I Have a Blog!

Hello, all! So, this is my really cool blog where I can keep everyone up to date with all that God is doing in my life in the weeks and months ahead. I'll be posting anything from daily happenings to prayer requests and everything in between.

This summer I am going to:
Guatemala (May 25 - June 1)
Uruguay (June 13 - 21)
Kosovo (July 19 - 26)

I am so excited to have to opportunity to serve on these trips, but I am most excited about next semester. I will be taking a break from school to go to Kampala, Uganda for 4 months (August 1 - December 15)! I had the opportunity and privilege to go to Kampala for 2 weeks last summer, and I am so pumped that God has provided a way to go back! I will be going along with 3 other college students from across the country through what is called a "Hands On" project with the International Mission Board.

As I prepare to take action in saying "Yes!" to God's call, I am beginning to feel overwhelmed with all that I need to do, in getting everything lined up to go. These are just a few that I would appreciate prayer for:

Health Insurance: My parents informed me that I am only covered under their healthcare plan while I am enrolled full time in college. Taking off a semester will cause my current health insurance to terminate until I resume my education the following semester. I am trying to see if somehow I can get credit as an independent study or an internship so that I can still be enrolled full time and keep my current healthcare benefits. Please pray for one of these to work out, or else I will have to find a way to pay for health insurance while I am not in school.

Finances: I cannot afford to go on all of these mission trips. Some may call me stupid or foolish for signing up for all of them, but I know that God has given me these opportunities for a reason: to go! I am trusting and relying on God to use His people to provide financially for most of the costs of these trips. I have made efforts to save money on my own, such as moving back home (saving more than $300/month) and restraining myself from impulse buying, which can be difficult at times. Please pray for me as I write letters, that God would use the letters to compel the Church to provide not only financially, but also through investing time in prayer. The total costs for all of these trips is more than $5,000, not to mention if I have to pay for health insurance. I am a college student. I am trusting God. :)

Spiritual Preparation: Being spiritually prepared for each of these mission trips could be the difference between a great experience being used by God and utter disaster. I would absolutely hate to go to Africa or any of these places and, being unprepared, ruin what God has already begun doing through the missionaries in each of these countries. Please pray for me to stay focused on Christ and to be a man after God's heart!

These are just a few things that I can think of right now. I will post more as things arise (or I remember them).

Trusting in Him,
Stephen