My Mantra

The Lord is SO FAITHFUL to provide!!!

I feel like this has become my mantra lately.
Which I'm ok with...I feel like it's a good one to have. :)

But seriously, no matter what has happened in the past year of preparation for this trip, God has constantly been providing for our needs left and right. He is SO good and SO gracious...let ALL the praise and glory and honor go to Him and Him alone!!

We have had more supply donations from some wonderful people and I just received another check in the mail from a family back in my home town (better late than never!) I just feel so blessed to have people in my life that care about me and recognize the importance of this trip. Yesterday, while my friend April was giving me several items, she said that she loves missions and has such a heart for it, but can't go on any trips because of her job...so she figured that she can still be a part of it all in some way by donating to me and Emily. Gracious, I just wanted to cry and hug her and just jump up and down and say YES!!! THAT'S THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!!

I feel like that's EXACTLY what God calls us to do in His Word. If we can't go ourselves, we need to be sending others!!

Thank You Lovely People!

Can I just say how thankful I am for people???

I never realized how many truly sincere and giving people I knew until I started to get ready for this trip.

Earlier this week I started some Facebook chatter through a note and event about mine and Emily's trip, asking for donations for the trip and such. The response was almost overwhelming!! Granted, I don't know how many people will follow through, but what I DO know is that so many people have followed through already!

Just a couple of shout-outs: The Haste family brought us all sorts of treats (including a VAST supply of wet wipes!!!! PTL!!!!) When Becca went home this week, she remembered to bring me and Emily some hand-held battery powered fans (those will be soooo useful in the 130 degree heat!!!) Ashleigh really surprised me. We haven't talked or hung out on a regular basis since freshman year of college and yet she went out of her way to buy us a whole bag-full of mac and cheese packets and tuna!!! There are other people that I would also love to specifically mention because not only has God really provided through them for me this week, but they have been a CONSTANT blessing throughout the entire prep process...however, they have specifically asked me to not mention them by name when I say my thank you's. (You know who you are though, and I am so grateful for you!!!)

There are many others of course. Those were just the first examples that popped into my mind. What's just so awesome to me though is how these people really showed up for me just at my craziest moment--when I was saying "Lord, I don't know how I'm going to do this!!! You are going to HAVE to provide because I've run out of options!!!"

This whole year of constant preparation for this trip to Niger has been one of the biggest learning processes of my life!! God has really shown me that HE is the Ultimate Provider and Sustainer. Without Him, I can do NOTHING. It's been all about TRUSTING and OBEYING, and realizing that HE IS WITH ME NO MATTER WHAT!

There have been times this year where I know I've failed to obey God in drastic ways. I am not proud of those moments/decisions. I am still constantly struggling with the consequences of those decidions and with new battles every day. AND YET!!! God has still CHOSEN to provide for me! He's still chosen to send me to this place!

Oh, how His grace overflows...I am so thankful and humbled by it all...

And honestly, (to get back to my original point) I've seen this grace and provision from Him shining through the people He has placed in my life. The ones who are aware of my struggles...they love me still. The ones who have seemed to come out of nowhere in order to help me with items for this trip...I know that God has placed that specific desire to help me on their hearts.

I am thankful to my friends and family for being God's representatives to me...
And I am thankful to my Saviour, Jesus Christ, for saving me--taking away my sins once and for all--and showering me with love, peace, and an overabundance of sweet grace...I love you Lord!!!

An Answer To Prayer!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!
Our prayers have been answered and WE HAVE A FLIGHT TO AFRICA!!!

As of Wednesday afternoon, Emily and I found out that our official departure date is MAY 17TH!

We acknowledge that only OUR GOD is big enough and powerful enough to make this happen for us!! We are SO THANKFUL to Him for always providing for our needs!!

Thank you for all your prayers concerning us, and PLEASE keep praying!!


~TGBTG~

Prayer Request: Money

Alright everyone. I need you all to pray for a specific ammount of money to come into my possession within the VERY near future in the form of $650.

