*Yawn* Departing from the States!

Hola! (I better start practicing my Espanol, right...?)

So, originally a group of us was going to meet in the hotel lobby at 7am for our flight, but last night it was suddenly changed to meeting in the lobby at 3:45am... wooooo! I DON'T CARE THAT IT'S EARLY. I am sooo excited! I think some of my teammates think it's-too-early-for-you-to-be-this-excited-sit-down-Rachel.

I cannot wait! We should get into Quito between 2-4pm. So if you read this before then.. please pray for all of our teams travels, since there are probably four or five different planes that groups are taking. Either way, continue to pray, please!

The only thing I am kind of sad about is that we are getting different roommates. Instead of 6 people in a room, we will have four, and only one of us in my group is my original roommate. I'm kind of disappointed since we all finally were really getting close and decent friends and now we have to start all over again! But it's okay! We'll survive. :)

Okay! I gotta go!
Hasta Luego! :D

Ecuador Update!

Hey guys, it's me! :D

WOW, the past two days have been INTENSE. Yesterday we had a total of eight hours of drama training. I was up from 6am until at least 12am. WOOO. BUT IT HAS BEEN SOOOO AMAZING.

On my team there is a total of nine 'Cats', which as I said in my previous post is a gang (of demons) who beat up Jesus, bring Him to the cross, and nail Him there. However, the 'King Cat' does repent and comes to know Jesus in the end, unfortunately the rest of us stay evil. :(
Anyway, the costumes, training and everything else have been really tiring. Sometimes I can see and feel the impatience. Nevertheless, we have nearly perfected (or I'd like to think so) the whole drama. The drama is approx. 20ish minutes, at first it seemed really long, but once we begin now, it goes so fast!

A funny part from yesterday:
There was a session about modesty for girls, so there was a fashion show of bad outfits/good outfits. For the bad outfits, guys came out dressed in girls clothing and it was absolutely hilarious... One guy was wearing this super super short dress and bent over.... that's when I let out a shriek and nearly went blind. Pics will come later! :D

I really am beginning to truly enjoy all my team mates and the fun we're having! We have had some really, really great worship time! I cannot wait until we get to Ecuador!

On a slightly more serious note, pride is something I struggle with. I think we all do to some extent, some worse than others of course. In the past month or so though, I've really felt God tugging at that spot in my heart, and consistently reminding me that He is above all things, the most important, and my King, not me. I think it's kind of ironic since my whole blog thing is "Beautifully selfless" and being humble and meek in spirit. I have really felt that tug even more now, being on this trip. There have been some things that have bothered me, some attitudes, motives, and actions from other people. It's really easy for me to look at them and judge them for it, and be upset that they aren't acting the "proper" way. I think technically, we're probably both at fault. Nevertheless, when I feel that way, I seem to feel that God instantly reminds me that I am nothing too, and it's only by HIS continual grace that I am where I am, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. And when I feel I have 'the right' to make assumptions about another, I try to think of myself inside, and what I could do to be more loving to those.
I think (and hope) that God will teach me more of this especially when we get to Ecuador. One of my goals is to truly be selfless, as much as can be in my human state, and glorify Christ through it. It's hard, really, really hard, since it goes against all that sin represents and is. Yet, I know and try to remember that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. :)

Anyway, my dinner is waiting for me... KFC... yay? Who cares. It's food. And after today, having another 8 hours of drama training.. I AM READY TO EAT!!

Last note: Tomorrow I am leaving for Ecuador! My flight is at 11:15am and I will arrive at 6:50pm (we have a three hour layover, bleh!) central standard time, woooo!

Hopefully I'll update you guys soon on how it goes!
Until then, keep praying!

Oh P.S. I forgot to mention but on my flight from Altanta to Miami, I sat next to this really cool lady. We talked for nearly the whole flight about all sorts of stuff, and when we landed, I asked if I could pray for her and she said yes, so I did! It was so great and it was such a great way to start off my trip. :)

And lastly, remember: http://www.neverthesameec.com/
Check it out for daily updates on what we're doing per team. I am team 2, for the millionth time. :D

<3

Ecuador Update - Miami

Hey guys! :)

So after traveling from my hometown in PA, I arrived in Atlanta, GA, where I was so excited to meet some people also going on the trip. (Thanks to our super bright and cool green shirts, it was easy to notice people)! Then I took a two hour flight to Miami, FL, where I was united with approx. 50 other students.
We drove 40 minutes to our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, where we are staying.. OUR HOTEL IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!

Last night we all were united together in a room, between 350-400 of us all singing praises to Jesus and worshipping together. It was absolutely beautiful and wonderful... God is so good! We had time to meet all of our team, and get our room keys! Awesome room-mates I have! I love how everyone brings something unique to the table through their own personality and love for Jesus.

