Departure day is here!!

Holy Moly!! I'm leaving for Africa in 9 hours according to my countdown!! My drive down to Sheila's went well even though I was on a few hours of sleep.. but I made it here safely and we got to have good catch-up time and lounge time last night. We ate pizza and watched movies and went to bed fairly early. I felt like I had to force myself to relax because I have tons of "to-do lists" floating around in my brain, but I'm glad I took a break :) I slept super well because I was so exhausted and woke up to waffles and strawberries (yummmy). If you can't tell I'm probably going to miss food the most which is probably why I've gained like 10 pounds since I've been home! HAHA. After breakfast we ran some errands to get some fun things for the plane like a sleep mask, ear plugs, coloring book and crayons, word puzzles, and Sudoku. I also have reading material, music, cards, and my journal to keep me occupied not to mention the best traveling buddies for great conversation!! My last, yet most important, errand was to stock up on snacks for when I'm in-country and missing good tasting goodies. I got starburst, cheez-its, granola bars, and cookies in little individual packages, as well as some crysal light to-go packets to flavor up my water a bit. So now I'm all set to go! I'm still at Sheila's and about to leave in a little bit to drive to my sister's so we can have lunch, take a shower, and relax before we drive to the airport. I feel pretty calm, but it's probably just because it hasn't hit me yet. I don't think it will until probably a couple weeks of being in Malawi and I will still have 6 weeks left to go! I can't wait!!

Here are just a few reminders before I leave:
1) Once I arrive I will get one phone call which I will use to talk to my parents and let them know I am safe and sound. I then left my mom a phone list of people to call so she can relay the message which includes: my sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles, my three best girl friends (Megan, Raven, and Ashley), one representative from my church at home and in San Diego, one Courtside representative, and Sheila so she can tell our other roomies.
2) After my initial contact with home I will not be able to communicate for 2 weeks just so that we can effectively begin our cultural immersion process and stay focused on our purpose in Malawi. After that I will be able to have limited computer access so please check my blog regularly since it will be my main source of contact!!
3) I am turning off my phone and leaving it in the US so I won't be able to receive calls, but please feel free to leave as many voicemails as you want to so I can hear your precious voices when I get home! I will call you all when I get back and can't wait to share my stories and pictures with you!
4) I just realized that I never posted my official job for the summer. Please refer to my previous post called "Our creative juices are flowing..." for a description. Our original ideas for the widow's home, art class, and teenage girl outreach have now been established and I'm so excited to see them develop further with our service and God's guidance!

Here are a few prayer requests for the next 8 weeks:
1) That we will have a stress-free travel by getting all our stuff through customs smoothly.
2) That we will all stay healthy.
3) That we will transition smoothly into the Malawian culture.
4) That we will be received with favor by the natives as well as the rest of our team.
5) That we will remain flexible and patient.
6) That we don't let ourselves get in the way of God's plan, but that we will follow Him wherever He leads us even if it is scary and uncomfortable.
7) That our hearts and minds will be transformed by what we experience.
8) That we will be able to bring people to Jesus through our love for them and establishing meaningful relationships.
9) That we can slow down and learn how to listen.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and donations! I couldn't have done any of this by myself since when I applied for the internship I had no ideas whatsoever on how I was going to raise the money. But, God is so faithful and has provided abundantly by using you all in His plan for me!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I love you tons!! I will update you again in 2 weeks :) See you all in August!!

