So close

I leave in less than 48 hours. 41 1/2 hours, actually. Not that I'm counting.

I've been counting down since December - the countdown started at 176 days. I celebrated when it got to double digits. And now I'm down to counting hours.

Last night I was packing (I still can't believe I'm so ahead of my normal travel schedule). When I closed my suitcase up and weighed it for the final time (I had to do a bit of reorganizing), I turned to my roommate and told her I was ready to go and just wanted to leave in the morning - I didn't want to wait another two days.

I'm ready for another adventure. Even though I've been on a Susie Mag/Big World Ventures trip before and know what the general format of the trip, I don't really know what to expect. And part of that is I'm trying to convince myself not to expect too much. My trip to Peru in 2006 with Brio Magazine was such a life-changing experience. I want that again. I know it will happen again. But it will be completely different. I need to be prepared for it.

The problem is that I don't feel prepared. For any of it. I sometimes feel like a failure because I haven't prayed enough in preparation for the trip. I had grand plans of praying for each and every one of the students and leaders on my team (39 people, including myself). That has yet to happen. But I still have 41 hours, right? I know what I want to say in my seminar, but I don't feel qualified. But then I was reminded of the saying "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called." He's given me the resources, and I've been trying to pray for His wisdom and leadership as I prepare.

But I have the day off from work today (it's too cold for most people to think about swimming in an outdoor pool), so I'm spending some time with God and continuing to prepare for this trip and what He has planned for everyone. And I know that even if I don't necessarily feel as though I'm prepared, I know that He has been working over the past several months to get me ready for what He has planned - even if it doesn't seem like it right now.

Within Reach

One week from today, I will be in Miami, preparing to be a "Leader-In-Training."

One month from today, I will be back in Minnesota after a life-changing 3 1/2 weeks.

I think I've had the most "time" to prepare for this trip, compared to my last few international trips. Last year, I had to focus on getting through the spring semester before I could really think about my summer trips. Once school was done, I had a few days to prepare for a 2 week trip to Scotland. It was only after I got home from Scotland that I could really think about Ecuador. And once I recovered from the jet-lag, I was left with under a week to prepare for 2 months in a different country. Even after returning from Ecuador, I only had a short time at home before moving into the house I am currently renting with my dear friends.

I have been thinking about this trip for almost a year. It was during Susie Mag's Guatemala trip last summer (while I was in Ecuador) that I found out they would be going to Ecuador. But it wasn't until December that I started seriously thinking about the trip.

And I've been counting down ever since I sent in my application.

And now the trip is less than a week away.

About two weeks ago, the reality of the trip hit me. It's the longest "short" trip I've been on. It's 3 1/2 weeks, or 24 days. Too long to bring enough clothes for the entire trip, and not long enough to ever really get settled in one place. It will be a long trip. I'm definitely looking forward to it. But God will need to sustain me. He's given me the last several weeks to recover from a semester with less sleep than I really need. But 3 1/2 weeks straight with a crazy bunch of teens and wanting to spend time with everyone and get to know them in the short time we have together will be taxing on me. I'm an introvert. I need my time alone. And it's on trips like this that I have a difficult time pulling away to take time for myself and time to spend with God when there's always something going on. Prayer for wisdom on when to pass on activities would definitely be welcome.

As far as not being able to pack enough clothes...I always over pack. I don't know if I've ever flown somewhere and not had my suitcase be just barely under 50 lbs. And I'm sure this trip will be no different. The only problem is that I don't currently own a working scale. I may need to invest in one before Saturday morning. I have a stack of clothes sitting in my suitcase right now, along with the peanut butter and jelly and other items I need to bring. I still need to go through that stack of clothes and cut it down to the minimum. And bring laundry detergent along. I'll be doing my laundry in the bathtub of my hotel room. Or maybe I'll call up one of my friends in Quito and ask if I can bring my laundry to their house. However that ends up, there's no way I can fit 3 weeks worth of clothes in ONE 50 lb suitcase...

