volunteer work – OneHeart2Worlds

Is It Well With My Soul?

I have always loved the classic hymn, It Is Well With My Soul. It’s a beautiful [and famous] song that’s sung in most Christian churches around the globe. It’s filled with lyrics that speak of surrender, peace, and complete trust in a God Who is good and sovereign. One verse says, “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.”

What I didn’t know is that the author of this song – Horatio Spafford – wrote this hymn nearly a week or so after his wife and four daughters set sail on a luxury steam liner to Paris for holiday in 1873. While he stayed behind to finish up some last minute work, the rest of his family boarded the ship. After a short time at sea, their steam liner was rammed by a British iron sailing ship and had sunk in the middle of the ocean. Horatio’s wife was rescued after being found unconscious – but his four daughters drowned and were killed. Once Horatio got word from his wife about the tragedy via telegram, he boarded a boat to reunite with her. As he sailed across the exact spot where the steam liner sank (and where his daughters were killed) – he penned the words to It Is Well With My Soul.

Hectic. The tragedy that Horatio faced while writing the lyrics to this song gives it an entirely new and significant meaning. Every time I listen to the lyrics play over my iPhone speakers – I am greatly challenged by this man’s faith, and I am greatly confronted with the lack of my own.

Continue reading “Is It Well With My Soul?”

When God Gives You More Than You Can Handle

This may come as a surprise to most of you, but… I love grocery shopping.

Well, actually wait. Let me rephrase that. I love food.

In all seriousness though, I love getting to stroll through the aisles of Publix while basking in the vastness of flavored ice creams, dinosaur chicken nuggets, and super unhealthy breakfast cereals. I love the smells of freshly baked breads and birthday cakes in the bakery section, and I love the beautiful sights of the rainbow colored fruits in the produce area.

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But most of all, I love trying to carry all of my grocery bags from my car to my flat in one trip – even if it means sacrificing a groin muscle or a pinky finger in the process. I know it’s silly – but I do it every single time, and every single time I am left with bruises on my thighs and painful red indent marks across my forearms. Some would say, carrying all of those grocery bags in one trip is more than I can handle… but I say… try me.

Continue reading “When God Gives You More Than You Can Handle”

Being You-er Than You

2 + 2 equals 4… but so does 3 + 1…

Just because someone may do things a little bit differently than you, doesn’t mean they are doing it wrong. This has taken me years to understand, and I think I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of what this truth actually means.

I used to want to fit in for such a long time. Before I became a Christian, I would buy the right clothes from the right stores, wear the right hairstyles, and pierce the right body parts. I’d listen to all the top hits on Y100.7, speak the American slang, and dive deep into the popular teen magazines. I did whatever it took to blend in with the cool kids and be “one of them.”

Funny thing is… when I became a Christian, that didn’t stop. I still was desperate to fit in. I exchanged my “American slang” for “Christianese,” and I swapped out my Brittany Spears CD’s for Bethel Worship Music. I still tried to wear the right clothes – you know, nothing to “skimpy” but also nothing to “amish,” and I even tried to wear a purity ring. (Which lasted a whole five seconds, by the way.) My first few years of going to a new church and trying to figure out how to be a “good normal Christian” was incredibly intimidating. I still didn’t feel like I fit in even after I received my salvation card—not to mention, I was super unhappy because I wasn’t free to be myself. Continue reading “Being You-er Than You”

Dance in the Rain

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain”

I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for April to be over.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, April showers bring May flowers? Well, forget April showers, because this month came fully-loaded with torrential downpours! It’s been a month full of lost keys, acne breakouts, sinus infections, dangerously low bank account balances, and broken break lights. The struggle has been so deliciously real. (Deliciously, because I have never had to eat this many packages of super cheap 2-minute ramen noodles in my entire life.) Continue reading “Dance in the Rain”

Naked and Afraid

We’ve all experienced it at least once in our lives.

That embarrassing moment you just can’t seem to shake out of your mind. Maybe it was that moment when you were spending quality time with friends, telling them a fantastic joke or sharing an impressive story—when all of a sudden someone interrupts you and points out the large piece of “something green” stuck in your teeth. Uhhh, embarrassing. How long was it there for? Who noticed? Awkward…

Or maybe it was when you were in 3rd grade and you took a quick bathroom break, only to return to your classroom unaware that part of your uniform skirt was stuck in the waistband of your Minnie Mouse underpants. It happens, believe me… it happens.

