THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

it's an incredible feeling when God answers prayers.

this past week, i did the math - and i discovered that all the funds for my missions trip to guatemala have been raised. i am so thankful for all of you. everyone that faithfully gave money or spontaneously purchased t-shirts!

we also just found out that my brother has all the money raised for his trip too, which is incredible.

when this journey to guatemala started, we both knew it would be difficult to raise support financially. when there are two siblings going, it makes it more difficult for family and/or friends to give larger donations - which is totally fine! however, being aware of this and not wanting to ask everyone for money or send out letters when we knew they would feel an obligation to give to us both, we decided to do something creative instead. 

we designed t-shirts. we knew that if we sold enough, we might be able to raise a couple hundred dollars towards our trip. well, we raised more than that! almost 70% of the money for our trip, was raised through t-shirt sales!!!! we sold over 160 shirts - craziness! 

but we do also just want to say a special thank you to grandparents, other family members + family friends, that did support us financially - every dollar mattered, and every cent counted. 

Jesus answered our prayers, in the coolest way possible. because now, not only were we completely paid for and supported by friends + family - now the message is out there... that love needs no translation. and how love is so much bigger than you or i. Jesus who lives inside of us, shines through each of us - and that love, is something anyone can experience, regardless of the language they speak. 

we are so excited to be leaving for guatemala in just 6 days! so many things left to do, but we are extremely motivated to do them;) 

with God on our side, and before us, we are ready for anything. 
in omnia paratus 

** if you would like to follow along with daily updates from guatemala - check out my instagram page which can be found at @hopefulwandererrr or here ** 

10 days + 15%

today, these numbers mean so much to me. 

in 10 short days, i will be leaving the freaking country with my team, for Guatemala. 

last night i had my first dream about airports + luggage + packing, and i woke up in almost disbelief. i always know for myself, that when i start to dream about something, then it has finally sunk in that it is happening. but it's still hard to believe that Guatemala is no longer just an out there dream, goal or a place i long to wander, but instead its a destination where God is taking me in only 10 days. a destination that isn't the end of the journey, but just the beginning of a new adventure. one i know i will never forget. 

i say that i am so ready to go, and i am. but sometimes i have to just stop in the middle of all the busyness, and realize what i am actually going to do. so today i'm thinking about all the children that we will have the chance to minister to and all the people we will get to meet. i look forward to the times where we will have opportunity to spend time with them, not just from on stage, but in their world, next to them in their chairs and in their classrooms, as they allow us to get an inside look of their reality. one that is so much different than our own. 

i pray that God would use me and speak through me during our visit. i am very aware of the fact that the Guatemalan people primarily speak spanish, whereas all i know how to say is 'hello how are you, what's your name + i like pizza!' but i trust that the Lord will use our actions, our smiles, and the love we have inside of us because of Jesus, to show these children how much we care about them, + how much Jesus can do for them in their life. 

for our presentations, we are focusing on the verse 'I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength' Philippians 4:13. i love this verse so much. it is simple, easy to remember, but also super impactful. we want these children to learn and understand how much Jesus can do for them, how He can change their whole life, and how they can do anything with Him on their side! 

my best friend Jade and i are going to be the hosts of the presentations in each school. something that is outside both of our comfort zones, but something we are so excited to do. we both know Jesus is the one who is actually leading, guiding and directing our presentations, He gets to be the star of the show. but we are thankful for the opportunity to lead in this new way. 

now you see why 10 days mean so much - it's because we leave in 10 DAYS! but why did i mention 15% .... 

well, the only reason i am able to go on this trip is because the Lord answered our families' prayers over my mom's kidneys. for those that have been following along, my mom has acute kidney disease and her kidney's have been failing for over 3 years now. last year they reached a percentage that worried us, and so we planned to do a transplant surgery with my mom + i this summer. except, a crazy thing happened. God intervened. 

my mom's kidney's didn't drop more in percentage like they had been doing the past year or so. they actually slowed down and have stayed at the same percentage for months. she has remained stable, and therefore a surgery is not needed yet, especially not this summer. and so, the only reason i am able to go to Guatemala, is because of this miracle. 

then on top of that - today, we found out that my mom's kidneys not only didn't drop in percentage, but actually went up 1% from her last meeting! making them stable at 15%. 

i am so thankful for the work God is doing all around me. i can't wait to see what He does next! 

i am ready for anything, 

in omnia paratus 

Summer 2016 internship at KSCC

from june 6th - july 29th i had the absolute privilege and incredible opportunity, to work at my home church as the 'community children's program: summer daze administration intern'. that's a long name, i know. 

but let me break it down for you + tell you some of my fave things from this experience. 

