ONE WEEK!!!

It is officially one week away until I leave for El Salvador!! Woo Hoo! These past couple of weeks have been absolutely wonderful! A lot has gone on and I am so excited to share with you all! I've been able to read some books (which I never really had time for at school) that I would highly recommend: "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo, "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren, and "Tim Tebow: Through my Eyes" obviously by Tim Tebow. Among the reading, here are some other highlights:

First off, I've had the great opportunity all January to babysit some kids that I have watched for many years! They are so fun and I love being around them! As a bonus I get paid to do it and gain a little experience in what it's like being a mom...doesn't quite seem fair but it's been great while being home. I think it will be a perfect transition as I'll get to spend a lot of time with the kids down in El Salvador as well!

Another highlight was that this past weekend I got to go to an Athletes In Action (AIA) winter retreat. To those who may not know what AIA is, it is a Christian Sports Ministry that aims to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ by using the platform of athletics. I was fortunate enough to go on a track tour the summer of 2009 to Honduras and Guatemala for 2 weeks. AIA is very dear to my heart and it exposed me to the culture down in Latin America and what it means to play your sport for the Lord. So this weekend was really a getaway for student athletes to unwind a bit, meet athletes from different schools, and listen to different speakers talk about how to give glory to God in our sport and live out the Christian life. One of the biggest things I got from this weekend was that we may not know or understand God's Will for our life, but we can be obedient and follow Him. It really fit in perfect with my life at this moment, because I honestly have no clue what God has for me after these 4 months in El Salvador but I know that in this moment I am being obedient and following Him down there.

The last and possibly greatest highlight is about my support raising! God has been gracious enough to raise ALL the support I needed AND MORE!!! The Lord certainly answers prayers because I had written down in my journal a prayer that the Lord would provide above and beyond for me. And He certainly has! So praise the Lord for that and thank you to all the people who supported me financially! It's so humbling to see people believe in me and the mission that God has allowed me to be apart of! I'm SO grateful!!

Have I told you how grateful I am for ya'll and your prayers?!
God Bless,
Lauren