We’ve all felt it. Shame. Embarrassment. Fear. Rejection. Continue reading “Naked and Afraid”

Let’s Get Dirty

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” – C.S. Lewis

The word “love”—along with it’s many definitions—is splattered all over the pages of the bible. You won’t have to look very hard to discover that love is patient and kind or sacrificial and selfless. But this week, the Lord has been teaching me about another way to define love that isn’t spelled out as clearly in the scriptures.

Love is… dirty.

And just to be clear, I’m not talking about the bow-chicka-wow-wow kind of love…but nice try.

This kind of love is messy and uncomfortable. It inconveniences you and it requires you to take risks. It’s a love that suffers, that gives, and that exhausts you day after day. It’s hard and time consuming—and it will most definitely cost you something. It’s also important to note that this kind of love isn’t about you—it’s about them. And to be honest, when I see opportunities to give and receive this kind of love—I prefer to yell “fire” and run as fast as I can in the opposite direction. Continue reading “Let’s Get Dirty”

Walking the Walk

“Just because you go to church doesn’t mean you’re a Christian. I can go sit in the garage all day and it doesn’t make me a car.” – Joyce Meyer

It’s finally here—the time when I get to put feet to my faith.

I think this is one of strangest days of a missionary’s life. D Day. The Day just before Departure. Imagine being filled with sadness, excitement, joy, anticipation, uncertainty, and bewilderment all at the same time. Now multiply that by a hatred for packing and a lack of sleep from anxiety. Now multiply that times 10. Perfect. Now you can understand how I feel.

It’s been about four months since I came home from South Africa, and the time has flown. I spent time catching up with old friends, hanging out with my awesome family, doing ministry in Canada, growing with the Lord, training for soccer, worshiping at my church, and strategizing for this coming year. It’s been a jam-packed season filled with laughter, stress, tears, and lots of Chipotle burrito bowls. I’m grateful for it all.

I don’t think there will ever be a time when I feel “perfectly equipped” or “ready” to serve God. Because let’s face it, I’m a hot mess. Thankfully, all of my equipping, preparing, molding, and shaping is being done by the Spirit of God who loves to make masterpieces out of mistakes and messy hearts. All I had to do was answer God’s call for me to go. Which sounded something like… “God, are you serious? Because I’m kind of freaking out a little bit over here. I really don’t think I’m qualified for this. I barely know how to do my own laundry. What about EBOLA? I’m only 24. But if You’re sure and if You promise to go with me… then I’ll go.”

It’s so easy to talk the talk. Believe me, I did it for years. It’s easy to sing worship songs played by a live band in a comfy air-conditioned building surrounded by familiar faces, praising God with one hand while you hold your Starbucks coffee in the other. It’s easy to attend bible studies, to write blog posts, and to pray for people on your “nice list.” It’s easy to say that you trust God for provision when you live in a safe neighborhood, when you have a steady income, and when there’s plenty of food in the fridge and a car in the driveway.

But I am going to get real with you guys, I don’t want easy. I want dirty. I want challenging, and on some days… I want dangerous. I want to see God show up (partly because my faith grows weak at times and I need Him to show up, and partly because I love being blown away by God’s awesomeness). I want to fail and fall so that I can grow and change. I want to give generously, to speak boldly, and to love recklessly—no matter what the cost. Because if Jesus could give up everything (including His life) to rescue and love someone like me, then I should be able to do the same for others.

And let me tell you this very second, I already know that there will be days when I regret writing the paragraph above this one. (And you guys will probably hear about it, so brace yourselves.) Yes, the Lord promises that those days of discouragement and trouble will come, but more importantly, the Lord promises that He will forever be faithful. Any trouble or trials that I may face have already been conquered by Christ and nailed to the cross.

So tomorrow I leave to embark on a new adventure, and I want to ask you for prayer. Prayers for open hearts and open doors. Prayers for strength and courage. Prayers for love and grace to flow out of my heart and into the lives of everyone I meet. Prayers for dependency on the God who never fails nor abandons me. Prayers for my family: that they will be comforted and at peace as I travel 7,000 miles away. And lastly, prayers for the people of South Africa: for young girls to be set free from insecurities, fears, lies, and oppression—and for them to be strengthened and built up as princess warriors who are loved by the King of Kings.

