Brazilian flag and American flag
My sweet family"The sun shines bright in my old Kentucky home."
The first line of this sweet song written by Stephen Foster rings true! I arrived in my old Kentucky home on June 8th and I've been welcomed by hot, summer days, sweet tea, grilled hamburgers, and more good ol' American things :)! Of course, the best part of being home is seeing my family and friends that I've dearly missed. While it's great to visit them and to have all the American amenities, my heart aches to be in Brazil. It's almost unexplainable - but when God gives you a heart for a specific place, you want nothing more than to be in that place serving Him. God has put a passion in my heart for Brazil. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about, prayed for, and missed that country that now feels more like home to me than any other earthly place. I now completely understand Paul when he writes in his letters about how he longs to see the people he ministered to again. How he longs to return to the places where he ministered. I get it. And I feel the same way. But just as God moved Paul from place to place to further the Gospel, I'm also being moved around. As most of you know, I'm heading to Maui, Hawaii to work at Hope Chapel. I move on August 24th and will be there for a year. I'm so excited for the ministries I'll be involved in. I'll be connecting people to the body of Christ- the church - and discipling them. I'll be working with young adults - organizing, rallying, and attending events for that age group. These are just a few of the things that I'll be doing. I'm super excited to expand my ministry experiences and to add more tools to my "ministry tool belt" (props to you for the terminology Professor Shane Garrison). Part of my job will be a 2 week trip to Hope Chapel's church plant in Southern Brazil and following those 2 weeks I plan to spend a week visiting AVA and my sweet friends in Belem. I feel truly blessed by God and honored to be His servant. Everyday God is teaching me to rely on Him to guide my footsteps, to daily surrender my plans to Him, to trust, and to follow Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
"The place that God calls us is that place where the world's deep hunger and our deep desire meet." -Frederick Buechner
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