countdown!

So, I'm leaving my beautiful New Zealand home in three days....
I have such mixed emotions about this! I have been very nervous about leaving and not being prepared for outreach but in the past couple of days God has been giving us all a sense of excitement and readiness that can really only come from Him. I'm learning to understand the fact that He equips the unqualified. It's scary to think about preforming dramas and music, and sharing testimonies and sermons in front of thousands of Asians over the next 3 months. But I know for a fact that His Spirit in me is what qualifies me to do that. When trying to prepare for this I stress myself out way too much. It shouldn't be something I try to pull just from my own knowledge...because if that were the case the whole outreach would be a failure! The Lord has been teaching me to trust Him to guide me and give me the words in the moment. And in the mean time, soaking up as much of the Word as possible is key. It's a learning process, but I'm feeling more confident everyday. 
Everyone is packing up, and I don't know what to think about it. I can't believe three months has gone by. I have loved living here and getting to know these people. It's weird thinking about the possibility of never coming back here. I hope I do one day, but I'm preparing not to. In three short months I have gotten so much out of this place that I will carry with me the rest of my life. I have also sown into this community and all over this country. It is part of my inheritance! So I'm having a little bit of a mournful experience preparing to leave. 
Excitement is overshadowing that feeling more and more though... I'm about to take a huge step out and shift gears completely, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for the next 4 months of my life before returning home.


So, while I'm gone, I will try to update my blog with some photos and maybe a story here and there, but unfortunately I won't be able to talk about what I'm doing in detail or where exactly I am. Once I'm home and I can personally share with you my outreach experience, but until then I have to keep everything on the DL. 
If I ever coveted your prayers, I do now more than ever! Your prayers are VITAL to this outreach. Please keep my team in prayer as we go out to be the hands and feet of Jesus and trust Him to guide us. My team is so talented, and I know God is about to use us in huge ways. The unity we have, the love, the joy, and the peace we emanate is powerful. It will affect many lives. So pray for us! We want to give people a taste of Jesus's perfect love. We're about to take all that was poured into us during this lecture phase and pour it out in Asia! If you'd like to pray for the individual people on my team their names are: Adrian (leader), Becky (leader), Francesca, Aaron, Allie, and Ruben. 


Also, if you feel led to donate to me or to our team, that is a BIG help. It's a way to sow into the Kingdom! Your donations help us keep going :)
Oh, on that same note... 
Our school received over $60,000 NZD in just over one week, which covered everyone's outreach fees. God is so faithful! He provides!!!


I'm saving up some money for after travel, which will be in Israel, Greece, and Italy. Judy and I will be traveling together, doing a little ministry in these places for a month before coming home. If you're interested in helping us out with the funds for that, you're awesome! Pray about it :)


Okay, that's all I have until I'm half way around the world. AHHH!! PRAY FOR ME!!! 
Thank you everyone, so, so much. I LOVE you!


Stephanie