I need $400 for the rest of my vaccinations.
I need $150 for my visa expenses. (I have to guess-timate on this one...but I feel like $150 will be enough.
I need $100 (at least) for my supplies that I will need to buy prior to the trip.

In February, God granted me $1,000 in ONE WEEK'S TIME. I trusted that He would provide for all my needs, and so far He has done so in mind-blowing ways!!! :) I trust that it is God's will for me to go to Niger, and since that's the case I KNOW He will get me there somehow!!

Just please continue to pray...for the money, for the airline troubles that still need to be worked out...and pray that mine and Emily's faith will be strengthed through this process. The Lord is doing a great work in us and while we may not understand His timing or way of providing, we just have to believe and trust that everything's already been taken care of. :)

Prayer Request: Airlines

So getting to Africa is becoming slightly difficult.
Our departing flight keeps getting rescheduled but never confirmed. We already paid for these tickets months ago so we're trying to work it out with the airline where we won't have to pay MORE money on top of the $2,000 (each!) we already spent on airfare.

Emily has been a saint and has contiuously tried calling the airline over and over and over again over the past several weeks--each time being put on hold for at least an hour and then being given the run-around. She finally put her foot down today and said we needed an answer from the airline by THIS WEEKEND.
Guys, I cannot even begin to stress the importance of why we need to have this set in stone. We can't apply for our visas until we have a confirmed departing flight. And we have to apply for our visa by next week at the latest. If we don't get our visa on time, we don't get into the country.
So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray that we will have a definite answer from SOMEONE by this weekend!!!

We know that the Lord will get us there someway, somehow. He has already led us in such a mighty way when it comes to this trip. He is going to do a mighty and powerful work in the lives of the Songhai and (I believe) in our lives as well. When you pray for us, ask God to not only provide for our needs, but thank Him for the blessings He has already granted us and will CONTINUE to grant us!

We serve an awesome God. Glory WILL be brought to His Name through this trip. Amen!!

Pain and Countdowns

MY ARMS HURT LIKE THE DICKENS!!!

This is what I get for not keeping up with my vaccinations over the years.
But at least I'm done for now, PTL!! :)

Yesterday, after spending WAY too much money at the pharmacy, Susie The Nurse shot up my arms with the Hep A, Meningitus, and Tetanus vaccs. Thankfully I had already received my Yellow Fever vacc and the Typhiod and Malaria meds are both done orally, so I feel like I'm pretty much done!!

Something you all could be praying about though is that God will continue to provide the money for the remaining meds when I go pick them up. Since I got the final shots yesterday, a huge portion of the cost has already been taken care of. However, I don't have the money at the moment to go and pick up my Malaria pills and the two prescriptions that I'll need in-country. Thankfully, I won't need those till about two weeks before I leave, so there's still plenty of time for God to get me the rest of the money! He has been so faithful to provide so far, and I am confident that He will continue to show us just how big and powerful and in control of everything He really is! :)

P.S. I started a countdown to the trip today... only 1 MONTH AND 13 DAYS LEFT!!!!!

You're All Updated! Yay!

Ok, so now my series of "Catching You Up!" is FINALLY complete!

If you would like to read any of the original posts, you can find them at my other blog: http:// erinbloss.blogspot.com

From now on, anything you read will be about what's happening NOW. Pretty exciting stuff huh?! :) So keep checking back and I'll have more info for you here in a little while!

To God Be The Glory! TGBTG

Catching You Up! Pt. 7: Thanks

I wrote this on 1/20/11 as a sort of response to something I had read in Pastor Jason's blog. When you're finished reading it, I would encourage you to thank God for the people He has placed in YOUR life as your partners in the Great Commission.