Precious Little Children

About 2 1/2 years ago, I felt that God was finally prodding me to begin sponsoring a child through Compassion International. I was at a youth conference and they had a table in the lobby. I chose a sweet little girl named Preethi and immediately began writing letters to her. She loves coloring and would always send me pictures back with short notes written by one of the translators at her Center. Along with the opportunity to sponsor Preethi, Compassion sends out newsletters with updates about how the ministry is working around the world.

Last fall, one of the newsletters contained an article about the Waodani Indians of Ecuador. This was just a few months after I spent a week in Shell, Ecuador - near where the Waodani live and missionary station of Nate Saint in the 1950s. To read more about the five missionaries who were killed by the Waodani (Auca) Indians in the 1950s, I found another blog with the story and more links.

This article got me thinking that I would love to sponsor a child in Ecuador, specifically a child from the Waodani tribe. So I began to search Compassion's website but was unable to find anything conclusive about whether a child was from the Waodani tribe or not. I found several near Puyo, which is a few miles from Shell. But then I started looking at children near Quito. And I found a little boy who reminded me of one of the children I worked with in a Quichua community last summer.

This little boy's name is Robinson and he had been on the waiting list for over six months. I couldn't get him off my mind, but I didn't have the money available to sponsor him at the time - I needed to wait until December (it was October at the time) when I withdrew from a different sponsorship program.

But I couldn't get Robinson off my mind. I kept coming back to his picture.

He had been waiting and his birthday was coming up. I decided that I would start sponsoring him in November as a birthday surprise for him.

But I still couldn't get him off my mind. I kept checking the website, making sure he was still there.

After I compulsively checked for probably the third day in a row, I broke down. I decided to use some of my birthday money to begin sponsoring him then.

I wasn't working as many hours as I would have liked and therefore didn't have too much of an income. But God made it possible for me to sponsor two children through Compassion and a persecuted pastor through Voice of the Martyrs until I was able to withdraw from VoM in December. It meant less money for fun stuff and Christmas presents, but I knew it was worth it.

I was saddened to receive a letter in November or December about my precious little Preethi in India - her family was moving out of her Compassion project's area and would moving into an area without a Compassion project. It was hard to say goodbye after I had been sponsoring her for almost two years, but I am so thankful for the chance I had to be a part of her life and learn about life in India for a 7 year old.

They offered to send me a new child in India, but I recognized God's provision in making it possible to support Robinson with my limited resources.

And then after all of this, God led me to the decision to go to Ecuador with Big World Ventures and Susie Magazine (formerly Brio Magazine). And they have worked with Compassion International to set up a day to have some of the sponsored kids come to our hotel for a day of fun with those of us who are sponsoring kids in Ecuador.

I am so excited that I get to meet my little Robinson! I had always heard about people traveling to meet their sponsored children, but I never thought I'd get the chance to meet mine! I am so thankful for where God has been leading me over the last few months and that I have the opportunity to meet and love on Robinson and be someone real to him, rather than just someone he writes letters to (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Please be praying for the children and their families as they travel to Quito (some are coming from outside the city) to meet those who have taken the opportunity and taken advantage of the ministry of Compassion International to "release children from poverty in Jesus' name"

3 weeks!

A good friend mentioned to me today that I hadn't written a blog in a while. I didn't think I had much to say, but now that I actually sit and think about it I have more to say than I realized.

It's been a crazy month or so with school wrapping up and graduation. I took a two week hiatus from doing anything productive and caught up on all the sleep I lost this past semester. I very much enjoyed it. Between final projects and final exams and those weeks of not doing much of anything, everything with Ecuador has started to sneak up on me.

I leave for training in Miami three weeks from today. I'm home in Wisconsin for a few days, but once I get back to the Twin Cities, I work full days all but two of the days leading up to my trip. I'm looking forward to spending my days outside at the pool and hanging out with friends. But in the meantime, I need to be focused on preparing to teach a seminar while we're in Ecuador.

