Let's try this one more time

Here we go again. It's been about a year since my last post, but there's a ton going on in life that needs to be shared. The summer is here and it's about to get crazy. My plane leaves in 3 weeks from DFW for a summer that will hopefully be life changing. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. Last summer was incredible and I didn't expect it to be that way at all. I think God has a way of throwing things at you unexpectedly. I think it's possible to limit what he can do in the world. Sometimes I do that. I hope I don't do that this summer. My main objective at this point is to keep an open mind to what God will do in others' lives and in my own. I've never gone anywhere like this before and I'm so eager to jump into it, but I also want to be cautious to see what God is showing me and not just what my eyes see.

So, the summer will go like this...exactly three weeks from today, I leave from DFW for La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia. I'll be traveling with a forming team, and good friends, Wes and Ellen, who have become like family, Reid, who is pretty much my brother, and Deanna, who is a girl who supposedly lives in Colorado, but I've never met her. Haha! We'll spend just 2 short days there surveying the city for the possibility of long term work there. Keep in mind that we fly into this capitol city that sits between 11,000 and 13,000 ft. Yes, if you're wondering, that's higher than many of the peaks of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I'm gasping for a breath just thinking about it. (I've started running quite a bit here in Abilene to prepare for this physically demanding portion of the trip.) After La Paz, we'll head to Concepcion and Temuco, Chile for the same purpose. After our week-long survey trip, Reid and I will spend 3 weeks in Santiago, Chile with the Grants and some others at their church. Hopefully we'll be able to learn a ton of Spanish there and stay with a local family to get immersed into the culture. I've always been interested in culture in general and the idea that people can be so different but still live in the same small world. After spending June in Santiago, we'll begin our actual internship in Lima, Peru where we'll be doing some bible studies and working with an orphanage.

Ok, so I'm beyond excited now. Here's what you can do: PRAY! Pray that God protects us on this trip. Pray that God challenges us on this journey. Pray that my heart is open to hearing the voice of our Creator. Pray that lives will be changed and that a glimpse of the Kingdom will be seen. Pray for adventure and peace as we go to new places. I'm thankful for God and his blessing on this trip through his faithful people. I'll try hard to keep updated as this thing comes together. Peace!