For my good and for His glory!

June 3rd, 2016
First day in El Salvador

Wow... What a day!

Actually, what a night! It was quite an adventure for me... God continues to put me under pressure in new, interesting ways. Flying internationally by myself is intimidating enough without flight delays and acts of well, God Himself!

If I had any one thing that I had been concerned about in my travels, it was lost luggage... and while that did happen, it was the beginning of the end of my struggles [addendum to this entry because I wrote it yesterday and I'm publishing it today: my luggage is still lost. Please pray that it will be returned to me soon!].

Everything would have gone smoothly... if I had picked another airport to fly from. But no, I had to pick Texas, where thunderstorms cause runway delays... Though it was actually pretty comical for a while!

We landed in an alternate airport (on an alternate flight because the previous one was delayed) to refuel and wait to land at the original airport (that was experiencing a thunderstorm). While we landed, refueled, and waited for the next move, it was completely, blindingly sunny. About an hour later and it started to rain... then came the lightning and thunder... Now we were stuck at the alternate airport for the same reason that we could not land at the original one! How's that for a plot twist???

Finally, we made it to Houston (we had been stuck on the runway in San Antonio). But surprise... the flight I was supposed to be on took off while we were landing. I hadn't quite started panicking yet, but I was getting kinda close to it. I looked online and United still had a flight to El Salvador that had been delayed.

"Perfect!"
...you would think...

The gate turned out to be a New Zealand flight instead! That's when I got nervous... Now I'd have to wait in a customer service line with 200+ other people waiting to find new flights. At this point, it was getting late into the evening (I was up at 3 am to fly out here and it was now around 10 pm in Texas). Exhausted and alone, with no one to save my spot in line so that I could eat or rest or do anything, I began to cry. I knew that I had to keep going, even though I desperately wanted to just go home. Long ago, God gave me a desire to always finish what I start and that's kept me going for a majority of my life. The situation reminded me of the special I sang in church last Sunday: For my good and for His glory. 

"It's ok to pour out your heart to God, but never turn your back on Him."

Conclusion to this story: While in line for a customer service desk that I had been redirected to, I found that flight to El Salvador at a gate near my spot in the line. Though I did lose my baggage due to the last minute nature of the flight, I did finally arrive in El Salvador! And even if it was a long and hard journey, I know that God's blessings are right around the corner!

In Christ,

Stephanie Mitchell

Support Letters

Ahhhh... That satisfying sigh... After weeks of school work and job work, I finally found time to really put my nose to the grindstone on these support letters! Hopefully, I will have them all sent out by next week, Lord-willing. I have to say thank you to my wonderful boyfriend for putting up with me in the past couple of weeks. I have been majorly stressed about so many things. School is beginning to catch up with me and everything that I need to do before I graduate is slowly accumulating. Even as I write this post, I'm on Facetime with my boyfriend who is printing out my graduation invites! Shout out to #elementgd for all of his time, effort, and hard work, they turned out great!
I still have a lot to accomplish in the next two months. I still need to purchase my tickets for El Salvador and get a billion other things in order. (Don't worrry, I've started a to-do list so I have a little less reason to panic... for now!)
Please pray for wisdom and guidance in this time... and some prayer-given sanity would be a nice bonus as well! Pray for the souls of those in El Salvador that possibly, in two months, I could be reaching!
Praise the Lord, I'm graduating soon!

A Crown of Hope

Ever have those moments when you begin to wonder, "God, what *are* you doing?"

Yeah? Well for me, today is one of those moments. I haven't been getting many hours at work lately and here comes the ultimate bombshell: I'm sick and one of the few days that I'm scheduled for this week is tomorrow... which I may have to call in for since I don't want to cough all over everyone's food (I work food prep in a restaurant).

El Salvador... the trip of a lifetime... the trip that could be the key to finding out what God wants for my life... the trip I have to raise a total of $4,000 for... I'm hoping to get $3,000 of that from outside sources and I was hoping to provide myself with the first thousand for plane tickets and whatever else is needed. But now... now I'm asking God what He's doing.

I wanted to be able to contribute to my own cause, not to just beg others for money. Is that so small of a request? Just to raise $3,000 in 3 months would be a miracle. Now is God asking me to have faith in Him for all $4,000?

Maybe there's a lesson in all of this...

Over the past few days, I feel like I've been hearing the same phrase over and again: "It's not about you."

My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time at our college Spring Banquet. That's where I first heard the phrase. The theme of the banquet was, "It's all about you." but the message behind it was, "It's all about Him" (obviously the "Him" being Jesus Christ).

Maybe God is trying to convict me about something here... something important... something I try *my* best to reflect and fail every time...

I try to make myself part of the solution... I say, "God, I'll let you step in for most of my needs, but I wanna help!" Helping isn't bad in and of itself, but what if I'm putting myself before Him? My faith is not bigger than my fears. I always want to have a back-up plan just in case I'm trusting God for the wrong thing. But if I'm trusting Him for the right thing, it will all fall into place on its own... Maybe I just need to recognize that.

Again and again, I am reminded that my name means "crown", but constantly I struggle to understand the significance behind it... A crown is a symbol, but a symbol of what? A symbol of royalty... but if I am to be a symbol of royalty, of what sort of royal symbol am I? A symbol of righteousness? Of faith? Of peace? Of what??? My King is the King over all kings... I suppose a little faith in Him wouldn't be too much to ask...
After all, everything I do should not be meant to please myself, but to please Him.

Maybe this is simply a test of faith. After all, "...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb 11:1)

Maybe I am meant to be a crown of faith... My needs have always been provided, I have always had the protection of God on my life (trust me, if I didn't, I would know!), and no matter how worried I get about things, they always work out the way God intended. Maybe this is yet another of God's intentional moves. And as a crown, I should simply shine for Him, no matter how many clouds I can't see through.

