Wow! Things are moving so quickly! Going back to work full-time makes the months pass like weeks. I can't believe all that's happened in the last month. Where do I start? Spiritual journey or financial journey? I'll talk business first. :)
We now have a good idea of where we stand with fundraising. We did well at the Chick-fil-a night, but the consignment sale was definitely God's way of providing for us in a big way. Out of Betsy's home, so did $7,000 in sales! Of course 1/2 of that goes back to the consignors, but this fundraiser made a huge dent in the cost of our trips. We also took the remaining clothes and placed them in our church consignment sale. Those 120 items should help bring in a little more money. In addition, TRS has recently moved the orphange to a new location. This new property includes a guest house and will save us the cost of a hotel on our trip. This trip seemed like such a stretch when we first discussed it, but I'm amazed at how the finances have appeared. I have well over half of my trip paid for! At home, our family has made a conscious decision to cut WAY back on eating out, and I have given up haircuts (and hopefully shopping, my weakness!) to help save money. Our group still plans to do some fundraising. We have a "Chili's Gives Back" night planned in October, and we're hoping to host a "Parents' Night Out," as well. I plan to pick up Kroger Gift Cards today that earn us %4 of sales, too, so let me know if you want one. The Kroger Cards are free to the shoppers and help us raise money!!!
I feel like my spiritual journey is moving as quickly as the money is appearing! I'm not sure how to explain it, but I'm definitely growing closer to God. I also see how this impacts the people around me. I see my journey positively affecting my interactions with Ella, Andrew, Chris, my extended family, and my co-workers. I feel that I'm more open to discuss my feelings and faith, and I'm growing more confident in this area of my life. I've never read the Bible all the way through. I feel like I never really learned to pray, either. These two things have always made me feel a little insecure with sharing my faith. I watch others quote scripture and pray impromptu and want their comfort level. I'm starting to realize, though, that the comfortable comes with growing faith.
As for the question, "Why Africa?," I think I finally have my answer. I was reading the Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren last night (our travel team is doing a book study), and she used an analogy that completely described my answer. My journey to Africa is like a polaroid picture. Right now, it's just printing and is still blurry. I can't clearly see how it's going to turn out. As this journey progresses, the picture will become clearer. I just have to be patient and wait to discover exactly what God has in store for me. Kay Warren went on to talk about our digital picture world that we now live in, and how we're accustomed to everything be revealed instantly and clear. That may be how we live life, but that's not how God operates. I know it's Africa. I know it's with this travel team. I know it's TRS and experiencing their orphange, The Covering. That's all I can see in the blur right now. I'll keep you updated on how the picture develops.
Please continue to pray for me and my travel team. Please continue to pray for TRS and the success of their mission.
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