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"Who we journey through life with is important. We all need good friends that we can stand in Christ with. Praise God for your friends today and celebrate the fact that Jesus calls us to community and to live on mission with others who love us, love Him, and that we love."
Pastor Jason Pettus, Living Hope Baptist Church

I follow my pastor's blog. I don't know if that's creepy or not since I've only talked with him in person twice and I don't think he remembers who I am. But his posts bring me great encouragement so I justify that as a good enough reason to keep following his posts. :)

Recently, Pastor Jason wrote about Paul and the men who traveled with him in his ministry. As I was reading about them, my mind also wandered to Jesus and His twelve traveling companions, the disciples. As I came to the end of the blog post, I thought back over all the people that I have had the priviledge of serving with on the mission field and thought I should write a short blog very quickly to thank some of them for the way that they've impacted my life.

Jana Clark: As I was thinking about thanking you for serving with me on the mission field, I started running through all the trips in my head. At first the three years of LaVillita came to mind but then I remembered Reynosa, Mexico AND that one week in Mississippi! Oh, so many years...so many trips...SO MUCH IMPACT. You've played a huge part in my life (and continue to do so!) and I want to thank you about a million times for your constant friendship! I've always looked up to you and your faith and I'm glad that I had you as my example throughout my very first mission trips.

The Entire January 2010 Honduras Team: The entire time we were in Comayagua I thought constantly about how the trip would just have not been the same if we had had different people. I couldn't have wished for a better team to serve with. Everyone worked so well together and everyone's hearts were in the right place, which was just such a beautiful thing to witness...it just gave me a lot of encouragement. Thank you for showing me the definition of unity that week. Never forget that while you were a blessing to the people of Honduras, you blessed my heart as well.

Emily Harrod: Granted, I'm getting ahead of myself by about 5 months...But I am already so thankful that God blessed me with the priviledge to not only serve with one of the most Godly women I know, but someone who also happens to be one of my best friends! I know that the Lord is going to do great things with us in Africa this summer and I can't wait to see how that all plays out! Thank you for already being such a great encouragement to me (cause Lord knows I'll need that this summer!) and thank you for just being such a wonderful friend.

Catching You Up! Pt. 6: Faithfulness

I wrote this on 1/11/11 after really struggling with the fact that I had to give up going to Comayagua, Honduras this year in order to save for Africa. I wrote a pretty pathetic blog before this one talking about how much I missed Honduras and how I wish I had gone with the missions team and how much I missed all the kids I had grown close to...I actually sounded kind of whiney! But thankfully, the Lord still loves us and blesses us even in our whiniest moments and this post talks about what exactly He blessed me with...

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Can I just say one thing?? THE LORD IS FAITHFUL!!! After writing my last blog (Yester-year)

I realized that my heart was becoming consumed by thoughts of Honduras. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but considering the fact that I needed to be focusing on Africa, it was wrong for me to be investing all my emotions in another place. I needed a reality-slap quick or else I was going to be moping around for months and wasting precious time that could be used in preparation for my summer mission trip.

So I prayed like CRAZY. I begged God to put Africa back on my heart. I asked that He would fill me up with JOY for the people in Niger so that when I go there I am simply overwhelmed by LOVE and HOPE for them and their future in the Kingdom.

After I prayed, I took the picture that I had of me in Honduras off as my computer background and replaced it with the logo for the Niger mission work. I told myself that every time I saw that logo on my computer I would pray for the people I would be working with this summer. Then I started working on my support letter.

Let me say again, THE LORD IS FAITHFUL!!! The next morning, I woke up literally feeling like my heart was overflowing to all parts of me. I felt as if you were to split me in two, light and life and laughter and love would just come flowing out of me in a never ending burst! It was wonderful! I prayed, thanking God over and over again for answering my prayer and renewing my spirit.

Africa is back on my heart. I don't think it ever left, but I do think that I let my emotions get the best of me for some time. And now, I don't care if I never perfect the art of the French language or if I don't have as much financial support that I thought I would. God called me to this place a long time ago and I want to be able to serve Him with an undivided heart.

There was a point in time that God declared to me that He had a plan for me. I don't know what the whole plan might be, but I know this is part of it.

Bring it on. :)

Catching You Up! Pt. 4: Overwhelmed

Here's some fun insight into my life after a couple of lessons of French... I wrote this on 10/17/11...just 13 days after I was exclaiming how much I was looking forward to French lessons and how great they were! :)

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This is the first night where I have left a French lesson in tears.

