UPDATE: As far as support raising goes, I feel unbelievably blessed and humbled to let you know that the Lord has allowed 71% of my financial goal to be raised. God is so good! This means the airline tickets have been purchased and arrangements officially made. At the end of June, I'm heading to Ireland! Thank you to each and everyone of you who believed in me, or should I say, believed in God's willingness to use me, enough to give of your financial resources. Thank you even more for the prayers that have accompanied these gifts.
As each day goes by I am experiencing a myriad of emotions. My heart pounds with feelings of excitement, elation, relief, and delight... countered by terror, anxiety and doubt. The closer the trip gets the more I find myself wondering if I'm really the right person for this job... this call to spread the gospel to all nations. The Lord has put missions on my heart ever since I was young. Obviously, growing up with missionary parents, I've seen first hand the work God can do through his servants when they are willing. Through the years, I have watched my parents' ministry while inside me a heart for missions blossomed. Spending my childhood overseas has given me such an international heart; a deep rooted passion to serve God in different places among unfamiliar cultures. Unfamiliar to me perhaps, but each of them at the very center of Christ's love. Now and opportunity to share what the Lord has done in my life is presenting itself and I'm standing here with knees knocking. It's so easy to doubt that I could ever play a role in such a huge part of God's heart. I just keep reminding myself of this quote, "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called."
In the past month, I've committed myself to learning more about the outreach of Dublin Christian Mission. An amazing fact is that DCM is the second oldest city mission in the world! It is 185 years old and was was founded in 1826 by David Nasmith. Historically, Nasmith is considered the founder of the the City Mission Movement beginning in the United Kingdom that same year. Before his death in 1839, he had officially set up 5 missions throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland (Source). Nasmith's passion for reaching the unreached and giving an outlet of hope to those who have none is something DCM has strove to continue throughout the many years of its operation.
Their mission statement reads, "It is our hope to see people find freedom and healing" in Christ. The region of Dublin I will be serving in this summer has a high rate of broken homes, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, and crime. It is a city in which people are crying out for hope, restoration, and guidance. The closer this trip gets, the more fearful I am that I am unworthy to be God's vessel. Thankfully, neither my fears nor my abilities are what will determine His work in Dublin. It is the Lord's righteousness that will allow me to take risks and serve in a capacity I've never realized before now. I beg your prayers and words of wisdom as I prepare for this trip. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement!
Sign up for updates: HERE
Donate to my trip: HERE
Thessalonians 2:4
"But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts."
Acts 13:47
"For so the Lord commanded us saying, 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth'."