Hello and a massive thanks to all from sunny South Carolina!

It is bitter-sweet to share that my year as a missionary has officially come to an end. I graduated from the Jesus Revolution Belgium program, took a three week break - first in Norway with friends, then in London solo - and successfully lead a team of American teenage girls through 10 days of evangelism outreach in Malaga, Spain without loss of life or limb. Phew - what an adventure!

If I were to convey all of the amazing things that God did since my last newsletter, this blog post would turn into a Tolstoy novel. So, I’ll focus on a few quick highlights. We had an amazing last month in Belgium. My team mates are the best and it was only right to celebrate our time together with prayer, worship, prepping the base for the next team, taking in some parting words of wisdom from leaders, and the customary, biblical waterpark visit. Gratefully, we still had time to fit in more ministry before taking off.

I was especially thrilled that we partnered with a local church to evangelize in and around their community! We had a great time sharing the gospel, praying for the sick, and encouraging the lonely… along with smiling at the cynical, nodding at the ramblers, and occasionally, openly staring in confusion. Several people were touched by the outreach, including a motorcyclist who had come all the way from Corsica (an island in the Mediterranean Sea).

We also visited a prison and led a whole “street meeting” for the inmates. It was one of my favorite experiences ever. When my team mate, Jacopo, shared the gospel, at least 7 of the 15 raised their hand to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Afterwards we talked with them, prayed for them, and served them snacks and drinks.

Before leaving Namur, we helped another local church with a fundraiser pasta dinner for their church - serving drinks, cleaning dishes. In an act of true sacrifice, we even helped finish off tiramisu. It was a real privelage to end our time in Belgium serving the church to the very end.

I will spare you the details of how hard it was to close my suitcase.

I then departed for three weeks of vacation. I spent most of my time with my friend Kristin in Norway (she was the one who surprised us all by coming to India). We had an amazing time. We went to a worship night on a small island that you can only get to by boat, evangelized in Kristiansand, and took a quick trip through Arundel (of Frozen fame).

After saying goodbye to Kristin (and Elsa), I made my way to London for a four day “retreat” that doubled as both a way to reset my Schengen visa clock (Americans can only stay in the EU for 90 days at at time) and a chance to live my life long dream of visiting museums alone so I could take all the time I wanted to read the plaques. My time in London allowed some much needed rest, and a delicious high tea, and a whole world of learning. It also gave me the chance to attend services at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), the mother church of the Alpha movement and a big influence on my family. The people I met there were so amazing! I ate lunch with a fantastic group of young adults and ended up staying for the 6:30 P.M service as well. God is really moving in and through those people! It was beautiful to see and gave just the right inspiration for my time leading a Jesus Revolution team in Spain.

I loved the time in Spain. It went by way too fast. God was moving from the first day to the last. I was grateful to see him working in and through us. Over 330 people accepted Jesus into their hearts, and at least 87 people were miraculously healed, not to mention the thousands of people who heard the gospel and the hundreds of participants who will be forever shaped by their time sharing the gospel with both Spaniards and tourist from all over Europe.

On the last night of training, we closed our session by bringing our worship to the streets with a guitar and our voices. Then, once we were in the park, we broke up into small teams and shared the gospel. I went with two other girls, and we spoke to a couple who, because of our message, ended up giving their lives to Jesus. We were all so happy - it was incredible! In another instance, two people in my team prayed for someone who had serious back pain and he was healed! Finally, one of the young ladies on my team was super nervous to share her testimony, but when she stepped up to the microphone she could feel the Holy Spirit helping her find courage and share with clarity. This was the first time she had ever felt this way, but it most certainly won’t be the last!

Now, after nearly a whole year, thousands of travel miles, and a bunch of flight delays, I am finally back home, where university life will start in a week and a half!

Of course I will never stop serving God with my life, and I hope it is the same for all of you. He is truly worthy of our surrender, and serving Him is worth all the long nights, hard days, and ‘lost’ opportunities - unlike so many other things we tend to give our lives to.

I cannot thank you enough for going on this journey with me. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your financial support. I love all of you guys and I am so grateful for everything you have given me in my life,

Blessings,
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