Growing Where I am Planted...

My Mom recently got me a new journal, which is one of my favorite things, and on the front it says "Grow where you are planted". She thought this was very appropriate for me, and she was right!

I've been having a very difficult time with where I am at right now, and honestly I have been struggling so much with being content. I was realizing how I can read quotes on contentment and write devotionals on contentment, but when it comes down to it, contentment is so much easier said than done, and I have been so discontent. I've been bringing this to the Lord, asking Him to help me to be content. He already knows my feelings and struggles, and I am so thankful for this. I don't have to pretend I have it all together when I come to Him...I can confess everything to Him, knowing that He doesn't despise my weaknesses.

As a lot of people know, I am currently in a study for a new drug for Cystic Fibrosis. While the possible benefits of this study are very exciting, this really has been a hard thing for me, and something which I have not wanted to do. I'm not exactly sure the reasoning for this. I have known that I don't want to be a part of this study, but why? It makes perfect sense to do it, and deep inside, I know that I know that I know that this is what the Lord wants me to do, so why have I been so against it, and why have I been feeling resentful inside about it? People ask me about the study, both at work and at church, and while I know I should feel so loved and blessed that people care enough to ask, it has been a hard question for me because inside I have been struggling so much with it. I believe that this all comes down to discontentment. I so need the Lord's grace and mercy, for Him to come and help me in this area of my life! I have been so discontent with where I am, and have wanted so much to be able to go back to another country and serve there, but right now this study is keeping me here. I need to look at it as not the study keeping me here, but instead, it is Jesus keeping me here for now because this is where He wants me.

One thing the Lord has been teaching me is that I can trust Him with the desires of my heart. Too often I let fear control me, and I even fear what will happen if I trust the Lord with the desires in my heart. I feel as though it's "too easy" to simply surrender it all to Him...when in reality sometimes it's really hard. The Lord has been so good to me, He has given me every reason to trust that He will take care of me. He has been so amazingly faithful to me. He knows the desire in my heart to be a missionary, I mean, after all, He put it there! He has led me to Germany, to Belize, to Montana, to Costa Rica, and I have followed...so if He leads me to stay here and travel to and from California, shouldn't I follow just the same? I want to follow Him with joy in my heart and not begrudgingly.

As it's been especially hard lately as I walk through this season of waiting, I know I must trust that this season of waiting doesn't mean He's forgotten me, but rather that He is preparing me. I am so comforted by the passage in Isaiah 49:15-16..."Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me."  

Some thoughts I wrote in my journal today...

Lord Jesus, help me not to despise where I am planted right now, but to grow where You have so lovingly planted me. I pray that I would remember Ecclesiastes 3, and that there is a time for every season. You make everything beautiful in it's time, and are faithfully working in all seasons of my life. Though this is a very hard season for me, help me to embrace it, to be thankful for every blessing You pour out on me, even through this hard time, please be my joy. Please help me to have strength to get up every day, even when I feel I lack all motivation to do so. Please use me where You have planted me.

I have a friend at work who always is such an encouragement and a blessing to me...he brightens my days so much, especially the hard ones. One time I had asked him to be praying for me because I was having a bad day, and he prayed for me right there on the spot...while standing at the door making sure people had their Costco cards. I still remember one time when I was talking to him he told me that right there (Costco) is his mission field. He then said something that has stuck with me. He said "Is it the one I'd choose? No. But it's the one He's given me." I feel as though those words speak so much to my heart right now. I've been so disappointed and hurting because of where I'm at, but am I going to allow my feelings to get in the way of how and where God wants to use me? Or will I humbly accept where He has placed me, just like my friend at work has, and allow Him to use me how He sees fit? A flower does not choose where it is planted, but grows wherever the Gardener plants it. 

Through this season in my life, I want to rejoice in Jesus, instead of walking around in discouragement. This is way easier said than done, as daily it has been a battle for me. I love the song "Good to Me" by Audrey Assad because it speaks to my heart:

"When I’m bowed down with sorrow I will lift up Your name
And the foxes in the vineyard will not steal my joy
Because You are good to me, good to me
You are good to me, good to me
You are good to me".

The Lord IS good to me. When I feel bowed down with sadness and discouraged, I want to CHOOSE to lift up His name, and not let circumstances steal the joy that is found in Christ.
God is good, and I want to serve Him where He has planted me. I want to be His light at Costco, in the airports, and at the hospital in California. I don't want people to look at me and see discontentment and a girl who wishes she was somewhere else...I want them to see Jesus. Oh Lord, help me in this. It's one thing to write a blog about this, but it's another thing to get up and live this each day. Thank you so very much to everyone who has been praying for me. Thank you for being excited for me as I do this drug study, and for caring enough to ask me about it. I really, honestly, appreciate it so much. God bless you all!