In mid-April, I got an email from the kind folks at Big World Venture asking if I (or any other leaders or LITs) would be interested in teaching a 45 minute seminar/class for the students on one of the nights. My initial reaction was to dismiss the email - that I didn't have anything worth while to talk about, especially for 45 minutes. But then I got another email clarifying something from the previous email - once again, I dismissed the idea. After the third email with more clarification, I stopped and thought that maybe I should consult God about it before completely dismissing the idea. Before I even had time to sit down and pray via my prayer journal, the idea of Song of Solomon popped into my head. This made sense because I took two classes this past semester that studied Song of Solomon and my church is currently in a series on Song of Solomon. So I prayed about it and began to consider teaching a seminar on Song of Solomon, but I still didn't know what the focus of the seminar would be and what "description" I could come up with to send in for the workbook/journals all the students get. So I continued to pray about it. And as I was driving back to MN after being home for Easter, God brought an idea to mind. When I got home, I typed it up and sent it on in, but asked if there would be another adult leader who would be willing to help me prepare and/or be available for the question and answer time.

I was recently contacted by one of the leaders who is willing to help me out. Her offer to help has been a wonderful encouragement and motivation to organize my thoughts in advance and really prepare this seminar to the best of my ability.

While I'm still real nervous about teaching on Song of Solomon and Purity, I'm excited to see how it's coming along. I love how God reveals the necessity of Jesus' death on the Cross in everything. I love that I can bring a talk on purity and relationships full circle to our relationship with God and how He comes first. I love that God has given me the opportunity to attend Hope Community Church, where each week our pastors bring whatever we're talking about and point it all back to the Cross and what Christ did for us when He came to die. And I love seeing where God has brought me through this whole process and I look forward to seeing how I can bring Him glory in sharing my experiences of being a date-less, boyfriend-less college graduate - I am totally okay with that status, and I look forward to encouraging all the girls on this trip that it is okay to NOT have a boyfriend, that there's nothing wrong with them, but that God is preserving and preparing them for their futures.

Please be in prayer for me as I continue to prepare this seminar - there are some topics within the broad idea that I'm not quite sure how to address/approach/work in to everything else, but I know that this is what God wants me to be doing and that He will help me as I work through everything.

Amy Lynn

Less than two months!

I have a countdown in my planner. Well, I have several countdowns right now:

Roommate's wedding: 10 days

Graduation: 16 days

ECUADOR: 58 days

It's been a long semester looking forward to these days, and now they're getting so close. I'm praying that I can finish the semester strong - it has been difficult, but I need to power through it.

Some prayer requests:

1. Support - I am so thankful to those who have supported me so far for this trip as well as for those who have supported me on my past trips (Peru 2006, Guatemala 2007, Ecuador 2010). I could not have done it without everyone and God :) I was a little behind in sending out support letters, but I have already seen God's blessing as support comes in slowly but surely.

2. Prayer for my brother. There was a time when he was thinking of not going, but he has made the commitment to go - please pray for God to open his heart (and mine too) for what He has in store for both of us.

3. I may potentially be leading a "seminar" for some of the girls on the trip on Song of Solomon - but that's not for sure yet. Why Song of Solomon? God has given me many opportunities to study this book this semester (2 classes at school, and a sermon series at church). When I was given the opportunity to submit an idea for a seminar, I drew a blank...but as I began to pray about it, God brought Song of Solomon to my mind. I am praying that God will use my 22 years of singleness as an example to these high school girls that you can make it through high school and college without a boyfriend :)

4. For Big World Venture as they finalize plans and organize everything with the trip. It is a huge undertaking for them (several hundred students and leaders on this trip). Prayer that everything comes together well in the next two months

That's all I can think of right now.

Thank you so much!

Amy Lynn

Update and Details

I am returning to Ecuador. I am so excited for this trip and what God is going to do on it.

Let me explain a little more.

