Peace and Blessings

This past week has been crazy. I have seen God come through in amazing ways and I feel so blessed. This past Friday was the deadline for all our Catalyst funds that would go to buying the plane tickets for international outreach. I still had $2,200 left to raise on Monday and I didn't think it was possible to get all that money on time. God was really testing my faith in Him. Every morning I had to surrender my fears of not having the money in time and trust in the Lord to provide. I was reading through Matthew when I came across the verse in chapter 19, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." So I started to constantly repeat that in my mind whenever I felt discouraged. Then on the last day God came through. I had $290 to go on Friday after class and in a matter of 30 mins the money came in. It was a miracle.
Being at Catalyst has been amazing. I have been learning so much about the Lord and have drawn so much closer to Him. This week we have been talking about the way God speaks and reveals Himself to us. We started with the verse in 1Samuel that says, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." I have always been so inspired by that verse and hope to approach God like that when I speak to him on a daily basis. So during class we learned more about the ways in which God speaks and then practiced hearing his voice. It was so cool and encouraging to both pray for others and receive prayer.
This past Thursday was our first day of doing local outreach, which is something we will be doing every Tuesday and Thursday. I was so nervous at first to just go out on the streets of Tacoma and pray for people. We were split up into teams of four and our team went out near a university campus. My friend Jon and I started talking to this one guy that was an atheist but we didn't really get the chance to actually pray for him. Then as we were walking around Jon started talking to this other guy named Dibble. We ended up praying for him and he super encouraged by the things God revealed to him through us that we ended up sharing the gospel with him. We then asked him if he wanted to accept the Lord in his heart and he said he was finally ready. We prayed with him again and it was amazing. It was such an awesome moment to see this guy so moved and encouraged by the Lord. Definitely the highlight of my day! I can't wait to see what crazy things God does this next week because last week was insane!!! I'm so thankful to be here. Thank you all for your prayers.

Here is a glimpse of what Tacoma, WA looks like. Took this earlier last week when I was on a walk with my roommate 

The Road Goes Ever On and On

Hey Everybody. I just finished up my first week of Catalyst Training School and it has been awesome! God is just rocking me and breaking me down in such a good way. The first week of Catalyst is Freedom Week, so we have been praying through areas of freedom we need in our lives. One big thing that I got to pray through was fear. Fear has griped me my whole life and kept me back from doing so much. After one of the teachings I was called up to the front and was prayed for in front of the class. It was terrifying at first but as Adam and Aimee led me through a prayer of rebuking fear out of my life I started to feel so much lighter and freer. It felt so good to let go of the fear that had so long been griping me. I felt such joy once the prayer was done. This week we talked on various topics like strongholds, the power of your words, the Father's heart and much more. It's been really emotional but so good. I feel so much peace and love as I draw closer to the Lord. This Thursday we also announced our outreach teams. I am part of the team going to...wait for it...El Salvador!! It makes so much sense because God has put on my heart a love for Latino people. I'm so excited to learn more about ministry this next month and use what I learn to love on the people of El Salvador. It's so exciting! Keep me in prayer as I learn more about myself and how God created me. Also continue to pray for my fundraising for Catalyst. I still have half my support to raise. I'm so happy to be here this summer. I can already see so much growth in myself and am excited to see how will continue to grow me this summer. God is so good :)

Home is now behind you, the world is ahead!

It's true. Home is behind me and I am at Catalyst Training School at last. I am so happy to be here. On Saturday I got to explore Seattle and it is beautiful. I love being surrounded by water and mountains. Also Seattle is a pretty rad place. There are a lot of cool coffee shops and parks. Today we had our Catalyst orientation. We started out with some awesome worship time in the morning and that was wonderful. Then Adam talked about breakthrough in our lives that we want. The biggest thing I hope to learn this summer is to hear the Lord's voice more in my life. I really want this time to be a time of drawing closer to the Lord. Also big news: we find out where we are going on outreach this Thursday! The two locations they have chosen for the students are El Salvador and Fiji. We will all be split up into two teams and our teams will be announced this Thursday. I'm so excited to see where God wants me this summer. I am really enjoying getting to know everyone that is a part of the summer program. It's a really awesome group and I'm excited to grow closer to the Lord with these people. It's only been one day and I already feel like I click really well with everyone. Well, I'm gonna peace out now. I will hopefully post more updates when I find time. Continue to keep me in prayer friends. God bless

I'm Going On an Adventure

I have one month to go before I fly off to Tacoma, WA for Catalyst Training School. I am beyond excited for this great opportunity to grow and serve. I never would have thought I would actually be going since it had been more of a dream these past few years but I am so thankful God has opened up this opportunity to me this summer. I'm so excited to be going back to the west coast and even more excited to go overseas again. In the past I have been to China, Gabon, and Mexico. Those places hold a special place in my heart to this day. I love learning about new cultures and making new friendships with people so different than myself. I still don't know where I will be this summer but I know I will be exactly where God wants me to be. I'm not worried. This week I got to participate in a conference call with all the people involved in the Catalyst Summer Program. I'm so excited to grow and learn with the people attending this year. There are students ranging from just finishing up high school to graduating college. It will be so fun to get to know a diverse range of people from all over the United States. Please continue to pray as I raise funds for this trip. So far I have raised about $700 and that has such a blessing. I still have $3,300 to go and I know God will continue to provide. So pray as I get ready for this summer and that I don't forget my rain jacket when I leave.