Transitions

June has been a very busy month.

Unfortunately, it's started out with a great loss.  My best friend lost her husband suddenly at the young age of 42.  It was just 3 weeks ago and I'm still at a loss for what to say.  I know her life will never be the same, but she has hope in that he believed in Christ as his savior.  Thankfully my job was willing to give me a few days off last minute to go and stay with her and as I am in transition I have been able to stay with her for additional chunks at a time.  I think it is a double blessing.  I was able to be there so she was not alone, even if I didn't know what to say, and I have been able to spend some quality time with her before I leave.

Amidst this time of grief, I have also been sorting out and packing up my life.  Two days ago, we had 4 big boxes picked up to be shipped out to the Philippines.  Two of those boxes were filled with donations for the Cajigas family and the Children's Shelter. The other two were filled with textbooks and classroom supplies.  In the next week, I will have two more boxes filled with specialty items and things to start setting up my living space.  I have also made multiple trips to drop off donations at the thrift store and sharing items with friends who live locally.

I have had many transitions over the years and generally have done well with the chaos.  I also feel like I usually handle mental and emotional chaos fairly well for short periods of time.  However, the sheer scale of this transition has caused me some anxiety.  I think some of it has to do with the grief added to the mix and knowing I am not just transitioning once but twice in the next several months.

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Once again I started a post and didn't have a chance to finish it right away.  Here I am another week later and so it has been a month since my friend passed, we celebrated our nation's birthday, I shipped the 2 more boxes, and the rest of my life is packed in boxes and bags.

Tonight I am having dinner with my 3 closest friends and we are going to camp out and make s'mores over the fire.  Girls night!  I am super excited about it, but it is also sort of sad to realize we won't be able to do it again for several years.  I'd say welcome to being an adult, but really it is welcome to the life of a missionary!  I am very thankful to have technology that will allow us to all see each other even if we can't physically hug one another.

On a side note, people are already asking me where I will live when I come back and I have to admit it's frustrating.  I'm not even 100% sure where I will be living in 6 months!  It seems crazy to think about where God will have me in 2-5 years.  I'm focusing on the next 2-5 days!  After hanging out with friends for the weekend my best friend and I are taking a road trip to Arizona.  So, 5 days from now we will likely be visiting the Grand Canyon and marveling at God's creative hand :)

Thank you for checking in and keeping my ministry in your prayers!

HALLELUJAH PRAISES TO THE KING ETERNAL:
*Start-up funding is at 98%
*I'm still gaining monthly partnerships
*Packing and sorting life is finished (for the moment)

WE APPROACH GOD'S THRONE ROOM TOGETHER:
*Travel over the next week driving to Arizona
*Safe arrival of the boxes being shipped (probably won't arrive until Sept)
*Anxiety as things are rolling forward