I am feeling very blessed right now, as will be discussed later, and of the gifts God is laying out in front of me, there is one I am very excited about. I have been given the privilege to be a volunteer on the “Thrive” Retreat to Thailand this next February. “Thrive” is a ministry directed towards North American missionary women on the field, and they provide retreats to give the women an “opportunity to experience spiritual, emotional, and physical restoration through worship, studying Scripture, prayer, self-care, confidential counseling, and more.” It also can be thoroughly explained here.
This is something that I truly feel God has laid out for me and is helping me use both sides of myself—with my experience on the mission field (i.e. YWAM in Taiwan and Australia), as well as my desire to let God use me to help others in their walk of faith (i.e. Denver Seminary degree in Christian Formation and Soul Care). I learned about Thrive for the first time at the beginning of August and applied to be a volunteer on August 16th, but somehow, my application was lost… so I did not find out I was accepted until I re-applied just about a week and a half ago! And I am so glad they accepted me as the need for volunteers was getting low due to many others having already applied.
Now, personally, I need prayer that I will raise $5,600. The trip itself is on February 15th through the 25th of 2024, but all the funds will be needed by the end of this year. The complete amount will cover the room, administration, transportation, insurance, and meeting expense costs, as well as help the other missionary women attend—of which there will be 100! Even for a volunteer, it may seem impossible to raise such a large amount (and in such a short time), but I am praying and believe that God will provide.
Know that I am primarily asking for your prayer—that God will use this event to provide true renewal and refreshment for the missionary women attending—and if you feel led by God, I am very thankful for your gift financially. If you have supported me before, I can’t stop thanking you for that, and I am excited to see how God can use my skills from America and Australia to still use me over in Thailand. To support me, go here. If you would like to send in a check, just email me, and I’ll email you the form for you to fill out.
I will send emails before and after my trip for you to pray and hear what God is doing through Thrive and my time spent in Thailand. If you are not already on my e-mailing list, feel free to submit your email to me, and I'll add you on! I pray you also are seeing God work in many ways throughout your life and feel free to email me anytime if you need any prayer.
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As far as my personal life, there is so much to tell. God has been blessing me all over the place and in many ways—so much that I am shocked. Trust me though it is not perfect at all—I still have hard times, like everyone else—but I feel so blessed right now, I have to remind myself all the time. I’ll just list a few of the main things in case you have read any of the last “epilogues” of my life and are wondering where I am right now:
After leaving Deer Valley Ranch, I went back to North Carolina to rest and start searching for jobs. Once I applied and interviewed for a few, I flew back to Colorado in hopes that I could stay here. I ended up getting a job with Youth For Christ in the Denver Area as the Media and Communication Specialist, which is fancy terminology for graphic design & social media. Thankfully I also have tagged in writing a few articles every now and then to explain and show others the work YFC is doing right now, which can be seen here if you are interested.
As of right now, I’m a part-time employee, which has been a blessing as I’m able to work remotely and only go into the office two days a week. Therefore, I also have time to keep up with my “therapy” through workouts at the Y (and keep relationships with a few people I know there). However, you can also pray that I work slightly more hours for the need to remain financially stable. Either that, or you can pray I would find another way to earn a little more to cover my essential finances (such as health insurance, car insurance, etc.).
Overall, there are more gifts God has placed in my life that I am very thankful for:
I have the fortune of living in the basement of a nice house, with great Columbian family/owners, a small kitchen and two new best friends—Alberto and Roberto! (They are “cock-a-poo’s” (as in cocker spaniels and poodles), and I promise they love me (Roberto does when I have a treat in my hand, whereas Alberto loves it when I pet him constantly))
As I said, I have a great job, and I get to use the skills God has given me in graphic design, as well as add in my education from YWAM Australia in journalism. The people who I work alongside are all great, and I love our mission: to seek youth (usually aged around 11- to 19-year-olds) and strive to bring them into and deepen their faith in Christ.
God has also blessed me with being able to return to my “family” at the same church, Fellowship Denver Church. I have always enjoyed the community there, and I was able to just jump right back into a “Fellowship Group,” a.k.a. small group.
I get to use my Seminary degree, Christian Formation and Soul Care, by being a part of an organization that lets me spiritually direct others: LifePoint Resources. I have just become a part of their team, and I don’t have anyone I am spiritual directing currently, but I am so glad to be a part of it, and I look forward to what God is going to teach me through it. To find out more about it, go here.
Overall, I am very thankful how God has been blessing me, and even though it is great, there is by no means that I have reached heaven. In fact, I often worry about how long it'll last, and when I'll be back in the shoes I was before (such as seizures, hospital visits/stays, questioning what God could have ahead of me, etc.), but I have to constantly hear God's voice saying:
"Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
- Isaiah 41:10, ESV