Heyyo! It’s been awhile since I have updated y’all on fundraising, my route, and just my life these days.
- Soooo first, we have raised over $15,000! That is insane. I could not have gotten here without each and every one of you! So thank you so much!
- The next big update, is I have a route change. Instead of heading to Costa Rica we will be going to GUATEMALA!!! Which I am super stoked about, because that beautiful place is where my love for missions began!
- And lastly my launch date has moved up. I will be headed to Georgia for training on August 27th instead of the beginning of September! We will get a longer amount of time to connect with our squad, and possibly longer training.
It is getting more real as each day passes. I have right over 5 months until I am in a different part of the world, away from my family, my doggo, my friends, my routine, and just my normal. My sister will say to family, “anytime you’re sad thinking about Brooke leaving just remind yourself that’s she is doing the lords work.” I truly believe that God is calling me to this way of making him known. Which allows me to believe that God’s love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control will shine above the moments of worry, sadness, doubt, unworthiness, and being home sick.
The word I chose for this year is surrender! This word is hard. The idea of surrendering in this generation is hard. The action that comes with surrendering is hard. Surrendering to what is unknown, what is unseen, what may be unwanted is hard.
“Then he said to them all: whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
I have to surrender everything for 9 months, but I didn’t want to wait until then. I decided to say from January to August I will surrender my everything for all of Jesus. It hasn’t been easy but I didn’t expect it to be. Though it has been one of hardest seasons it has been one of the most fruitful. I have had the opportunity to be vulnerable, to grow, to be changed, and to be given a new perspective. We are called to deny ourselves, our problems, our stuff, and our lives and pick up our cross DAILY and follow him. It’s not just one time, one moment, one situation, and not just for one mission trip, Jesus said DAILY.
Like I said it hasn’t been easy, most days I struggle to choose his way. I even kept putting off writing this because I didn’t have the words to say since I am in the middle of it. But Y’all, when you do, it is so rewarding. Even through the swollen eyes from tears, anger, or just the desire to do it your way, you will be blessed more then you can imagine.
So I encourage and challenge y’all to join me in denying yourself and taking up your cross daily to follow the one and only.
Thank you for being people I can be vulnerable with. I will try to keep you all updated as launch gets closer and closer!!
I love y’all :)))