Maybe it's just because it's "that time" for me to have the excuse to be overly emotional... Or maybe it's because I'm just an emotional person anyway...

Either way, there were tears.
Lots of them.

I think it was a combination of just feeling completely inadequate when it comes to learning (and RETAINING) a language, and the fact that I was on my way home to tackle a never-ending pile of homework when all I felt like doing was going straight to bed. Seriously, I have been working my butt off this weekend when it came to homework and now it's 11:41 PM, Sunday night, and I still haven't finished everything!!

However, after I finish this blog I'm calling it a night. I've gotten to the point where I just can't concentrate anymore. I have mostly everything done, I just have to do one more paper in the morning (I hope I can finish it on time!) and then finish my C.S. Lewis book for class on Tuesday. (Oh Jack, WHY did you have to write so much?!?!)

(sigh) I think I just need a vacation. I know we just had Fall Break, but really, let's be honest, how many people actually got to REST on their break?? (Not me!)

So my brilliant plan is this... Once my C.S. Lewis class is done on Tuesday, I am officially declaring the rest of the day "Erin Time." I want a break from life and everything and everyone. I won't do schoolwork, I won't run errands...I just want to rest for a little while (even if it is just one night.)

Now. If I can just survive till Tuesday.... :)

Catching You Up! Part 3: Oui!

This is a blog post I remember well. :) I wrote it on 10/4/10 after the first night of our French lessons with the Hastes, Mark, and Jill. Those French lessons were some of the best and hardest Sunday nights of Fall Semester 2010. I definitely had a love/hate relationship with them. It was really fun hanging out with everyone and trying to pick apart this new language...but French and I are NOT friends. I got frustrated with the language very quickly and honestly, I STILL AM! But I know that once I get to Africa, my survival instincts will kick in and I'll begin to pick up on phrases left and right! So far, all I remember how to say is "How old are you?" and count to ten. But hey, that's better than nothing, right? :)

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Last night was my first night of the French lessons I'm taking in preparation for Africa!!!! I may have been pretty rough, but I'm so determined to get this right. I told everyone that I wanted to be able to have a conversation with someone in French before leaving for Niger. Realistically, I don't know if that will happen. And due to the fact that my pallete is much more suited for the Spanish language as opposed to French, who knows if anyone will actually know what I'm saying once we get to Africa?? But still... :D I cannot even begin to express the excitement that is just bubbling up in my heart right now. I love getting to that point...where you've been TALKING about doing something for so long, and now it's no longer talk--THERE'S ACTION!! :) I also wrote my first email to the family that Emily and I will be partnering with in Niger (the Phillips.) I really hope they respond soon! I'm so excited to get to know them better!!! (Obviously I know about them because my church sponsers them, but I feel a little creeper-ish that I know about them and they don't really know about me! Haha!) Oh well...let's just hope they like quirky red-heads that speak French with a Spanish accent. :) ALSO! I have officially started my "Get Erin To Africa" Fund! :D I was given a piggy bank for my 21st birthday (thank you Cassie and Kristine!...He was lovingly dubbed "Porkque the Pig" and is white with pastel hearts covering his side. Pretty cute.) So this little pig of mine is going to be stuffed till he can be stuffed no more with my funds for this trip. I'm estimating he has about 60+ dollars in his belly (thanks to all the birthday money that my precious friends gave me specifically for this reason!!!) Basically, God has been gracious enough to get me off to a good start, and I am SO confident that I will see Him work many other blessings when it comes to the provision for this trip. I know that when Emily and I started talking about this possibility back in May it just seemed like some incredible dream. But the Good Lord has been faithful and has assured me that this is His plan, and it's such a wonderful reassurance to see Him work that plan out for us!! Oh, He is just so good!! :D Anyways, I know there will be more updates as time progresses. After all, we're not leaving for several more months. But, if you keep up with my blog, keep an eye out for continued progress and PLEASE keep me, Emily, and the Phillips in your prayers! :) Oh, and one more thing... Funniest quote from French lesson #1: "Greetings. I am married. I am an American girl." --Matt Haste.

