Hello!

I wanted to send an update to everyone and thank you again so much for supporting me financially for this trip. Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you in such a big way in my life, and hopefully in the lives of many Ethiopians! I cannot wait to send an update after the trip and tell you all about it. 

I wanted to share what the Lord has been doing in my life/heart in the past few weeks leading up to this trip, so hopefully you will know how to pray for me more specifically in the coming days. 

Something the Lord recently placed on my heart was the conviction of not seeking His direction and wisdom in everything. I was recently driving to work, a drive I've done many times before, and I turned my GPS on to help me find the fastest route, just in case there was traffic. Ironically, my GPS started giving me directions that I thought were outrageous, and so I decided to ignore them and go the way I always went. To my shock and horror, the way I always went was extremely backed up with traffic and added another 10 minutes to my drive. As I sat there in traffic, I laughed, thinking "I guess this is why I should listen to my GPS". As I sat there and thought about it a bit longer, the following thought also popped into my head, "You need to listen to God as closely as you do your GPS. Just because you think you know the right way to take, doesn't mean that's the best route for you. God knows the best route."

I was convicted. There were a lot of areas in my life that I simply wasn't seeking the Lord's direction on. Work, housing, roommates, friends, finances, you name it. I was living my life doing the best I could in my own strength to make wise decisions, without actually asking God what He thought. I was doing things for God, not with God. 

As I prepare more for this trip, I've been asking the Lord "What do you want me to do?" with as many things in my life as I can, and giving space to listen for the Spirit to speak. Especially thinking about this trip and all of the decisions that will be made, I am praying that the Lord helps me remember to rely on Him for everything. Every person I talk to, every word I say, every direction I walk. I want Him to be leading me, not me. I want to go on this trip WITH Him, not FOR Him. 

I share all that with you to be praying for me for wisdom, discernment, and dependence on Him and Him alone. Also, to be praying for the spiritual attacks I have been experiencing from the enemy. The closer it gets to the departure date, the more anxious, distracted, and busy I become. I've started slowing down and saying no to more things (and asking God what He wants me to say yes or no to!), and that has been helping! I have had a lot more time to really sit with the Lord and pray for this trip and prepare spiritually, emotionally, and physically. This past week especially has felt like a whole lot of distractions that have really steered my attention away from praying for my team and the Ethiopians we will encounter. Please be praying that I would fully trust in the Lord with the circumstances around me, and would not let them be a distraction during this time. 

Thank you again so much for the support, not just monetarily, but also spiritually!

One final note! While I am fully funded now (Praise God!!), my team as a whole still needs about $15k left. If you would love to support the team financially more, here is a link! https://www.purecharity.com/fundraisers/june_2025_ethiopia_groupfundraiser