May 31, 2017

And just like that the semester is over, Bible college is complete, and I am back in sunny southern California. The emotional transition back into life at home has been MUCH smoother this year, for which I am grateful.
When graduation rolled around last spring I was dealing with the most potent mixture of sadness and joy as I looked back on the amazing three months I had spent in Italy and ahead to the uncertain chasm of time that lay between me and any possibility of seeing all of the Italian people I had fallen in love with. I had made a friendship that I didn’t want to move thousands of miles away from and the thought that I might not see Daniela again for who knows how many years made my heart feel like it was suffocating.
BUT, God has been so faithful and He allowed me another incredible three months in Italy (just one year later!!!) with all of the people I hold so dear, plus plenty of new friends who I now cherish and miss. About a week before graduation I was feeling that familiar sadness that kind of colors everything and makes you feel heavy (the kind that evokes long wistful sighs), but I just took it to the Lord and asked Him to turn my mourning into rejoicing.

He did.

I thought I was going to cry at graduation, but there was not a tear to wet my cheeks or ruin my mascara because the whole night was just a beautiful celebration of God’s faithfulness and power as Daniela, Alessio, Domenico, and I completed Bible college and stepped together into the next season of life, learning, and ministry unto the Lord. I am so grateful to be able to look back on this particular chapter of my life and say that I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and the best part is that the real race is just beginning as I continue to draw near to the Lord and abide in Him as He continues to bring me into all that He has for me.
The other graduates and I had the honor and privilege of giving a speech and as I stood at that podium, there was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, victory, and gratitude that washed away any prior thought of sadness or tears. All else was consumed by adoration of Him and by love; love for God, for my dear friends, and for all of you who have supported me along the way. They say that parting is such sweet sorrow, but that night there was only sweetness as God cradled me to His bosom and wrapped me in His grace.

There are so many people whose friendship I now carry with me always and who I dearly miss, but I know that I will see them all soon. Sometimes you build bonds that you know will span the globe and defy time simply because God is the one who sustains them and that is how I feel about the friendships I have been blessed with in these past 3 months. I’ve definitely been thrown some curveballs because some of the friendships I thought would be eternal and unbreakable are now almost secondary while friendships that I never really thought twice about are now some of the dearest to my heart. It’s funny how people change and how you change along with them, but I have learned so much about love, how to remain steadfast in the face of alteration and how to persevere in the face of rejection. It doesn’t matter what people do or don’t do, what matters is that God loves them regardless and we should too. I have learned (and am learning) a lot about patience and not projecting assumptions on people.

June 5, 2017

As I go back to work today, I am so excited to announce that I will be saving up for school in the fall. I will be attending Calvary Chapel Bible College (again) through their graduate return program which is a new partnership they have formed with Calvary Chapel University. In two years I will graduate with an accredited bachelor’s degree in Christian education and will then go on to earn my teaching credential.

As I have shared before, the Lord called me to be a missionary in the Middle East almost two years ago and I have had very little idea as to the specifics of that calling. You were all along for the ride as I thought I would be able to intern at the Bible college in Israel this fall and you prayed for me when God closed the door. I am overjoyed to announce that through this entire experience, God has specified His call to the Middle East down to Israel and the work that I will be doing there, Lord willing, is teaching. I am still praying about it and I am the first to admit that I have misinterpreted God’s leading before, but I am fairly confident that this is what the Lord has for me so I am taking steps of faith in this direction.
The primary goal is to be obedient to all that the Lord calls me to wherever that may be and I ask for your prayers for God’s continued guidance and provision. I am not sure how I am going to pay for school, but I know my God and He is faithful to provide.

I am so grateful for all of you and for your constant support. May the Lord richly bless you, may He keep you, and cause His countenance to shine upon you as you look to Him in all of your ways.

God bless you all.
And please, will you comment with your prayer requests so that I can pray for all of you? I would love to lift you up to the Lord the way you have faithfully lifted me.