am not very good at any of these things so it has definitely been a growing experience for me! I did finish up my internship in mid-August. After that I had the opportunity to go to Seattle and spend some good, quality time with dear friends. That was such a gift! 

But now I am happy to say, that I do have some news! I have a departure date! I am going to be flying out of L.A. on October 1st for Sarajevo. The ticket is purchased and I am ready to go! I am so glad to have that set.

Until then I am continuing to finish up support raising, moving, logistics related to leaving the country for 2 years and saying goodbyes. I will be commissioned at Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico on Sept 21. Then I will leave Chico on Sept 22 and spend the rest of my time in the States with my sister and friends down in Southern California. 

I would really appreciate your prayers for the next few weeks as I finish up my time in the States-

1. Getting the details figured out- that the logistical side of things would NOT be too stressful and I could get all the things done that are essential 
2. Goodbyes and quality time with people I love 
3. God’s peace in this funky transitional time 

Thanks for all your love, prayers and support! I am so grateful to have such an amazing and encouraging community. Bless you all! 

Seeing God move in Alaska!

Alaska team at the 4th of July Parade in Haines!

Thanks all of you for praying for my mission in Alaska. I led a team of seven students from Bidwell Presbyterian college ministry to serve at Rainbow Glacier camp (RGC) which is located in Southeast Alaska. This camp is one of the few opportunities for kids from Southeast to experience God and and truly be loved and encouraged by adults in their lives.  This team has been serving as camp counselors, which at RGC means that they do EVERYTHING. Basically the only things they don’t do is cook and do maintenance at the camp. They hang out with kids, wash dishes, clean the camp, lead activities, lead Bible lessons and on and on. Needless to say, they get pretty tired but God infuses them with energy that can only be from the Holy Spirit!

Having some good ole camp fun with counselors Brita, Rodeo and Tulie along with some awesome campers!

I  stayed only for 10 days as a team leader to help set them up, get them oriented, encourage them and then left them to survive on their own until they return on July 27! They are going to do great!  Already I have seen God move in the counselors and campers’  lives in incredible ways and I am excited to see how God continues to transform them– through healing them of the brokenness in their lives and also helping them realize their gifts and how they can continue to use them when they get back to Chico. I have been so encouraged by seeing God at work in them! Please continue to pray for them!

So now I am transitioning back to Chico life… experiencing a bit of post-Alaska grief, but knowing that God has other plans for me and this requires me to be back in California.  Would you take a moment to pray for me right now for:

1. Wellness– I am really exhausted and feeling a little sick from running so hard in Alaska. Also for getting my wisdom teeth out next week– that I would recover quickly so I can be back in the swing of things soon
2. Wisdom in pacing myself– good boundaries and taking time to rest and process as I attempt to balance all of the things on my plate in the next month
3. Preparing my heart for Bosnia– with so much to do I can get caught up with the “here and now” and forget about the great calling that lies ahead.
4. Preparing a place for me in Bosnia– that God would provide the funds! And prepare the ministry, the relationships, housing, etc… for when I arrive there

Thanks for your love and support! Let me know how I can be praying for you… I mean that!!!

Link Orientation Debrief

Only 2 weeks, and I have learned so much! I am even more excited and determined to follow through with God’s call and get to Bosnia. Now I am fully educated on the challenges ahead (those leading this orientation were VERY honest and direct with how difficult this experience will be)… Yet I am confident in the freedom, the transformation and the purpose that God has for me in this special part of the world. I have A LOT to learn and A LOT of room to grow. If anything, that realization is my main takeaway from this orientation. I am truly blessed to be sent out and supported by the IV Link office staff team that are experts in what they call “the expatriate journey.” I am so thankful that God has been providing and caring for me through these folks!

The entire Link Staff team getting sent this fall to Belgium, Bosnia and Germany.  So interesting that we are all going to Europe, don’t you think?

Two Jessicas…both going to Bosnia! So excited to be on the same team as Jessica (and her husband Deron). What a gift to be able to meet them before I go. It is very encouraging.

Some great moments from the orientation where we got to actively participate! The first is the role plays we did and I learned a lot from them. This gave us a chance to think through different situations we will face in our overseas experiences. The second was a presentation that I did with Deron (my other Bosnia team member) about Bosnia so we could educate our group and pray for what God is doing there.

Those are some highlights from my time in Madison. So grateful for that opportunity! My next couple months are full of my Bidwell Pres college ministry intern adventures like leading a mission trip to Alaska (July 3-13), hanging out with students, the 545, Bible studies…  and then also support raising so I can get to Bosnia!  Would you take a moment right now to pray that I would do both jobs well with joy and gratitude?  Thank you!

Please let me know how I can be praying for you!  

The Amazing Link Staff 08 Team!

These are the wonderful people I have had the privilege of being with this last week. This includes Intervarsity Link staff that are being sent out this fall and the coordinators, director and clinical psychologist that are preparing us for what is to come. I have learned so much already from these people and am so impressed by their faith, passion and dedication to making our experience overseas a healthy and transformative one. I feel so honored to be trained and cared for by these people and to be sent out with such great men and women of God. This team of people are from all over North America: Maryland, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Texas, Illnois, California and Canada. As for their past or future overseas experiences this team covers the whole world: India, China, Kenya, Tanzania, France, Germany, Belgium, London and Bosnia-Herzegovina! How cool is that?!

 

Getting Oriented in Madison!

I am writing to you from Madison, WI where the Fall 2008 Intervarsity Link staff is gathering for a 2 week orientation, training and focusing on the exciting future that lies ahead for all of us! This group includes people going to Belgium, Germany, England and Bosnia! It is pretty exciting because today I got to meet a couple that will be on my staff team in Bosnia. Their names are Deron and Jessica (you can never have enough Jessicas in your life…). Very cool people. They are IV staff in San Luis Obispo and their IV fellowship has been partnered with IFES Bosnia for many years and have been sending students there for the summer. They have been to Bosnia a few times working with IFES so I have a lot to learn from them about the ministry in Bosnia and what life will look like as IFES staff there.

I would like to ask for your prayers that these 2 weeks in Madison would be a great time to connect with God and focus my mission journey on Him completely. That I could truly cast all my cares onto Him– my anxieties, my doubts, and my brokenness. It is so good that I have this chance to pause and my hope is that I can encounter God in this time and experience the amazing freedom of Christ.   

Thanks for who you are in my life and your encouragement…

Boo-yah to blogs and dessert nights!

So I had to bite the bullet and finally succumb to the world of blogging! After all, it is the best way to communicate to the ends of cyber-space what is going on in my journey and calling to do missions in Bosnia (for 2 years, can you believe it?) starting next fall! I am going to Bosnia as a staffworker with International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) working with Bosnian college students. Check out the links to IFES to find out what they are about. Thanks for being part of my team by checking in, praying and supporting me in all of this. I am SO grateful.

I would also like to invite you to a dessert night I will be having Monday, June 9th at Josh and Katie Leach’s house 2830 Mariposa Avenue (Chico, CA) at 7pm. This is a chance for me to share with you more about the specifics of how God is moving and transforming in Bosnia and how I will jump into what God has already been doing in this special part of the world. So please join me, have some dessert and listen to some great stories of God’s faithfulness in Bosnia. Please RSVP to jessicainbosnia@gmail.com by Friday, June 6th if you will be attending. Excited to see you there!

There is definitely more to come…. but thank you for how supportive you have been already. It is such an encouragement to me!

P.S. If you aren’t familiar with the term “boo-yah” you probably will if you keep up with this blog… it is basically the American 1990s version of “cheers”. Just wait, it will start to grow on you…