Last summer, while in Ecuador, the thought crossed my mind that I wanted to return to Ecuador the following summer. I've traveled to many places, but Ecuador has a special place in my heart (in part because I've spent time there and really gotten to know people there). But I also realized that it was my final "free" summer before the "real world." Another thought crossed my mind at that same time - the thought to go on one last mission trip with Susie Magazine (formerly Brio Magazine). Not two days later, I found out that the Susie Magazine mission trip would be going to Quito, Ecuador. I was already formulating plans in my mind about how it could work that I go on the trip.

When I talked to my mom about it when I got home, she was a bit more cautious than I was, reminding me how much I have been traveling, and that maybe it's time for me to get a job. She had a good point and I agreed, so I didn't think too much about it. A few months later, my mom informed me that my dad had given the "go ahead" for the trip, and I was caught off guard. I didn't know what my summer held for me and if I'd be able to get time off from work.

I began to think and pray about going, not really sure about what God wanted me to do. I wanted to go, but didn't want that to be the only reason I signed up for it. I also talked to Big World Ventures, the missions organization in charge of the trip, and found out that my younger brother could go on the trip and do photography, rather than the drama ministry. My parents and I talked to him about it, and I encouraged him to think about it and get his application in. When he made the decision to go on the trip, I decided that I would to go too.

We both signed up for the extended trip - an extra week of ministry in the Galapagos Islands! I was so pumped about getting to go to the Galapagos. As time has gone on, however, I have realized that the Galapagos is not where God wants me this summer. I came to this conclusion when I got an email about the other option for the extended week of ministry - a week in Otavalo and the surrounding Quichua communities. I spent a week in Otavalo with my team last year and I was hoping we'd get an opportunity to take a trip there. When I found out that this was the other extended trip, I felt my heart being pulled toward it. As much as I wanted to go to the Galapagos to say I'd been there and experience it all, I had a strong desire to go back to Otavalo (maybe even to the community I worked in!). So after much prayer and talking with others, I made the decision to go to Otavalo. So now my brother had better get me some good pictures from the Galapagos so I feel like I was there too!

So that's where I'm at right now. We just passed the 100 day mark. I will be heading down to Miami, FL for training 3 months and 1 week from today. I am stoked. I look back on so many of the experiences God has given me and see how He has been preparing me for this trip - most notably, going to Ecuador last summer as well as working with Junior High students at my church for the past 2 years. God sure knows what He's doing :)

Amy Lynn

Back to the Future...

I found out yesterday that I won’t be going to the U of M for Nursing school next year. After a friend texted me saying she got an interview and asking if I had heard anything yet, I got an email saying that they “regret to inform” me that I would not be granted an interview. I got the email after Developmental Biology. I was able to hold in the tears until everyone else had left class and I could talk to Dr. Winslow.

It reminded me of when I applied to be an RA. I had talked myself into not wanting to get the job, but still hoping for it. When I found out that I didn’t get it, I was relieved but disappointed. This time I was disappointed but somewhat relieved. While the two instances are similar for me, my reaction to the rejection shows me how much God has changed me over the past 2 years. When I didn’t get the RA position, the first thought that crossed my mind was that I wasn’t good enough for it. My first thought yesterday was, “Ok God, I guess that’s not what You had in mind, but I know You have something better for me in store.”

I can’t really even explain the tears. I know I needed to cry, but honestly, I was okay with not being accepted, even at that point. I had hoped and “planned” to go to U of M next year. My future was back to being up in the air again. But I am honestly so excited about the future right now. It doesn’t scare me, even though we’ll be out of college and really on our own for the first time. I guess it’s the joy that I find in knowing that God has a plan for my life. Ok, so I’m not going to the only nursing school I applied to. But obviously that’s not where God wants me right now. I have the potential to start working full time next fall, so unless God directs me differently, I have a general idea of where I may be. But I’m flexible. I know that God will direct my steps. He has so far (I’ll post more on that later).