I wasn't sure if I was going to really publish this online for you all to see, but honestly, if I ask God to work, then why should I be nervous about making a claim on God's faithfulness?

"When we work, we work.

When we pray, God works."

Updates!

Haven't posted in quite some time...
Guess that means that it's time for some updates!

College:
Obviously I've started my last semester of college (part of the reason why I haven't updated in a while). It's going well, I'm enjoying my classes. An easy class schedule has made my days a little less stressful time-wise, but considering all that I need to accomplish before I graduate has created some stress in that direction.

Progress towards El Salvador:
At this moment, I believe that God is leading me toward this trip. I have prayed that God would direct me and that if this is not His will, He would put a stumbling block in my way. So far in prayer, fasting, counselling, and etc., all of these have been pointing in a positive direction. Every time I mention it, there is no opposition, only positivity (it's actually part of the reason I've been so nervous!).

I am currently in the process of getting my adult passport (please pray that there will be no issues with this as the timing is so short) and I am also trying to save money for the plane tickets. I will also need to research travel insurance to see what will best suit my needs in the country. There is much to plan for in making this trip a reality.

Graduation:
On this final note, I am enjoying the fact that this is my final semester. Exciting things are coming: Senior photos and the Spring Banquet this Friday... Praise the Lord! :)

Details, details

So I'm sure everybody wants to know: how did you even come up with the idea of El Salvador???

Well, for one thing, I didn't "come up with the idea". Actually, I had no clue where my life was heading after college. I pondered that for a very long time, to be honest. I couldn't decide if I should go back to Washington for a few months, then back to California for work or just go back to Washington and just come to visit my boyfriend during his breaks from school. I didn't know if I should try to seek for a position in my home church or another church in Washington. I had high hopes for Interview Days at my college, but my hopes were dashed when those hiring realized I was a Missions Major [they were all looking for Education Majors]. I was disappointed.

I had seen a slide about El Salvador internships during the Missions Conference that Lancaster Baptist was having. This was prior to Interview Days and I pondered the idea a bit, but I wasn't completely sure. I mean, going to a foreign country for 6 months? "Well, I *am* a Missions Major after all, but... well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to them... right?"
So I did.

We talked. I got their email address. And that's where it all began.

I told my boyfriend about the possibility. He thought it would be awesome if I did get to go... After all, he's been to El Salvador a handful of times because of his family ties.

I was a little pensive, but hey, it'd be a great opportunity... So, I asked my parents to pray about it.

I told myself that if I didn't forget about it in a month, maybe I should consider the opportunity... That way, I would know for sure that it wasn't just some passing fancy...
I emailed the missionaries regardless just to get some information...

Then, I knew I had to tell my sister [I live with her and her family, after all!] so I found a calm time to tell her about it. She was so excited for me! I wasn't expecting quite so much excitement, but I guess that fueled my interest in this experience.

From then on, I just kept thinking about it. I even used El Salvador as the basis for a paper I wrote for Cultural Anthropology!

Ever since then, I've been praying, seeking some counsel, keeping in contact with the missionaries, and getting more excited every day!

As great as this opportunity is, I still have some very real prayer needs. 
First of all, I'd like to keep getting counsel from a few people, I just need to plan out times to talk to them! Pray for guidance and scheduling.
Also, a trip to El Salvador does not pay for itself, so finances is still a need. At this point, I'd rather not put out too much about finances, until I'm confident that this is where God wants me to go, but if you wish to help, I'd set aside any donations that you might consider giving. Even if I don't go, there are other needs that I know people have, including other graduating college Seniors at West Coast Baptist College.

Thank you so much for your support/encouragement during this critical time in my life! I am always thankful for the prayers of others.

God's blessings,

Steph

Realization

January 26th
Woke up at 6:30 a.m. this morning.
Ugh... I hate early mornings... Then, I realized: if I do go to El Salvador, during the week will be an earlier morning than even this! "Better get used to it and quit whining!" my thoughts say. "Good point..." the drowsy, lazy side of me replies.
It is exciting to think that in 3 to 4 months I could be "moving" to a foreign country... It'll be a lot of changes...
I remember how coming to college felt like culture shock to me since I had lived in Washington for my entire life, but I feel like El Salvador may be even more so. It helps to have a boyfriend who's been there and a lot of support from my friends and family.
Overall, I'm excited for this great opportunity and I'm sure it would be one of the most wonderful experiences of my life so far!

. . .

"If the only thing standing between you and God's will are preferences, then what are you waiting on? Go for it!"

                                              (Random thought during chapel, January 26th)

Ramblings

January 4th

Early morning awakenings thanks to my nephew... But I suppose it's not too bad... I can't stop thinking about El Salvador...

I have so many questions! I've already asked most of the important ones, but now I want details.
I should ask about Internet access... Maybe I could do a blog...
I wonder if my phone will work there or if I need a new SIM card...
All of these non-essential questions... Definitely gonna let the missionaries know that they're non-essential before I ask... Don't want them thinking I'm high-maintenance ;)

I'm curious about the grocery stores there too... Alex has been there, but I think the missionary may know more, having been there so long :)

Ahhhh! I haven't been able to stop thinking about the possibilities since I got that email on Saturday night... Saturday night... How late their time did he send that??? I think El Salvador is on a slightly different time zone... I'll have to check that... 
. . .
According to my phone, 2 hours ahead... 2 HOURS!!! He was up past midnight sending me that email!!!
Dedicated, for sure haha :)

This is so awesome! I'm majorly excited and I haven't even started prepping for this! Well, I guess the next step is to talk to my pastor... Gotta schedule a time to call him this week... Hopefully he won't be too busy...