Love you all. Flight leaves tomorrow, Monday at 9:30 pm. Let’s do this.

Junk in the Trunk: A Missionary’s Misconception

So I just read an awesome blog entitled, Things I Would Not Say to a New Missionary, and let me just tell you that the post was so wonderfully accurate. I laughed so hard because I knew exactly what this lady was talking about. Her post inspired me to get real about a few “missionary misconceptions” that I’ve struggled with in my own life. As I have said so many times before, I am not a “cookie-cutter Christian,” nor am I a “cookie-cutter missionary.” I don’t ever want to fit into a stereotypical Christianese box – it limits God and it limits me. So, I realized that it might be time to demolish a few stereotypes and send some encouragement your way.

First things first, I need all of you to know that after one year of being a missionary… I still have no idea what the heck I am doing. No, you think I’m joking, but I’m so serious. This is a very important fact because before I became a missionary, I thought that I needed to have my perfect, holy, and blameless life together before I could go out into the world to serve God and others. I was so wrong. When I read back through God’s Word, I quickly discovered that not a single person God chose to use for His glory had their lives in order. In fact, most of them screwed up before, during, and after they were called and sent out to serve and love God.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 that, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”

Is Sam foolish? Check. (Just ask my parents, I make dumb decisions all the time.)

Is Sam weak? Check. (Especially when it comes to keeping my thought life clean.)

Is Sam unable to boast about how fantastically holy and perfect she is? Quadruple Check. (I am constantly in repentance mode like every five seconds.)

Well, now that we’ve established that… I hope you feel more qualified to do big things for God because as I’ve discovered over the course of these past few years – my “success” as a missionary is not dependent on my abilities to maintain a perfect track record or get an entire country saved. (Because honestly, sometimes I can’t even muster up the energy to take a shower or do my own laundry.) My “success” is entirely dependent on God’s ability and His desire to use a broken vessel like me. God only requires me to be available and to be willing to move my feet (and to perhaps open my mouth when the time is right). If His light can shine brightly through my cracks and flaws, then I’m a happy camper.

I’ve had so many people tell me that I am an inspiration to them, and I think that’s a very beautiful thing. But I really want to stress that I am no different than anyone else. I am not more holy, more perfect, or more qualified. Fun fact: Even while I was in South Africa, I sinned. I know, I know, whip out the holy water and get your pointer finger of shame and judgment ready…

Just kidding about the holy water, but I wasn’t kidding about my sin. I have never done this “missionary” thing before. I am learning every single day what it looks like and feels like and sounds like to be a follower of Jesus. I love Him with my whole entire heart, and I need Him desperately every single day, but that doesn’t mean that my life will be a perfect one. However, it does mean that it will have to be a dependent one. That was a huge and humbling lesson that God needed to teach me while I was in South Africa last year.

The standards that I had for myself were “Jesus Standards of Perfection.” Which, incase you didn’t know… are unreachable standards. I didn’t cut myself any slack and I really struggled with my own guilt and unforgiveness because I was so fearful of letting everyone down: God, my family, my church, my friends, and anyone else that knew about my journey. I had to learn that God loved me before I even knew who He was. He called me to go and love the girls who were (and still are) fighting against the same struggles that I’ve had to fight against, because they need to know what it feels like to be loved and forgiven – just like I needed to know what it feels like to be loved and forgiven.

I have a bad habit of making some of my sins appear worse than others on my “God Scale of Wrath.” I seriously need to throw that thing away, because it’s totally unbiblical and unbalanced. For example, I’ll pray for a long time about my lustful thinking and how I need to stop cursing in front of my little brother when I drive in Miami’s ridiculous traffic, but I won’t spend much time praying about my pride or my jealousy towards another girl. In God’s eyes, it all separates me from Him and it’s all equally wrong. So when I feel like a failure for one “seemingly big” sin in my life, God looks down at me with compassion and says, “Sam, crazy girl, if you think that’s bad, wait until I show you the rest of the junk that’s hiding in your heart. There’s stuff deep down in there that you don’t even know about yet.” YOH. Ouch. But it’s a holy and purifying ouch, so I dig it. Because just after the rebuke, comes God’s reminder that I shouldn’t feel shame or guilt or resentment – but instead, I need to remember that He has already nailed all of my sins to the cross. They are dealt with, it is finished. He already knew about all of the mistakes I was going to make, and He sent me and called me to be a warrior in His army anyways. His patience and love and grace know no bounds. If I am willing to bring Him all of my “junk” and lay it down at His feet, then He will always be willing to deal with it for me. Without condemnation. Without hate. Without disdain.