Catching You Up! Pt. 2: People

I wrote this post on 9/22/10. Again, I did not write it with Niger in mind, but instead with ALL people in mind! (Hence, the original title, haha!) I wanted you to read this post so that you could a little peek into my heart. I believe that God made me with an intense love for people because He wishes to use that specifically in the mission field. As long as it is HIS love flowing through me towards others, the nations will praise Him and acknowledge Him as Lord.

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I've discovered I have an intense love for people.

I love simply living life with others. It brings me more joy and contentedness than I can express.

My dream job would be to just sit with people and talk with them all day. It doesn't have to be incredibly deep, thought-provoking conversation (though I do love that...) But more than anything I love finding out what's going on in people's lives...hearing about their days, what has made them happy, what they're struggling through...

To live life with people...what an incredible gift from God! And when I say "live life" (because I've found myself using that phrase in conversation quite often) I mean to truly walk with people through all kinds of situations...to be on the "inside" when it comes to what they're going through...to know all the intricate little details of what makes their heart burst with joy or break with sadness and to learn the "hows" and "whys" of it all...

Obviously, I don't know each and every single person I meet on this kind of a level. But every time I have a meaningful conversation with someone (something past "ohhihowareyou i'mgood greathaveaniceday") I feel like it's just one step closer to that point. I feel sometimes that maybe that's how we were originally meant to interact with each other...to have that constant fellowship with our fellow man...

...Or maybe I'm just a really big people person. ;) Either way, I swear I'm not trying to be nosy, I'm just genuinely interested in life and all its precious happenings.

It's just the way I was made. :)

Catching You Up! Pt.1: Labor

I wrote this post on 8/18/10. I wasn't writing specifically with Niger in mind, but the more the Lord prepares me for this journey, the more I see the Truth in what I wrote that day...that maybe we are called to be "laborers" because God's ministry is the hardest job we will ever have. But in the end, the labor is worth everything when we stand before Jesus and He says "Well done my good and faithful servant..."

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Labor: Physical or mental exertion, especially when difficult or exhausting; work. Laborers: A person engaged in physical work.

Thought for the day: God refers to us as His "laborers" preparing for the harvest...maybe because His ministry requires committing to the hardest work we will ever face. Sometimes it may not be easy, and sometimes we won't see the outcome till Heaven, but our work is never done in vain when done for the Lord. That last part is something that I have to constantly remind myself of.

For instance, today I struggled through a conversation with someone about my role in a ministry and my doubts about it all...but I need to be reminding myself that no matter what happens--whether I stick with one ministry, or transition to another--as long as I am working for the Lord, then it counts. It is not "purposeless"...it does not subtract from the grand scheme of things...and NOTHING I do will EVER take away from His Great Plan for me.

My constant encouragement over the last couple of weeks has been the knowledge that I can't do anything to change Christ's love for me, or change His Great Plan for my life. Because I have been assured by God Himself that He will walk with me through this life and that He has a future planned out for me--a Purpose that He is accomplishing even now. So I will continue to labor for my God. It may not be easy, but it IS worth everything--and through that, He will accomplish something great in me and through me.

"And these are the days of the harvest The fields are all white in the world And we are the laborers that are in your vineyard declaring the word of the Lord..." -Days of Elijah

Fo Fo!

I've been told that "Fo Fo" in the Songhai language is used for both "Hello!" and "Thank you!" so I thought it would be PERFECT to use for this first post!

So, hello! And welcome to my new blog! Thank you for taking the time to read it! Fo Fo! :)

This will be the place where I keep you all up to date on what's going on now (before the trip) and what is happening once Emily and I have safely reached Niger! So please, subscribe to this blog, tell all your friends about it so they can keep up with us too, and keep checking back regularly so that you can read all about what God is doing in our lives and the lives of the Songhai!

To God Be The Glory!

TGBTG