I am excited to report that we made $300 with our fundraiser at Panda last week. We brought in $1500 in business for the restuarant so I think we are well liked by the owners.

We tried the fundraiser again yesterday and I feel the turnout was a bit smaller but we will see when the total comes back.

In other news, our team leaders Libby and Nate announced earlier this week that they are pregnant. The team and I are incredibly excited for them! Because Libby will be about 5 months along in May both her and Nate have decided to not go on this trip to South Africa. God has really worked in the last month or so in many hearts and Jon and Kylie, another young married couple who work for CCU, have decided to step up and go with us to Africa. I believe that this is all a part of God's perfect plan for the team and I am excited for the team and I to get to know Jon and Kylie better.

I feel so blessed to be able to see God's molding of this group. He just keeps changing things up and it is more proof that God just knows what He is doing way more than I do.

Today is our big fundraiser at Panda Express, an Americanized Chinese restaurant that is sort of fast food-ish. Why are we doing a fundraiser with a Chinese restaurant? Simply because of the Lord's direction...

...and because there isn't a restaurant that I know of that serves South African food.

We were working on a fundraiser a couple of weeks ago and had worked up a hunger. One of the girls on the team did a quick run to Panda Express and got a couple of us lunch. She returned with the glorious food as well as paperwork and information on how to do a fundraiser with Panda Express. Kaitlin had totally networked with the manger of the store and this great opportunity just landed in our laps. We decided to run with it and a couple of weeks later, it’s the big day and we are hoping for some big returns.

So this is how it works: people collect a flyer and bring it in to Panda Express with them. They then purchase all the Chinese food they can eat and 20% if that meal goes towards a running total for us. At the end of the night, the restaurant totals it all up and then writes a check out to our team. It is a pretty sweet deal.

We have spent these last few days put flyers all over campus, giving them to local businesses and using all the means of advertising at our university. We put a lot of work into this as a team and we just pray that the Lord moves in the hearts of those who have flyers and gives them a deep hunger that can only be filled with chow mien, orange chicken and egg rolls. : )

If you are too far away to enjoy some Panda, would you consider lifting us up in prayer today? We know without a doubt that the Lord is faithful, sovereign and so much more powerful than we are. May He be glorified through our efforts!

I have to say, I am just so encouraged right now.

First of all, sometimes being humbled hurts really bad but sometimes it is the greatest experience. This whole process of leading a group of peers and trying to follow God's will is certainly not as easy as it seems, but then again, I guess most things never are. But regardless of how hard it seems at times, the Lord is so faithful. He is always one step ahead of me and continues to mold this trip into what He needs it to be. Sometimes these changes strike a little fear in me but with a little time, I always see how God is working for the good. This trip is His and we are just going over to South Africa to do whatever He needs us to do. I like it better when He takes control.

So humbleness is the first blessing and plane tickets are the second.

Most of the time, when you book a flight oversees, you have to do it way in advance and have that money ready. Because of our current financial struggles, buying plane tickets right now as we would have been this time last year seems pretty impossible. However, God is good and brought to us a deal with British Airlines where we can put down $100 per person and reserve our seats on the plane. I mentioned this in the blog before this one but I don't think I realized how rare and helpful this is. We won't have to give the airlines names or the remainder of the plane fair until the end of March. God just knows that we are struggling and He is giving us more time. His wisdom and goodness just blows my mind sometimes.

It’s hard to look through the fog of these financial burdens sometimes but when I break through and truly open my eyes to see, I am surrounded but the sovereignty and goodness of God. Hmm, God is so good!

And lastly, I want to share with you the verse that the Lord showed me today:

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58

So for those of you who are following this blog, you probably want to know who is going on this little adventure to South Africa.


At the top starting on the left, Hunter is the one boy in the back next to me. The next row starts with Sarah on the far left, and then Sam, Holly, Calli, and Alyssa. The Bottom row is Kaitlin, Lizzy, Jess, Tami, Amaia, and Libby.

That's one pretty darn good looking team, huh? Yeah, we think so. :)

So now that you have a face with the names, we ask that you all would continue to pray about our trip. Financial concerns are topping this list right now as we commit to plane tickets this week. We have been blessed with the opportunity to mark our spots on our plane with only $100 deposit and then the rest of the $1550 isn't due until the end of March. Most airlines would require us to have all the money down to reserve our seats so this is a great advantage for us.

We do, however, only have a handful of people who currently have the $1550 for the ticket. These next few weeks are going to be a little stressful. If you are a family or friend of someone on the trip and you feel called to give more to the trip, it is not too late. Our missions department will happily process any checks mailed with those little yellow cards that you received within the last few months. If you have already given or have lost your card, you can contact the person you wish to donate to and they can help you get that money to the right person so you can still get the tax write off and everything. Also, if it comes down to it and you feel comfortable doing so, you can write a check to the person you wish to give and they can put it towards their trip.

Thanks for listening to yet another plea for money; sadly, I don't think it will be the last. I hate being so repetitive but at this point, it is very much in the front of our minds.

On the up-side here, we have begun to really dig into the culture of South Africa and it is exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. The statistics are staggering and I think it all makes us more determined to go over there and do whatever we can to help. The Lord has already begun to prepare our hearts and He has been doing so in some very creative ways.

As it turns out, the pastors at the chruch I attend here in Lakewood recently spent a week in South Africa praying for women and children with AIDS. They have been doing a three week searies on what they experienced in South Africa and it has been a great opportunity to see what we might encounter in South Africa. If you would like to watch the sermon from last week at Red Rocks Church, you can click on this link. On the right side of the window, click "Africa". You can watch the sermon or just listen to it. Be warned, it might just make you want to jump on that plane and go with us. :)

http://www.redrockschurch.com/resource/sermons/

I hope you are all doing well and thank you all for reading this blog. Your prayers and support are an incredible blessing to us as a team. Take care and God bless!