In Him,
Karin

Packing until 3 AM

This shouldn't surprise you.. I am the biggest procrastinator alive!! Haha. Today has been a crazy day.. running around all day picking up last minute items and visiting with some friends. Surprisingly I'm not that tired, probably because of all the excitement. I have felt encouraged by my home church community since the past 2 weeks I have been prayed over by the college group that I used to be involved in before I moved to San Diego. It's awesome to be able to catch up with everyone when I'm home and still have those relationships as well as meet new faces. After college group, I was up late last night spending time with my best friend Megan, just chatting and eating ice cream.. what we do best :) Then I was woken up bright and early by my parents so I could say bye to them as they headed off to Vegas to celebrate the end of the school year (teachers are spoiled with 3 months vacation!). I fell back asleep for a little bit, but not for long since it was scorching outside and I began to sweat at 8 AM and haven't really stopped since! Haha. I then got a surprise visit from my best friend Ashley and her mom (a.k.a."Mama Maxwell") complete with my favorite Starbucks drink (iced white mocha) and an awesome prayer session! Then the laundry began and the beginning of lots of packing to come. I not only had to pack for Africa, but also to go back to San Diego since I won't be coming home before school starts again. Then I met my friend John at Aqui's for lunch and had amazingly refreshing pineapple-strawberry sodas and good conversation as always! Then the errands began... I bought one more skirt at Ross, a copy of "The Irresistible Revolution" for Rachel (the four of us are going to be reading it together throughout the summer), went to the bank... twice, Target, and the UPS store to get a packing box for my supplies. On my way home I stopped by my best friend Amanda's house (she has air conditioning and a pool!!). She wrote me a precious card which said "I will be praying for you while you're in Mexico" among other nice things... HAHA she won't live that one down... she tried blaming it on the heat.. Oh well :) She said she will also pray for me while I'm in Africa so that's comforting! Then I drove over to my friend Josh's house to say bye to him because he's leaving tomorrow to spend the summer in Lake Tahoe working at Safeway! I'm super excited for him and told him to say hi to my parents when they go shopping since we spend our summers in Tahoe. I then came home to pack some more until my best friend Raven came over with Togo's for dinner (I'm definitely going to have a hard time without turkey sandwiches for 2 months...). As we were eating, John and Susan (my parents best friends and Mom and Dad number 2) came over to say hi and pray for me. The rest of the night was spent packing and weighing my bags to make sure they are within the 50 lb. limits. I can't believe I fit everything in 1 duffel bag and a backpack!! I'm pretty stoked for my simplistic lifestyle I must say! Well, I'm pretty much all set to go.. just a few more details to complete (like snacks and games for the crazy long plan ride!) Megan is coming over at 8 with a bagel breakfast and to help me load my car up as I drive down to LA. I am going to stay the night at my friend Sheila's house (she was my roommate all last year and I'm super excited to see her!), then I will drive to my sister's house on Sunday morning so I can keep my car in her garage for the summer and she will take me to the airport! Those are the travel plans.. pray everything goes well and that I don't fall asleep at the wheel... I will post again before I leave!! I can't believe it's finally here! Thank you again for all your support and prayers :) I love you all!!! Ok, bed time...

God is crazy!!!!!!!!!

I went to work yesterday morning still needing $1700 to raise and came home debt free!!!!!! As you all know I have been very worried about where this money was going to come from to pay for this trip, but God definitely has His own plans. Of course to test my faith and patience He waits until 5 days before getting on the plane to display His power. I had a complete breakdown the night before as I was crying out to God in desperation. I was filled with discouragement and doubt because from what I could see the means to go were not in sight. How in the world was He going to pull this off? He has done so much already in the past few months, confirming that Malawi is where I'm supposed to be, so why was I losing faith in His timing? Well let me tell you how it all happened...
This past weekend I typed up a flyer to give to some employees describing what my plans were for the summer and how they could help by donating money, supplies, and by visiting this wonderful blog!! I have been praying that God would invoke passion in people's hearts, and that by choosing to support me in this adventure they would be able to take part in something bigger. I was able to witness a huge act of generosity, as well as the biggest confirmation from God yet. As I was training a new employee, a fellow worker came up to me and told me how great she thought this opportunity was for me and wanted to help by giving. She asked how much money I had left to raise and I told her it was about $1500. She said she wanted to write me a check for $1000. I'm not sure what my face looked like, but I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped and my eyes imediatley began to tear. All I could say was "thank you" and give her a huge hug!! I was in disbelief, not only in her large contribution, but mostly in the way God used her to fulfill His plans for me. The story doesn't end there... She came back with a folded check written for the whole $1500!!!!!!! I can't even believe this.... a huge weight has been lifted and all I can do is praise God!
Then, about 5 minutes before I was leaving work, one of our massage therapists walked in with a black garbage bag full of yarn to donate for the widow's ministry. She said she was just wondering what she was going to do with all of it as she was cleaning out her knitting closet. Perfect timing :)
Then I came home to another $100 check from a friend, and an encouraging card with $100 from my best friend. That's it! My trip is paid! I'm going to Africa!! I am so filled with joy and encouragement as I've seen tons of people brought into this process. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

