Countdown.

Today is my last day at home for seven weeks. Tomorrow I travel back to Langley to join my team and the other three summer teams on a three day retreat. We will be attending sessions to prepare us for our experiences on mission, spending time connecting as a team and building stronger relationships, spending time in God's beautiful creation, in prayer and the Word, and eating together of course. Then, in just FOUR short sleeps we will be boarding a plane to London and eventually Tel Aviv.
Even though it is so close, for me it just hasn't sunk in yet that very shortly I am traveling halfway across the world to spend six weeks with an incredible group of students to see how God will work in our lives. My head knows that I will be living in the places that Jesus was born and where he grew up, that I will most likely walk the same ground that he did, that I will meet amazing people and my heart will be both encouraged and broken by their stories, and that my life will be changed. I guess my heart just hasn't gotten the memo yet. My heart is still processing the completion of my third year of University (what a blessing!), saying good-bye to dear friends, some of whom I do not know when I will see again, and soaking up the sights and sounds of home (hello ocean, hello mountains).
So, although it may not seem real until we are walking onto the plane at YVR or even until I walk off the plane in Tel Aviv, I know that God is preparing my heart. I know that he has a plan for my time in the Middle East, and that if I trust him completely, I will have the great privilege of being a part of that plan.
In conclusion, I would like to share some verses that someone gave to me in preparation for this trip:

"When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,
they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
He allowed no one to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:
"Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm."
- Psalm 105:12-15

Blessings,
Carly

U p d a t e.

Hello friends!

Just going to write a short post to update you all before final exam time hits. I probably won't be writing much, if at all, until exams are done, which will then be a week before we leave! Ah! Our whole team is feeling more and more excited for this trip, what we are going to be able to do, and what God is going to do in and through us. 

Here is our first complete team picture!

As I've written in previous posts, we now have eight members; four guys and four girls. I am really looking forward to travelling and working with all of these great people. 

Back Row L to R: Matt, Stephen, Colin, Dara, Dave

Front Row L to R: Chiantelle, Carly, Nita

Here is a fancy picture from one of our team meetings:

In our team meetings a few of us have been able to share our testimonies, we eat food together, laugh together, talk about the trip and prepare, and most importantly, share God's Word and pray together. 

We had a fundraiser a couple of weeks ago on campus. All four of the summer teams going from Trinity had a table and shared food and our vision with whoever stopped by. There was free coffee and tea, and each team sold various baked goods. It was really encouraging to have people stop by the table and want to know what our trip's purpose and vision is, and to become excited about it as well.

Another really great thing that happened recently was our commissioning chapel. Last week a chapel was dedicated to the summer teams. There was a slideshow of pictures shown of each team and those in chapel learned more about where each trip was going and what they hoped to accomplish. Then, all those sitting in chapel were invited to come down and surround the team that they felt like God was calling them to support, and we spent a while in prayer for the teams. I felt so blessed to have such an amazing community of people supporting us and covering us in prayer. 

Well, that is all I have for now. The next time I write we will be so close to leaving! Please keep all of us in prayer as we write final papers and final exams. We love you all! 

Blessings, 

Carly

Crunch time.

Hello all,

I hope you all are well. We had a team meeting today, and although not everyone could be there, some of us were able to share our testimonies and learn a bit more about each other.

Some of the team members are feeling a bit anxious and worried about the finances for the trip. Please pray that we would all continually be learning what it means to trust fully in God and to trust His provision. We believe that He has put us all together for a reason, and that He has a purpose and plan for the trip.

I shared with the team this morning how I read Psalm 22 this morning, and how encouraged I was by David's struggles. He journeyed through valleys and mountain tops. The Psalm begins with, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (which are also words that Jesus spoke while he was hanging on the cross). But David doesn't leave it there. He writes of his struggles, his pain, how he is in trouble and needs God's help, but he also praises God. He recognizes that through all of the horrible things that he is going through, God is still good, faithful and just. God doesn't change. God loves us. I love the last verse which reads,
"They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it."
God's done it! He has it all under control! Ah, how comforting a thought that is.

Blessings,
Carly