In fact, I think God gave me this job of serving His people because of all of my junk. I had to walk through some crappy and embarrassing and hurtful things in my life, and those things have given me a heart that is so full of compassion and love and understanding. When I see someone else struggling through what I experienced, I can look them in the eyes and genuinely sympathize because I’ve been there. That’s a gift. Because of my junk-filled past, I get to share a hope-filled future with the people I meet all over the world. All a missionary really is – is a person who loves Jesus that decides to walk out of their front door and into the world with faith instead of being bound up in fear. It’s that simple. I may be living the Christian life in South Africa, but that doesn’t make being a missionary in your backyard any less significant. All lives matter, everyone deserves the opportunity to receive love and hope through our actions and our words. Compassion is contagious. (It’s scientifically proven. Don’t worry, I checked.)

So this blog is just a little reminder that we are all equally imperfect, but we are also all equally valuable and useful to God (in the little things and in the big things). The purpose and the power remain with Him, but the choice to step up and walk in faith remains with us. So don’t fear failure, instead, have faith. And if (and when) you make mistakes, run back to God and let Him cover you in His grace.

The Mighty Morphin Protestant Ranger

“I love doing preposterous things,” He replied. “Why I don’t know anything more exhilarating and delightful than turning weakness into strength, and fear into faith, and that which has been marred into perfection.”

-The Shepherd (Hinds Feet and High Places Novel)

As a little girl, I loved watching The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on TV. If you don’t know who the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are, then you probably weren’t a 90’s kid from America – and you probably didn’t wake up at 6am every Saturday to make sure that you didn’t miss an episode (like me). Call me obsessed if you must, I’m not ashamed.

I loved dreaming about what it would be like to have superhuman powers. In fact, I still love pondering the thought. I wanted to know what it would feel like to change the world, to make a difference, to be strong and brave, and to fight off evil villains (and to fly of course… but I digress). Little did I know – that being a Christian is very similar to being a Power Ranger – just take away the skintight bodysuits and the fake alien monsters, and BAM we’ve got ourselves a party!

But in all seriousness, my dream of wanting to be a superhero also had it’s downsides. Growing up, I was a sore loser, I didn’t like being told that I couldn’t do something, and I really struggled to make room in my life for failure and defeat. I was constantly trying to prove myself and my worth to others – both to kids my age and adults alike. Until Jesus got a grip on me. Then things began to change. I will still admit, however, that I don’t enjoy losing. (Just ask my teammates after a soccer game or call my parents for a play-by-play on family game night. It can get ugly if my heart isn’t lined up with God’s.) The struggle is still real, and the fall still hurts when it happens, but at least now I have Someone to catch me when I stumble and make a mess of things.

This past week in Vancouver, on my week long mission trip with Calvary Chapel and XXXchurch, I got sick. (Like “nasty cough and boogers” kind of sick.) I didn’t plan for this, I was not happy about it, and I felt like I was going to burden my entire team rather than bless them. How could I possibly please God on this mission trip if I was sick? How could He use me if my voice was gone and my throat was sore? Needless to say, I was frustrated. But once I actually took the time to listen to what God had to say about my weakness and sickness during that week, I ended up learning quite a lot.

It’s not about me. It’s always been about Him. Yes, God created me with my personality, my looks, my passions, my abilities, and my talents. Yes, He made me with a purpose – but I mustn’t ever forget the very crucial fact that HE MADE ME. I cannot take credit for who I am, all the glory must go to my Creator. He provides me with opportunities, with relationships, and with second chances. He’s the one who found me when I was lost and who planted my feet back onto the right path. He doesn’t need me, but He wants me. He already had a Son, but He chose me to be His daughter – to inherit all that He has to offer. Every word of inspiration and love that flows out of me is because of God – He puts breath into my lungs. (He also invented the cough which gets the nasty stuff out of my lungs, yay God!) Every step of faith I take is because He gives me the strength to move forward. I can do nothing apart from Him. All of that testifies to His character and to His righteousness, not my own. I’m the vessel. I’m the clay pot and He’s the potter who molds me according to His pleasure. And THAT takes the weight off of my shoulders – no longer do I need to feel obligated to perform or to please the world around me. I have an audience of One.