I stand in awe of His power

So I leave in 10 days which doesn't leave that much room to raise the rest of my money, but God has convinced me that He doesn't work on the same time table. It seems like right as I begin to doubt Him, He reveals Himself to me in such amazing ways in order to provide encouragement. He is constantly offering confirmation that Malawi is where I am supposed to be this summer and that He is going to make it happen! God has created environments where people are brought into my life that I would never even think would be a part of this process. So let me give you some highlights of this past week and a few ways that God has made His vision clear to me.

First off, I'm pretty much working every single day before I leave which makes me a little busy and tired, but I'm able to earn some much needed cash and be in a supportive environment.

Also, last week I had to finish up all my medical stuff so I had one appointment to complete my shots and another with my doctor to sign a medical release. I got them both scheduled just in time and with no hassle which never happens (for those of you who have experienced Kaiser.. haha) A huge blessing has been my medical insurance since all my shots were FREE!!!!!! A lot of my teammates have already racked up a huge bill for their vaccinations. I started my shots in San Diego and when I talked to the nurse about everything I needed she said that Malarone (my malaria medicine) would be the only thing not covered because it is a name-brand prescription. She said it was 5 bucks a pill and since we have to take it before we get there, every day we are there, and after we get back that means A LOT of money!! Money that I definitely didn't have. So I decided to put that off to the last minute hoping I would get a few hundred extra dollars somehow... well that didn't happen and it was time to pick up my prescription after my shots were done. I told the nurse that I didn't have the money and that I understood it wasn't covered so I might have to hold out a bit longer, but she interrupted me by saying, "Oh no that was just changed... you now just have to pay your regular co-pay." I was completely blown away and couldn't help but laugh! That's just crazy talk! HAHA. Then if it couldn't get better... I go to the pharmacy to pick it up and they didn't charge me right. I was supposed to pay my co-pay for every 30 tablets, but they only charged me once instead of 3 times. The pharmacist caught it and said, "Don't worry about it we won't tell... have a great trip!!" Once again my only response was laughter. I was in such disbelief that God was seriously doing this! Once again, money is completely out of my control. He is so good :)

Another cool story is that the other day at work I was talking to a coworker about my trip and she asked how much money I still had to raise. I told her that I still had a quite a bit to go, so she created a plan right on the spot. That night she baked brownies and made a donation box with my picture on it and started selling them to employees at the club. I was so touched by her thoughtfulness and willingness to step up and help out. What a blessing!

Also, I was feeling discouraged about not recieving any responses to my support letter recently in the mail. I was also getting worried because I had to have all my mail forwarded home if it was sent to San Diego and I wasn't quite sure if it was working or just getting lost somewhere. Then yesterday, right as I was feeling really overwhelmed about my finances, my dad walks in with the mail and I had 3 letters! The last one I opened was a large unexpected check and an encouraging note from a family member!! I broke down in tears as I was humbled by His power and renewed by His faithfulness.

Then tonight, after sharing my plans for the summer with a group of old and new friends, a girl who I had just met felt led to give me money. She said that she was trying to figure out what to do with it and after hearing about my trip she really wanted to help me out! I had just met her! I didn't know what to do! I was so amazed by her generosity!

These are just a few ways that God has been loving on me this past week, and I hope it is an encouragement to you. He truly never gives up on us and is able to provide in ways that we can't even imagine to be possible. It's so encouraging to see people feeling called to give and to do it joyously! Please pray for continued provision as well as the ability to be joyous in all things :)
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18