Communism- It's good to get crapped on!

Today I was walking down the street and my friend told me that in Croatia it is considered good luck if a bird poops on your head. A long conversation ensued and it was proposed that, most likely, it was something communist leaders told the people to reinforce the concept that, although things seemed less than ideal, everything was actually in everyone's best interest.


After many hours of travel, our whole team is finally together in Rijeka. We are happy and healthy for the most part, and starting tomorrow we will be gone for 5-6 days at a conference for everyone in Bosnia and Croatia.

Praise God that we are all here! It really is a miracle. One couple and I still have some more to raise, but others on our team have extra that should cover what we lack. This was wonderful to find out because so many people have been praying that we would be able to come.

I love Croatia! The last couple of days have been sort of a blur, but it will be great to make this city home and start learning the language and meeting more Croatians soon.

Most of the bus ride from Zagreb to Rijeka on Monday was spent sleeping, but I did take this picture during the 5 minutes or so I was awake:

I'm really not a cat person...

This is Bob. He was rescued from the woods after surviving multiple cougar attacks. Among his injuries were a broken pelvis and ribs, severe scarring, and extreme malnutrition. Now he is doing much better, but he wheezes a lot and is really too fat for his small frame. I love Bob.


More urgently: my flight leaves in 4 days and 6 hours. There is so very much that needs to happen between then and now, and I really don't know how it all will. I still need $750/month in pledges. I am praying that God provides that very very soon, because it is hard to pack and shop and run countless errands and say goodbye to people you love while still feeling the need to spend a lot of time emailing and calling people about money. On some level I know that if this is supposed to happen, then God is more than able to provide what I need however and whenever He wants to. Just remembering that is hard sometimes.

I said goodbye to my little sister tonight. It was quick and strange and didn't sink in, but I will miss her a lot.

My team

From left to right: Andy, Marni, Taylor, Michelle, me, Pete, John, Tim, and Sara.

These are my wonderful teammates and I at a dinner they had for us in Colorado. Right now, Andy, Marni, Taylor, Pete and John are in Zagreb, Croatia, and over the next few weeks they will be finding housing and getting to know their way around Rijeka a little bit. Meanwhile, Michelle, Tim, Sara, and I are in the U.S. until September 11th while we finish raising support.

The week in Keystone was wonderful, the schedule was pretty packed, but we had a little time to enjoy being in the mountains and do some general team bonding. The altitude took a little getting used to (we were at nearly 10,000 ft.), I think I drank more water than I ever have before in my life. Michelle took all these pictures, and I wanted to share them with you since I didn't even bring a camera.

Overall, it was really amazing to be with 400-500 other people going all over the world, and to hear about the work God is doing on a global scale. I would really appreciate your prayers over the next week or so as the 4 of us continue to raise support. I have about 35% left to raise and would like to finish by September 1st or 2nd. Please pray that we would work diligently and trust God, and that God would provide everything that we need in His timing.

Music

Saturday night I went to a benefit/memorial concert for Jason Sprinkle featuring Robert Deeble, Aaron Sprinkle, Rocky Votolato, and Damien Jurado. This is in no way related to Croatia, but all four are incredible singer/songwriters and the show was really good.

Change of plans

My new departure date is September 10th. Our team will still meet up for a week of training/briefing from August 17th-24th, then half the team will fly to Croatia, and the other half (including myself) will fly home for another 2 weeks to continue to prepare and finish raising support. I am a little sad that we'll have to split up that way, but incredibly grateful for the extra time to pack and spend time with people before leaving. Financially, things are going a bit better, too- only 45% to go. God is so good, and He is continuing to demonstrate His faithfulness every step of the way. Thanks for your prayers!

Faraway so close

I am about to enter the final week or so of preparation before beginning this journey to Croatia. There are things to pack, people to say good-bye to, papers to fill out, details to nail down… The main thing that I am still focusing on is raising the last $20,000 or so in one-time gifts and monthly pledges before I can go. It is pretty crazy to imagine this all happening in just a week, but I believe that God is capable of providing everything that I need if it is indeed His will for me to go. Would you like to help? Feel free to email me if you have questions.

On August 17th my team will finally be together in Colorado for a week of briefing before we actually leave the United States. It should be an awesome time of getting to know one another better and humbly seeking the Lord for wisdom and vision for next year. Plus, the mountains in Colorado are very beautiful.

Seattle is just gorgeous right now, and it is weird to think of leaving it all behind.

(I didn't take this picture, either.)

t = (-) 20 days to departure

August 17th is coming up and I am not ready. But I think I will be. And just so you know, I cheated to get this photograph (in other words, I did a google image search).