1. i got to work with awesome people 

there were a total of 8 interns by the time july hit. but for the first couple weeks in june, it was just priscilla and i working with pastor kristen. we had so much time to get to know one another and be part of a lot of behind the scenes stuff at our church. that included quite a bit of cleaning, which meant lots of time for talking;) i loved getting to know priscilla, and i will always cherish that time we had together, especially now that she has moved home to windsor. we also got to go on adventures with kristen - such as to lego land at vaughn mills. 

once the rest of the interns started, the number of tables in our office grew. that was the best because it meant there was going to always be other people around to share stories with, bounce ideas off of + work together on different tasks. i got to know my sweet friend julianna that way, and my girl emilia. i've known them both for years, but it took working together all day everyday for us to really get to know each other. i loved that! 

eventually more interns came right before our huge vacation day camp week. i did not get to know some of them as well as i did priscilla, julianna or emilia, but i was amazed at their talent and creativity that they brought to the table. and the times we did all have together, were sweet! 

also, eating lunch outside with the girls. since it is summer, we had to get some sun! 

{kalli + gynessa were honorary interns. they basically spent most of their time with us anyway} 

JUST LOOK - Kalli made these amazing signs for VDC!

2. i got to step outside my comfort zone, a lot 

more like, i was forced outside my comfort zone. this position really challenged me as a person but it also helped me grow the gifts and talents that God had given me. when i first started working, i didn't really like what i had to do. there was a lot of responsibility, planning and admin stuff. but as i got into it, and the more that i pushed myself, the more i loved it. kristen knew i could do it, and so she pushed me to handle things i had never handled before and to plan things i had never had to plan before (especially on the scale that they were). 

the biggest thing outside my comfort zone, was being in charge of making big decisions. that was tough. i love to be a leader, i enjoy directing and organizing people. but usually that is when there is a main plan and a big idea in place. when i was in charge of the main plan and big idea, that was scary stuff. but being challenged in that way was the best. because i discovered that i love doing it. 

3. i got to go on super awesome field trips 

children's discovery centre. petticoat creek. lego land. so much fun!! 

4. Jesus showed up. 

my most favourite part of internship, besides the wonderful friendships i gained, was vacation day camp. one week of extreme chaos from 7:30am-5:30pm, that ended with the biggest feeling of joy in my soul. i absolutely love children, and spending the whole week with them, all day everyday, was the best. i got to know them. i got to know their personalities, their quirks, their habits, their mischievous ways, but also see their genuine curiosity about Jesus + what this big life is all about. 

my 21st birthday happened to fall on one of these days, which had to have been one of my most favourite birthdays thus far. i was surrounded by the cutest children who just wanted to hug me, sing to me and show me all their tricks and awesome dance moves. i had the opportunity to have lunch alone with other leaders in a room separated from the kids, but i decided to eat with the kids instead. my heart is for them. i want them to know who Jesus is, not only from stories and memory verses, but from simple acts of love - by listening to their stories, sitting with them while they eat and tell you all about their day, asking them questions about their friends and their families, by simply being present and showing that we care about them as a little person. by not only listening, but also answering - i had a two different five year olds come to me with the most innocent and profound questions about Jesus, angels, the story of Job and even Revelations in the bible. and that's what i live for. i want to be there and answer those questions, we should all be ready for those moments. moments when they want to reach out and talk to you. i want to encourage you to take the time, sit down and listen, be there, be present. it could change their whole life! 

i know it changed mine. 

i also learned to see Jesus in the chaos, and to re-discover what child-like faith really means. 

as well, throughout internship, i learned a lot about how God sometimes calls you to do things, even when you feel like you are totally not qualified to do them. and He humbles you completely in the process. i learned how much of a difference, working with pastors and in a church, can change your whole outlook on life. there were countless times where we either had bible study or were reading the bible to prepare for something, and questions came up. and it was so awesome to have a community of people who all study the bible and are on the same journey as you, in a pursuit of Christ, to be able to share and grow with. 

officially 21

at lunch during VDC, while the boys told me stories, the girls did my hair;) 

we learned that JESUS gives US the POWER. 

i am all for anything colourful. 

5. it super prepped me for the future 

whether i have my own children one day. or i have my own classroom of 30 children one day. i definitely feel more prepared for both motherhood, but also to be a teacher. and whether or not i am either of those things, it won't matter. there were so many relevant life lessons learned and experiences gained that will help me for wherever God is going to take me. 

and last but not least, 

6. coffee 

iced coffee, hot coffee. doesn't matter, but it's a love. + it was even better that it was allll free. (hello, werk perks) 

 

~~~ 

overall, i am so thankful to have had the opportunity to do this internship. i know that God is going to use all the things i learned and the experiences i have gained, for his Glory in the future. wherever i end up in the world, doing whatever it is He has in store for me. 

i am ready for anything, 

in omnia paratus