To say I am abundantly blessed would be an understatement.

The past month has been emotional, raw, challenging, and fruitful. We've shared our testimonies with each other and our ministry, collaborated on numerous things like cooking and cleaning, and have been fully surrounded and engulfed in the Lord's presence.

Colossians 3:12

After the first few weeks we got into a routine of balancing our own classes while also doing ministry. It was difficult to steward our time well with all the free time we had and the excitement of being in a new place while also wanting to get to know each other more, we got the hang of it after a while. What has helped is constantly being reminded of why we are on this trip to begin with. Was it for classes? Was it for ministry? Was it for the travel? The answer to all of these questions is yes. But it all comes back to the main reason we are on this mission, we all love our creator and want to share His love with the world.

Ephesians 2:10

I'll be honest, at first I was upset with the ministry I was doing, I felt that the gifts God gave me were not put into use and we were not making a difference in these children's lives. I was wrong though. Our ministry team's job was to go to this church every day and play with these kids for 2 hours, I felt like a glorified babysitter. I had expressed my feelings to my team and we all felt the same. But, after bringing it to one of my leaders attention I was reminded of my why for this trip. I came here to show the love of Jesus to everyone I come in contact with, and if that means playing volleyball for 2 hours every day, then I'm happy to do it. And trust me when I say, leaving was heartbreaking. On our last day of ministry, I cried like a baby, wishing I had changed my view of my ministry sooner and took advantage of the time that I had. But it was so good to see all the relationships I had formed and I pray that I planted a seed; I pray they saw the Lord's love through us.

1 Peter 2:10-11

Now we're only a few days into our next country, ITALY! We got here on Sunday, and since then its been full throttle. We were thrown into our ministry, and I am not complaining. Here, we have ministry in the morning and classes/free time in the afternoon. so far ministry has been so fruitful! we speak at 3-5 classes a day and all these kids are genuinely interested in what we have to say. They ask such meaningful conversations and are open to hearing what we believe. So far I have encountered multiple people who are open to accepting the Lord and I'm so excited to have another week of ministry where I get to testify about what God has done in my life.

Revelation 12:11

A few prayer requests I have:

Pray that our team leads with the Holy Spirit and that He speaks through us

Pray that He gives us strength and speak the truth with gentleness and respect

Pray for my well being, that I can focus on the work that's being done here and not so much at what's going on at home.

Lastly pray for my family, as we go through this period of us being separated across the world, pray for protection and peace

Romans 10:14