And so it begins...

    Okay, so if you are reading this I want to start by thanking you for following along with me on my journey.  But secondly, please know that most of my other posts will be much more structured than this.  At this moment, I am sitting in the Atlanta Airport, and I will board my flight to El Salvador in approximately 30 minutes.  Once I'm there, I won't have wifi again until Saturday morning, so I just wanted to update everyone real quick.  So please excuse any grammatical errors or just plain old choppy writing.
     My adventure officially began on Tuesday morning, when I met my whole team in person for the first time.  After that, we went to a church camp owned by one of the team member's family.  The last couple of days have been spent doing team building exercises, worshipping together, and just getting to know the people I will be spending the next nine months with.  It's crazy to think that people who were just recently strangers will become like family very very soon.
    But anyways, last night I was sitting on the front porch of our cabin and just felt overwhelmed by the fact that it would be my last night in the States.  At that moment, anxiety began to creep in. I began to think about how I'm going to be a foreigner.  The people around me won't speak my language.  I'm going to live without AC and warm water.  And I'm leaving the people that I have loved my entire life and a place that has always been home.  As each of these thoughts crossed my mind, anxiety flooded into my heart.  Right before I went into a full-fledged panic attack, I felt the Lord calling me into His Word.  So I went to where I had left off that morning: Mathew 19.  And the Lord filled me with a peace that only He can bring.
     I read about the rich young ruler and how he could not meet the requirement to follow Jesus.  You see, Jesus requires it all, and so often, we feel that we just have too much to lose.  We couldn't possibly walk away from everything that we have or know.  Even the disciples were intimidated by this requirement.  But Jesus leaves his followers with a promise.  Jesus whispered truth to me last night.  He says, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." (Mathew 19:29)
    I know Jesus has called me to this, and I know I'm giving up a lot.  But I know He is so much better!  I know He is sufficient for me!  And I know that He loves and cares for me more than anyone else, and that He has the best plan for my life!