Just A Week Left...

As the title suggests, I am going to be in Alaska in a week! I am quite excited, to say the least. I still can't believe I get to do this. So yesterday I got back from a 3 and a half day orientation for this summer, along with everyone else who is doing summer missions. I have to confess, I didn't think I would like it very much, but thankfully, I was wrong. I actually had a blast. It was a pretty awesome thing to get about 40 people together who are trying to make an eternal difference this summer. It's a great feeling to know that everybody surrounding you loves God as much as you do and wants to share that love with people all over the world. It was also great to see where people's passions are. Some people are going as far away as South Africa and Wales, and some people are staying right here in North Carolina going to little ol' places like Thomasville and Sanford. It is really neat that God instilled all of us with a different passion for the summer, whether it is staying in NC or venturing over to another continent. Regardless of where these places are, there are still people in all of them that need Jesus. I couldn't help but have the feeling throughout the entire time that we are all a part of something so much bigger than ourselves...which is such a comforting thing. I know that if it's up to me, there won't be a whole lot getting accomplished. At first it might seem overwhelming that we are putting ourselves in situations that we can't handle, but I think it is just another opportunity for God to show off and do things way better than we ever could. I really like it when God does that.
Anyway, like I was saying, orientation was great. We were going hard. We went from about 7:30am to around 11pm doing all sorts of meetings, from how to prepare a Bible study, to the crowd favorite, handleing sexual harrassment in the workplace. It was all a ton of fun, and it was great getting to know people from other schools. It was pretty neat, because we had all seen each other at Interview Weekend and at Spring Conference. I must say, I'm looking forward to hanging out with all of those people in the future.

So back to Alaska. I don't really have anymore details, but thats alright. I just know that I am super excited and I expect big things from God during the summer. I hope that you will please pray for the people in Southeast Alaska and my team that's going up there. Also, please remember all the summer missionaries in prayer and pray they can help make an eternal difference this summer.

Grace and Peace,
Lyns

Getting Ready!

Hello folks! Well I decided to set up this nifty blog here so that I can write all about my summer mission trip to Alaska. I'll be moving to Alaska on June 4th for 10 weeks. I get to travel all over the Southeast part of AK and do Vacation Bible School at a lot of different churches. I also get to work at a kid's camp for a week. The way it looks now, I'll be in a different town every week. We are going to be traveling by ferries and possibly by little puddle-jumper planes. I get to do all of this with 3 other people: Aaron, from North Carolina, and Turner and Jake, from Alabama. I'm pretty dang excited!

As of now, I have no idea where I'll be sleeping or where I'll be eating...but I'm ok with that. I like how chill all of this seems to be right now. I think God can sometimes work the best when we don't have every little detail pinned down.

This is an enormous mission field, by the way. Alaska is one of the most non-religious states in the United States. But I have high hopes that this is going to change pretty soon. When I think about this trip, I get the overwhelming feeling that God is going to do some enormous stuff. This is definitely not because of anything me or my team will do, but because of God. I just hope that God can use us to help make an eternal difference in the time there. The truth is, however, that God is already working in AK, He's gonna work while we are there, and He's gonna keep working when we leave. That's just the way God works. All I hope to do is to be an instrument that He can use while I'm there.

Some prayer requests:
-Everyone in the towns of Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan, and Coffman Cove come to know Jesus
-Safe travels
-My teammates: Aaron, Turner, and Jake
-Team unity
-Effectiveness

Also, I'd really appreciate it if you would keep the following people and the locations they will be serving in prayer. These are folks that are in Baptist Campus Ministries with me at App State that are doing summer missions this summer as well:

Lauren Allen- Boone, NC
Gwen Arsenault- Newfoundland, Canada
Bruce Bentley- Los Angeles, California
Andrew Blakeley-NC and Canada
Nathan Bost-Malaysia
Thomas Chavez-Los Angeles, California
Randall Dameron- All over NC
Mandy Henderson-Kenya
Maria Jarrell-Miami, Florida
Megan Keith-Sanford, NC
Josh Littlejohn-Los Angeles, California
Amanda Mitchell- NC and Canada
Kelsey Morris-Los Angeles, California
Storm Stewart- Los Angeles, California
Luke Summey-Los Angeles, California
Katherine Wiggins- Johannesburg, South Africa

I'll be writing more soon.

Grace and Peace,
Lyndsey