Great title, right? I know, I know – I can be awesome sometimes. 

As many of you know, Hannah and I have been fundraising to join students on a spring break missions trip to Mexico. I have actually never been to Mexico and we had never been on a mission trip together. I was looking forward to brushing up on my Spanish and anytime I can eat carnitas and it counts as part of ministry, count me in! As we all got back on campus, we began to discuss the trip and the details.

Unfortunately, we ran into some obstacles. We didn’t have as many students sign-up as we had expected. Our team’s skill set didn’t match the projects available. There were more staff going than there were students.

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Okay, I know I am a little late to jump on the bandwagon for “end-of-the-year reflective posts”. I promise, it has been on my mind (and my task list) for over a week. As Hannah and I talked through last year, we still couldn’t believe everything that happened. It was a big year for us. We experienced God’s faithfulness, provision and peace in ways that we never had before. To be honest, I don’t even know where to start (and I probably forget a handful of things)…

After months of prayer and fasting at the end of 2010 and in the beginning of 2011, we felt that God was asking us to take a step of faith and to leave our jobs at Family Life Church so that we could minister to college students in Washington, DC. We love the people at the church and the staff team, so it was a challenge. Yet, as we told those around us of the transition – we found nothing but supportive people who offered their prayers and their resources to make this thing a reality. In those moments, we were humbled and honored to feel the love of so many. And it was in that time of transition, that as a couple, we really learned how to hear God’s will and discern his direction. I never want to forget that lesson. It wasn’t always easy but the hours we spent in prayer and fasting, were well worth it. I pray that this year, we continue to keep our hearts and minds open to how God would like to use us. It is all to easy to create a plan for ourselves and then ask God to bless it. Since I love plans, that is a big temptation for me.

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I hadn’t really thought of this until recently, but Hannah and I have never been on a missions trip together. She has been on several trips in the US and I spent two weeks in Thailand while we were in college. So, we are very excited that we will both be going to Yucatan, Mexico with a group of students from American University next semester over spring break! We will be partnering with DiscipleMexico.org in assisting and empowering local churches reach out to their community through various construction projects and by putting on services where we will share our testimonies and creatively share the Gospel in Spanish. About that…Neither of us are fluent, but we are brushing up on our vocab and will be working with people that can translate.

One thing that Hannah and I both love about Chi Alpha is that global missions is a part of the core DNA of this ministry. By encouraging students to pray, give and go – they become equipped to reach beyond their local college campus and around the world.

So, we are asking you to consider giving a special gift that would go towards our mission trips. The combined cost for both of us is $2,600 and one of the most expensive parts of the trip is the airline tickets, which will need to be purchased in the next several weeks. We decided to put all the money we received from family and supporters for Christmas towards our missions trips but we still need to raise $2,120. Will you partner with us?

All donations are tax-deductible and you can give online, which will allow your donation to be processed quickly so that you will receive credit for this tax year. If you would rather write a check, follow the instructions on our support page and indicate that it is for our mission trip (please note that this method may not get your deduction processed before the deadline for year-end donations).

I cannot believe that our first semester with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries at American University is under our belt! One on hand, it feels like we have lived here for years and on the other, it feels like we moved here just the other day. This has truly been a great season filled with new friends, incredible ministry and tons of memories. To each of you that prays for us and supports us financially, thank you for being the reason we can answer God’s call to reach the nations via the university campus! Abby, one of the students getting ready to study abroad next semester, created a recap video of this semester and I thought it would be great to share it!