When things don’t go my way, trust God anyway. I was sick the day I arrived in Canada with the team. I wanted God to heal me immediately (because I am so flippin’ impatient), but He didn’t. Why? Only He knows the real reason. Did God make me sick? No. God is good and God is love. He is a live-giver, not a life-taker. But was He glorified in my sickness? Heck yeah. Once I humbled myself enough to let Him deal with me, my pride, my fear, and my insecurity – He was glorified. During prayer one morning with the team, the Lord spoke to me, He said, “Sam, my sweet child, if I don’t heal your sickness, if the trials continue to come, and if you feel as though I have forsaken you… will you still trust Me? Will you still know that you are Mine and that you are loved?” In that moment, I cried. I cried because my answer was no. I didn’t trust God or His plans for me. I didn’t and couldn’t understand why He wouldn’t make me better so that I could go and do all these awesome things I had planned to do for Him. I mean, that’s what He wanted from me, right? Psshhhh, wrong. After grumbling for a few days, I realized that all God wanted was me… not my good intentions or my good deeds. He just wanted me. I had to have the kind of faith that could say, “I am enough to please my Heavenly Dad, even without my works.”

My worth doesn’t come from my actions, it comes from who I am. I have said this and written about this so many times, but for some reason – it still hasn’t seeped down into my thick skull. God loves me because He made the decision to love me before I was even born and before my parents even knew what my name would be. Before I took my first breath, He picked me, all of me – and He knew that I didn’t come with a return or exchange policy. (Now, that’s commitment.) He chose me to be a part of His family, knowing full well about my crazy antics and my big mouth. So when I had to miss one of the outreaches this week in Canada because I was stuck in bed with the “cold from hell,” I should have felt contentment and peace instead of inner turmoil and agitation. Why was I so upset? Who was I to complain anyways?!

Looking back, I was able to attend the porn expo all three days with XXXchurch where I met so many amazing individuals – some who knew Jesus and some who didn’t. (Cool story, 8 people got saved inside the porn conference at our booth which is absolutely ridiculous and absolutely amazing all at the same time. That just doesn’t happen at sex expos.) I was able to spend quality time in one-on-one conversations with my teammates, and we got to exchange stories and testimonies that spoke of how wonderful and faithful our God has been throughout our lives. I was able to share toiletry filled gift bags with some of the women who were living on the streets of Vancouver, and I was able to bond with one special girl named Laura who taught me about overcoming and keeping a positive attitude despite tough circumstances. The Lord spoiled me with adventures and blessings. So even though the trip had some added surprises and difficulties, it ended up being better than I ever could have imagined (cough, boogers, and all.)

I learned that the condition of my heart was more important to God than the condition of my work and the condition of my health. God’s priorities are usually way different than mine, and sometimes taking a step back is necessary before taking the next few steps forward. He’s such a gracious God. I love that He loves me, even when I am cranky and tired and have boogers dangling out of my nose. (Sorry, gross, I know.) So the point and summary of this post is that the Lord was very present in Vancouver. The mission trip was a huge success, and it was all because of His faithfulness, patience, grace, and love. Many lives were changed, and many people were set free… one of those people being me.

…And being a part of God’s beloved family beats being a Power Ranger any day!

It Takes A Village (To Raise a Missionary)

There is an old African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” But, over this past year, I’ve realized that it also takes a village to raise up and send out a missionary (especially a crazy and injury prone one like me).