Last night we had drama casting and we tried out for all the parts in the skit, which took several hours. I ended up getting the part of a Cat, which essentially consists of a gang of 5-6 people who are evil and beat up Jesus. :( How sad! BUT, I'm excited and can't wait to learn! The moves are really fun! The next two days should be filled with some pretty intense practicing before we head off to Ecuador.

That's about all I got for now.... Miami is absolutely beautiful though. I'd have to save one of my favorite parts of this whole thing is being able to travel and see so many amazing places... Which could certainly be considered a once in a lifetime opportunity!

ANYWAY. Before I ramble on any longer! I just want to thank you all for the support, encouragement and prayer! Keep praying, please! God is going to do amazing things and I can't wait to see what happens when we finally get to Ecuador.

That's all I got for now! I'm not sure when I'll post next, but I'll be around here and there. :)
Once again, if you wanna see more updates, then please check out the link below:
http://www.neverthesameec.com/

I am on Team 2!<3

I'M GOING TO ECUADOR!!

So if you're newer to my blog, you may not have heard that I am going to Ecuador. If you haven't, check out the cool God story of how it all worked out by clicking HERE!

If you'd like to know a little more about my getting accepted and some other cool info, then click HERE!

That link will take you to all my posts labeled with "Ecuador" - that way you can get the whole scoop. :)

Scoop.. that reminds me of ice cream. I could really go for some mint chocolate chip right now.. anybody?!?! Represent all you lovers of the delicious flavor! :D

Anyway, where was I!

So I am leaving tomorrow for Miami to take part in the training (learning the skit, culture sensitivity, spanish phrases, etc), and then on the 30th I will be headed to Ecuador along with 300+ students and leaders. I'M SO EXCITED!!

I won't be returning back home until the 11th of July, so it'll be a little while that I'm gone. HOWEVER, I do believe I will have internet access and there is a possibility I may blog here, but I may not. The creators of this mission trip, along with Susie Shellenberger, have created a website + blog where we'll be able to post. If you're interested, you can keep up to date with what's going on with the crew by visiting the website/blog, which you can do so by clicking HERE!
Just so you know, I am on Team 2. :)

I think that's about it. Please please, PLEASE, pray for me, the trip, the others going, and the people of Ecuador. May the see the truth, light and joy of Jesus and be blessed!

Enjoy the following pictures. :D

P.S. I wanted to briefly say that my blog has exceeded 5,000 views and I'm so glad that so many people, whether intentionally or not, have been able to view my page and (hopefully) see and read the truth of God! Thanks to all my followers... May you be blessed. :)

Certainly not perfect and certainly a little messy..
but I think whoever ends up getting my costume
(we trade them) will hopefully enjoy it. :D

Team symbol... pretty good one, right? ;)

OMGOSH LOOK AT MY SWEET SHIRT..
I'm so excited!!

My Desk and your heart - Something they may have in common!

A few days ago, I decided to stop being lazy and finally clean my desk. Let me just tell you, it was a disaster. Papers everywhere, my own junk everywhere. Completely disorganized clutter! And somehow I just know that there are some of you out there who know exactly what I'm talking about!

As I cleared off my desk, I made two piles. One pile was papers thrown all over the floor, papers which I no longer needed, and other papers that I wanted to save, which I put into a smaller, neater pile.

And in my boredom of cleaning, I made a comparison, perhaps it's a little far off, but perhaps it's not far off at all.

I think sometimes we treat our hearts and minds the same way as my cluttered desk. We come to know Jesus yet we continue to live our lives with hearts more clutter-y than my desk!

So what do we do about it anyway?

Well, we need to take our cluttered hearts to Jesus. We need to dive into that mess called our heart and our mind. We need to let Him help us sort through it, and see what needs to go. Our heart is the wellspring of life according to Proverbs 4:23. It is where all things, whether good or evil, flow from.

With that in mind, we need to take care of our hearts! Maybe you have some things in your heart that need to be cleaned up and organized by Jesus. I, personally, could think of a few for myself.

And just like my now clean desk is much easier to use and enjoy, so is a 'decluttered' heart! And then instead of a heart that is so consumed and lost in its own mess, rather you may have a heart that is focused on Jesus and ultimately serving Him! But please remember, you can't do it without Jesus. Take all things to Him, and He will see them through. :)

Matthew 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

P.S. To all my faithful followers, (especially you Kevin!!), I am so sorry for my lack in posts the past couple weeks. I have no idea what happened there! I'll try my best to get back on it though. :) Thanks a bunch for hanging in there with me! :D