Mission

I'm going to Cherepovets, Russia this summer to teach English with TeachOverseas.org! Join me in mission with prayer and support!



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Airline Ticket!

Hi Everyone!
I'm so excited because, thanks to some very generous friends, I am going to buy my one-way ticket to LA today for my week of training before I go to Russia.
Today is also important because it's April 19th and I leave for Teach Overseas on June 19th. It's only two months away!!! I can't believe it.
I am about half-way to my total fund raising goal right now, which is so amazing. Within the three weeks that my letters have been out, I have been SHOWERED, seriously. SHOWERED. with generosity.
God is taking such good care of me and teaching me so much about how I TRULY can trust in his provision and protection in all things. When I felt like He was asking me to go to Russia, the whole process seemed so overwhelming and impossible, but I knew that He was telling me that he would take care of me and that I would be surprised at how he worked in all of it. WELL--I AM surprised and I know that I will continue to be surprised daily as I prepare to go.
I've got my suitcase, I've got almost half of the support money that I need, and now I'm about to buy a plane ticket. Wow. This is cool.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A Way to Learn About the People of the World

Yesterday, my friend Olivia showed me the Joshua Project, which blew my mind. Never in my life have I seen so much information about so many different people groups in one place. I could browse through each country for hours and read about all of the different cultures represented. All you do is click on any country on the map and you can read all kinds of information about people groups, the gospel in that country, and see pictures of people from those different groups. Many of the people groups even have their own language where there isn't even a Bible or even New Testament translation. I had no idea that there were so many 'unreached' (meaning they have never heard about Jesus) groups in 'western' countries! Even Russia has 76 unreached people groups and the US has 61. Of course there are many countries where there are many more than that, but it is still shocking to hear that there are that many. There is even a link at the bottom right of the homepage called 'Unreached of the Day' that highlights a different people group daily and provides information about them and their culture. You can add the link to your blog as a widget or have it emailed to you every day. I signed up to get the update by email. What a wonderful way to educate myself about the realities of the world around me and learn about people...which is one of my greatest passions anyway. I'm so glad to have so many friends around me who are compassionate and who can teach me about resources that will educate me more about missions and the work that God is doing around the world! In Joy ~Alaina

Monday, April 4, 2011

Things are happening!

I am so blessed. So blessed. My support letters are out, so people should be receiving them sometime this week! (If you live in Ames, I'll probably hand it to you)
I was surprised at how much joy I got out of putting the support letters together and preparing them for the mail. For each letter, I prayed for the person/people that would be getting it and thanked God for putting them in my life. It was an awesome way to reflect and realize how thankful I am to God for people that I know and for the blessing to being part of his body.
Another blessing is that I received my first 'support' for Russia. A friend and her husband generously gave me a suitcase for my travels! Yay!
I am excited to see what God is going to do. I know I will be continuously blown away and amazed by how everything comes together. He IS and ALWAYS IS faithful.
In Joy,
Alaina