A Very Blessed Birthday

I had such a good day on Wednesday. For my birthday, I went to Silver Dollar City. The best part: It was free(because someone bought me a pass)!! I rode all the rides! It was so scary and so thrilling for me(especially the Giant Swing!). It was good for me to once again face my fears! Also, I found out that I enjoy bluegrass. Rhonda Vincent was performing at SDC and we went to see her show. It was a good time!
In the evening I went to see one of Branson's new shows, SIX. The performers are six real brothers who sing and do all the sounds of instruments with only their mouths. There are no instruments. There is no band. IT was so entertaining and unlike anything I've ever seen. This super sweet couple sitting next to us really enjoyed the fact that we were enjoying the show so much. They bought my friend Emily and I both a CD!! How kind of them! It was really a neat day! Thank you,Lord for such a special day to have fun.

A Blessed Graduation Weekend

Well, I graduated! It was a great weekend!! I was able to see and spend time with wonderful friends and family. It was a very tiring, busy, and overwhelming time. The weekend was very full, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I have been extremely blessed to have wonderful mentors and friends help, love, and support me through life. It was a blessing to see all my friends this weekend. C of O has been such a huge blessing in my life. I am so thankful for God ordering my steps to C of O. Just for the record I used the words blessed/blessing/ wonderful 6 times in 8 sentences. It is so true though!
Thanks to all of you who traveled from Memphis to be here for such a special occasion. I would like to share a special story about this weekend. I had a huge surprise on Sun. morning(the day of graduation). Some friends of ours, the Vaughns traveled up 6 hours Sunday morning to see the graduation(and me :)) only to turn around and go straight back home following the ceremony. The surprise was that I didn't know they would be coming!! I was standing in line with my fellow graduates waiting for the ceremony to start, when I saw a familiar face. My first response was "What are you doing here?"(I was surprised) Anyway, it was a blessing for them to be at the graduation. It meant a lot to me that they made the effort to be there. The real story begins after they left the graduation though!
They were driving home and ran into some car trouble. Someone stopped and drove them into the next town to a police station. The police officer called a towing company. It was Sunday and Mother's Day, but someone was working!!(God's doing) The man said that he usually didn't work, but he was catching up on some paperwork. So, get this: the man asked where they were headed and they said, Memphis. The man said he would be driving to Memphis the next day! So, he gave them a rental car for FREE! And...He towed the car for FREE!! Praise the Lord. I love it when God chooses to increase our faith in such circumstances as the example in this story.

Just one example of God's faithfulness

Yesterday my friends at my home church signed up to make new monthly pledge commitments towards my missionary associate assignment in Moldova. The total of all the new commitments comes to $1020.00!! YAY! This brings my monthly pledge support from 32% to 79%. I am so blessed by the Lord's faithfulness to provide.

I am so thankful for each and every person who has given a one-time gift, those who have been supporting me for a while, and those who just joined the team!! Essentially, these people have caught the vision of what God is doing in Moldova.

You see, God is changing the hearts of men and women there who will then influence those around them. Once the Home of Hope is open in Moldova, women who have experienced abuse, despair, hardship etc. will receive hope and healing in Christ! Praise the Lord.

Thanks to all who are praying for my support raising, for the women who need hope and healing, and for change in the hearts of the people there. God Bless you each as you give faithfully as the Lord has laid on your heart to do.

Thank you!!

New Experiences: Roller Coasters and Fun?

I had the opportunity to go to Celebration City and Silver Dollar City last week. I rode roller coasters at both theme parks. What a thrill! Some of you may be in shock. I have never been a fan of roller coasters. They usually just SCARE me.
While at college, I also had the opportunity to go to Six Flags and Worlds of Fun. I usually just rode the roller coasters because someone else paid for me and all my friends were riding, NOT for my enjoyment. After getting on the rides, I did indeed SCREAM, but I usually laughed my head off as well. I also prayed a lot. I always made deals with God....Lord, if you just get me off this ride, alive I will go whenever and do whatever....! :)
This past week, I really did enjoy the roller coasters. I realized 2 things from these new experiences:
1)I have grown out of some of my fears. This is good news. In life, it is so easy to fear things, or at least it is really easy for me to fear things. I must channel my worry and fear into trust and faith in the Lord and His care.
2) Life is full of new experiences!! I am getting ready to leave for Moldova(in August) and while there I will have many new experiences. Some of these new experiences could cause fear to arise in my life, but I choose to trust the Lord and his faithfulness. I also choose to look forward to all of the new experiences I will have overseas!