I was raised by a hard working, soccer playing, and joke telling dad who always has a knack for putting others before himself. I was raised by a generous and caring mom, a teacher who has such a great love for her children – both blood and in her classroom – and who has an incredible ability to influence and inspire the people around her. I have grandparents that taught me how to serve, how to pray, and how to go above and beyond for those in need. I grew up in a community where your skin color didn’t determine your worth, where everyone spoke a different language, and where little girls could play sports with the big boys. I was constantly surrounded by people that loved me, and I was given plenty of opportunities to succeed. None of that had anything to do with me. I didn’t pick my parents, I didn’t pick my neighborhood, and I didn’t pick my talents. (Lord knows that I wish I could sing. Unfortunately, for those who ride in the car with me – I can’t.)

So, my job is to make the most of what I’ve been given. It’s my responsibility to use my gifts, talents, and abilities for God’s glory. He gave me everything I have, and He gave it to me freely, in love. So how can I show my gratitude and how can I give back to a God who already has everything? I ask myself daily what it would look like to live a life surrendered to God, and I think 1 Peter 4: 8-11 sums it up quite nicely,

“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.”

Frederick Buechner eloquently said that, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” I’ve learned that my life isn’t just about me. My experiences, my wisdom, my failings, my abilities, and my successes are all meant to be shared with others – to bring growth, freedom, wisdom, love, understanding, and friendship. Every single one of us is unique, we all come with a variety of strengths and weaknesses, gifts and talents, and passions and desires. Not to mention, we are all created in God’s image. So when I meet someone new, I am given the opportunity to experience God in a whole new way as well. While I grow closer with others, I also grow closer with Him. I get to see a different side to who He is, and I get to learn something about His heart that I never would have known before.

We are all different, and I want to stress that different doesn’t mean wrong, it just means different. (Hallelujah for that!) We all have something to bring to the table, something of value to be shared and spread far and wide.

Now to bring this blog full circle…

I am going back to South Africa. I am going to put my feet to my faith, and actions to my words. I want to make a difference, I want to change lives, and I want to bring hope and love to the people in this world that need it most. But like I said earlier, I can’t do this alone. I need your help.

As a missionary, my mission is my job, my donations become my salary, and my workplace becomes my home. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle that doesn’t have an expiration date. It’s risky and exciting, and I couldn’t imagine doing life any other way!

So here come the logistics. I have a charity visa that allows me to do volunteer work in South Africa, but that means my only source of income must come from the money I raise here via donations. Before I am allowed to head back overseas in March, I need to have at least 50% of my total required amount to live for a year in SA in the bank. (Just to give you guys a quick example, it costs $25 to pay for electricity, $35 to buy groceries, and $450 to pay for my rent… every single month.) I will need about $1,000 monthly to cover absolutely everything to live in South Africa for this next year, which is pretty incredible because of the exchange rate. So any amount helps – big or small, even if it’s a $5 monthly donation or a one time gift of $15- I can put it to good use!

I always struggled with guilt when it came to asking others for money, but I quickly learned that if I don’t ask, I won’t receive. Wayne Gretzky was right when he said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I also learned that by asking, I am giving others a chance to participate in the awesome work that is happening in South Africa and the awesome things that God is doing (rather than selfishly keeping the experiences to myself), and that’s pretty cool too! The Lord has taught me so much about His faithfulness through the donations that I have received. It’s been a challenging experience for me, but it’s one that has grown my faith and trust in Him in more ways than I can describe.

So I am taking a shot, and I’m humbly asking… Will you come alongside me on this journey? Will you walk with me through the dark places? Will you help me to share hope and love and grace with the brokenhearted and hurting in South Africa? If so, let’s do this together, as a village and as a family. Even though you may not be with me physically on the mission field, you play a significant role in everything that happens there. Through prayer, donations, and encouragement, things get done – great and life changing things!

I want to thank you all for the love and support that you’ve continued to give me as I walk this journey. Through all of the up’s and down’s and triumphs and difficulties, I have never once felt alone. Thank you. Lastly, I want to end this super long blog post with a passage from one of Paul’s letters (Philippians 4:10-17). His words connect with all of the emotions and thoughts racing through heart and mind so perfectly, and my hope is that it will connect with you as well. He writes:

How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.

If you would like to make a donation online, please visit:

http://ssmfi.org/missionary/samantha-stokesberry/

If you want to donate by mail, then please make a (tax decidable) check payable to Shepherds Staff and write my account number #6020 in the memo section, then mail it to:

Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators

6739 Academy Road NE, Suite 320

Albuquerque, NM 87109