Laura's first weeks in E. Asia

Laura's 14 hour flight to Dubai was terrible.  She said it's the worst turbulence she's ever experienced.  The flight from Dubai to her destination country was good....she slept the whole way!  But thankfully she made it safely and she's trying not to think about the flight back!

Her first day in a new country was spent getting to know the city they landed in and staying awake!  Laura was so tired when they finally got back to where they were staying.  It was a hard day....full of spiritual oppression.  That's extra hard to deal with and process when you have jet lag.  

Her second day was supposed to be spent on a 13+ hour bus ride through the Himalayas to where they would begin their trekking and ministering.  The bus ride turned out to be closer to 18 hours of twisting and turning roads.  Needless to say, everyone was so car sick (bus sick?)!! 

Her first night in the mountains was COLD!  She was very thankful for her nice warm coat, hat, mittens and cuddle duds!!  We had a chance to FaceTime her before she left Wifi for 2 weeks.  

I'm sure many of you have experienced this...but NOT talking your daughter for 2 weeks, when she's on the other side of the world, in the Himalayas, is HARD.  One of the hardest things I've ever done.  Most of my life is spent practicing my  "tra la la" faith.  You know, the kind of faith that doesn't REALLY have to trust God because life is basically easy?  In these past few weeks I've experienced "tiger attack" faith.  Why tiger attack?  Oh, I guess I haven't mentioned yet that Laura is in tiger country.  The week before she arrived at the base camp village, a child was killed by a tiger.  Yep, "tiger attack" faith.  How much do I trust God with my daughter?

We finally heard from her a few days ago.  The whole team has been sick...so sick.  Two people had to be air flighted (is that a word?) out because of illness and injury.  Laura heard a tiger roar.  AND....she led worship once and has gotten to preach twice.  AND she loves it.  Despite the difficulties, she loves seeing God work.  She loves being a part of what He is doing.  

They hiked 14 miles (stopping and ministering in villages as they went) before everyone got sick.  When we talked to her a few days ago, they had hiked back 9 miles (of the 14) and still had 5 more to go.  Hopefully she'll have wifi again soon and can update us again.  

Please keep her in your prayers!  Pray for healing.  Pray for no further sickness.  Pray for a boldness to keep sharing Jesus.  Pray for team dynamics and relationships.  Pray against discouragement.  Thank you and I'll update as soon as I know more! 

And she's off.....

Laura's team is off!!  A 14 hour flight to Dubai!  Scott told Laura that she will have a sunset and a sunrise during this flight!  WOW!! She'll have a layover in Dubai and then another flight to her destination country.

Thank you for joining us in praying for safety for Laura as she travels.  For boldness as she goes from village to village.  For stamina as she hikes for 8+ hours each day.  And for protection from tigers.  Tigers?  Wait...I haven't mentioned the tigers yet?  I'll save that for another blog post!

In case you're wondering about Laura's finances.  She still needs about $600.  If you'd like to give...please check out this link:

https://www.gofundme.com/send-laura-to-e-asia

Back to the Sunshine State....

We had Laura home for 5 whole days at Christmas.  It was glorious!  She finally got to meet her niece, Olivia, who was born the day Laura left for YWAM! 

Yesterday our whole family gathered together and prayed over Laura before taking her to the airport.  I looked up and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.  It's hard to say goodbye.  It's hard to let her follow the Lord.  But it's what we have to do.  Trust Him...He loves her more than we do.

Laura leaves Sunday for East Asia.  She still needs around $800.  We know that God will provide!  When Benji was raising funds for outreach they told him a "story" that really made sense to me....
What's a more exciting scenario for the NBA finals:  a 4-0 shut out or going down to the final seconds of game 7 and watching your favorite player score the winning 3 pointer as the buzzer sounds?  One is remembered and talked about forever and the other is quickly forgotten.  Watching God provide the final funds Laura needs in the 3 days before her outreach is like that game 7 victory!  He gets all the glory!! 

If you would like to be a part of game 7, click on this link.  I will be posting updates on the blog while Laura is gone.  Thank you for praying for her as she sets off to follow God's calling on her life!

God and Instagram

God never fails to amaze me.  No, this update is NOT about how someone paid the rest of Laura's outreach fees.  But, still, God never fails to amaze me.  Yesterday on Instagram (yes, I believe God can speak through IG!) I read the following quote by Ann Voskamp:

I will not let worry overrule today or this Christmas.  When the King rules my world, I cease to rule or to worry.  All worry dethrones God.  All worrying makes me king and God incompetent.  I am going to trust that in the little places, through unexpected people, His perfect story is unfolding and unwrapping all around me & in me, the light overtaking the dark.  

God used Ann Voskamp and Instagram to remind me to trust Him,  To remind me that He is King.  To remind me that He has a plan....He is continuing to speak about His plans for Laura's team in East Asia.  Remember the verse God gave Laura during their team prayer time?  Wait, you didn't read that update? It's not long.  I promise.  But it's amazing!  Go here to read it.  I'll wait.....

.....There that didn't take long, did it?  And it was worth it, right?!?  Isn't God awesome??

Not only did God use IG to remind me that I don't need to worry.  He reminded me of the verse He gave Laura.  Remember how he gave her Romans 13:11-12?  "Cast off the works of darkness, put on the armor of light"  Now go back and read the quote from Ann.  See that at the end? "...His perfect story is unfolding and unwrapping all around me & in me, THE LIGHT OVERTAKING THE DARK."  God is just screaming at me...."I have a plan for this outreach!"  It involves light and darkness...and, guess what?  Light wins.  God is using Laura and her team to bring light into the darkness.  Who am I to worry about funds?  He's got this.  I choose to believe He is King. I will not dethrone Him.  

If you want to be a part of this amazing thing God is doing in East Asia, please click on the link below.  Laura still needs over $1000 by the end of the year.  But, again...God is King.  I will not worry.  I will choose trust.  He will get all the glory because that's what He deserves! 

Send Laura to E. Asia

What happens when you pray....

A couple of weeks ago I promised a cool story about Laura and her team. So prepare yourself, because it's pretty amazing....

Laura's team meets regularly to pray for their outreach trip and specifically for their target country. During one of their prayer times, the team prayed that God would show them what their target country needs. They asked Him to give them "words" or pictures about where they are going and what He wants for the country. Different team members got words such as "darkness," "working in the night," "working in secret," "being afraid," etc. As Laura began to pray, she got the verse "Romans 13:11-12." Everyone grabbed their Bibles (or opened their Bible apps!) to Romans and read: 

"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

Now, let me be very clear about this: our family has read the Bible and we know SOME verses from the Bible. But God did not "drop" John 3:16 into Laura's head. Romans 13 is NOT a chapter we've read over and over. It is not a chapter we memorized as a family. Folks, this verse came to Laura from God and God alone. Only He gets the glory for this! 

We believe God was telling the team NOW IS THE TIME!! WAKE out of SLEEP!! The NIGHT is FINISHED! The salvation for this country (that cannot be named) is near. Cast off DARKNESS and put on LIGHT. Hallelujah!! Go GOD!!!

Now tell me that's not amazingly cool!! Tell me God doesn't know EXACTLY what He's doing! He's using these TEENS to bring SALVATION to the WORLD! He's using these TEENS to push back the DARKNESS and bring in HIS LIGHT!! And He's using HIS WORD to remind them of their calling!! 

Will you help bring HIS LIGHT to E. Asia?? Laura leaves in less than a month. She is totally trusting God to raise the final funds she needs to go. No matter the amount needed, we believe that GOD will provide!

Please click on the link below to learn more about how to support Laura:

Send Laura to E. Asia