It has been a long time since my last update. A lot has been going on since I returned from Swaziland. In June, I moved back up to Philly for what was supposed to be a two-month trip to raise the last of my funds for Africa. It's now been five months and I'm still here! I picked up two jobs: barista by day, server by night and the rest of the time I'm sleeping.

    In September, I began to pray about the timing of my plans. God has burdened me with a vision for Africa and I just want to get up and go. I've been realizing that sometimes the road God wants us to walk is not exactly a straight one. As I turned to the Word, I kept going back to some of the major players in Biblical history.

    God gave Moses the task of delivering His people from their oppressors. Moses got to work immediately after receiving his mission: he killed an Egyptian soldier! That wasn't what God has in mind, but Moses went forward with God's work the best way he knew how. It wasn't until forty years later that He found out

how God wanted to use Moses to deliver His people. And it was forty years after they left Egypt that they actually set foot on God's promised land! Not exactly a straight path.

    I then studied the path of Nehemiah. God's task for Nehemiah was to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. At that point in history, the area was in shambles, the wall was rubble and most importantly, God's people had slumped into a complacent lifestyle of disgrace and dishonor. Nehemiah's task was not simply to raise a structure, but to raise up God's people to embrace their identity and place as the people through whom God would eventually bring the Messiah into the world. He faced enormous hurdles, opposition, and of course, the scorn of his own people. God had plans that may not have been the most logical from skeptical onlookers. Nehemiah became a servant to King Artaxerxes, the very man who would not allow the Israelites to rebuild the wall. After some time, his strategic placement and due diligence paid off. He began to rebuild the wall and rebuild the nation.

    Abraham. Noah. Paul. Jesus. I am realizing that sometimes the hardest part of a vision is the preparation and the perseverance to overcome obstacles. The path God has chosen for me does not look like it did this time last year. I thought my biggest obstacle was support raising but I have realized that I am still in a season of preparation. After much prayer, I have decided to go back to school to finish my degree in art therapy. This is not a step away from the vision God has placed on my heart, but a necessary building block to go forward in that vision with excellence.

    I will not continue to be employed by AIM as I go back to school, but will hopefully continue to be involved with the ministry (leading trips, etc). I truly love the ministry of this organization and the family I have grown a part of. I miss it already! Although I will not need financial support until I go back on the field, please continue to be a part of this vision God has laid on my heart for Africa! It's hard for me to be here when everything in me is burning to be there! Please pray for focus and perseverance (many of you know that those two things are very difficult for me), clarity as I step into the unknown and peace. I will continue to send updates and keep you posted. Thank you for sticking with me through this time and for all your support over the past two years!