Written by Amber -

The countdown to our Mission Trip to Arizona is heating up!

We are beyond excited at this point! If you haven't yet heard, Chad and I are heading out on a Mission Trip to Whiteriver, Arizona in a group of 15 young adults from July 6 - 13, 2013. This unique group spans 4 states and 6 churches.

Back in November of 2011, while listening to the song, "Come Away" (shown below), God gave Chad a very specific vision to pull together young, like-minded Jesus-followers from across the country to go out and serve together in the southwest US. As more details of this mission unfolded like a treasure hunt to the different people involved, we each picked up clues & confirmations along the way. Each clue has been more exciting than the last and we've all grown in our faith in God more than ever in the process.

You'd think that the main growth and "journey" of a mission trip starts when you arrive at the location on your first day, but we believe that our group's journey started on the day the vision was received. It's been more than a year and a half in the making and there have definitely been patches of struggle & doubt along the way. In February of 2012 Chad and I, feeling defeated, knelt in prayer, fervently asking God to speak to us with continued direction for this trip. In the following moments as we each listened silently, God laid Scripture on both of our hearts to encourage us:

For Chad from Isaiah 46:9-11 (NLT):
"Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you the future
  before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
  for I do whatever I wish.
I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
  a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
  and I will do it."

For Amber from Ezekiel 12:25 (NLT):
"For I am the Lord! If I say it, it will happen. There will be no more delays..."

If that's not a clear call to get up and get moving, I don't know what is! It was the perfect confirmation and encouragement for Chad and I to press forward with the mission trip plans God had given us along the way. At that point, we began praying HARD and pulling together a team to make it happen: And God rose up 13 others to join us. As a Team, we began raising financial support for the trip (which Chad blogged about here): And now, GOD HAS FULLY FUNDED OUR TRIP through the generous donations of friends and family! We are so blessed and encouraged by God's fulfilled promises to us. We're still accepting donations to help cover some of the costs of flights to get out there and also for special donations we'll leave with the ministries when we're out there. If you'd still like to help, check out our online giving page.

Seeing the way all of the details have fallen into place encourages all 15 of us. This trip is not something we signed up for because we thought it would be super fun or because we wanted to see the beautiful southwest. We are only going because God called out to us directly. He has orchestrated the logistics, financials, connections, and skills/passions of our Team SO perfectly up to this point. I get chills just thinking about what might be waiting for us in the local Apache Reservation ministries we'll be serving with! BRING IT ON!

With a group that spans the country, we've made good use of technology to have video chat meetings. We laugh together, get to know each other, pray together, learn together and plan together. We've got two more video chats left before we leave & meet up IN PERSON at the airport in Phoenix! (I just got chills again....)

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

"Come Away" by Jesus Culture
Watch the music video here »
Come away with me, come away.
It's never too late, it's never too late,
It's not too late for you.
I have a plan for you, I have a plan.
It's going to be wild,
It's going to be great,
It's going to be full of Me
Open up your heart and let me in

FIFTEEN MORE DAYS! • Fully funded & ready to serve