Strength and Comfort

There have been many times in this life when my strength has failed; times I have been so weak and weary.
As hard as these times might be, it is when I am weak that I see His strength; it is when my strength fails that I realize His is still perfect.
I've read Psalm 71 many, many times, but today as I read it, verse 16 jumped out at me:
"I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only."
How comforting it is to know that I can go in HIS strength. I don't need to try to go through my day in my own strength. From the moment I wake up to the moment I put my head on the pillow, and all the moments in between, it is His strength which enables me to keep going.
When God places a calling on my life, He gives with it the strength to fulfill it...His perfect strength.
Verse 21 of Psalm 71: "You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side." 
I love this...comfort on every side. No matter what the struggles, trials, setbacks, or disappointments I might be facing, His comfort is mine, and it is protecting me all around. I can run to His Word, rest in His arms, and lean close, knowing that nothing can take me from His loving embrace. There is so much comfort in Jesus, and the harder this life is, the more opportunity I have to experience that sweet comfort. Likewise, the weaker I feel, the more I will experience His strength.
How thankful I am to be living life for Jesus! When my strength fails, His is still perfect, and when I'm discouraged, He comforts me.
Strength and comfort...these are mine in Jesus.

God IS Good

There is so much on my heart and my mind, so much I feel that I could write that I don't even know where to begin, but I will begin by saying this, God is good. He is so very good, through all the ups and downs in life, I can confidently say that He is good and I am so very thankful for His unending, undeserved goodness to me.

I got back home from Montana on May 4th, and while it is a blessing being able to be home again, it was really hard to leave Montana. I had been home a couple times in the last 10 months, but both times were short and I wasn't really able to "settle in" - I was either preparing to leave for Costa Rica or to return to Montana. When I came home in May, it was hard for me to realize that my time with Potter's Field had come to a close, and I felt a strange let down - which can maybe be compared to the let down one might feel after Christmas, although for me it was much harder, and if I'm honest, it still is hard for me. When I came back from Costa Rica and went to Montana for my month of reentry, I wasn't really struggling with being back in the states - not that I didn't miss those in Costa Rica, but I felt strangely content and was so thankful to be where I was, and was so blessed to spend that month pondering all that the Lord had done. I felt it harder once I returned home, which I think for me is because, like I said, it was the let down of everything coming to a close. I also felt overwhelmed by the questions people asked, such as, "So what's next?" I knew that I would be asked questions such as these, but I quickly learned that knowing this doesn't make it easy when it happens. For me, each time I am asked this is a reminder that I really don't know what's next, and I struggle so much with that - more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, I don't hold it against anyone for asking me questions such as these, in fact, I'm actually very thankful that people have asked me and are showing an interest in my life and what God's doing, it just has been hard and something through which the Lord is growing me. He is teaching me to be content even in this season of uncertainty. 

I got home from Montana on a Saturday, and then the following Thursday I went into the hospital for IV therapy to try to rid my lungs of infection and bring my lung function back up. I had been expecting this soon upon my arrival home, but not quite so soon! Nonetheless, I know that God's timing is best, and though my hospital stay was also longer than I had anticipated, He taught me much through it and I'm so thankful. For me, it was especially challenging to just have that time where I couldn't be busy and active - especially after being busy for the last 10 months! I knew that one of the reasons the Lord brought me there was to MAKE me rest. He also taught me things that I don't think I would have learned otherwise. One of the lessons was the lesson of not hanging onto that which He has already forgiven. This is a lesson He has been teaching me time and time again for such a long time, and one I thought I had learned, but I found myself once again struggling with guilt and trusting in the Lord's grace and forgiveness. For the first days of my hospital stay, I was hooked up to my IV for a considerable portion of the day, and so I had to take it with me (and I learned what a bad idea it is to put my cell phone on the stand - but that is a whole other story) wherever I would go. It wasn't terrible, but it was a hassle. I would stub my toe on the stinkin stand and it would just be nice when I was disconnected and FREE. Well, in the midst of all this, the Lord brought me to Romans 8, which has always been a favorite passage of mine.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans. 8:1-2) Verse 2 especially stood out to me - Jesus has made me free! I thought about me being hooked up to my IV, and what a challenge it was to constantly drag that with me everywhere. I realized how I don't have to drag around my past, constantly stubbing my toe and stumbling over it, because Jesus has set me free from it. When my nurse would unhook me from my IV, I didn't beg to be hooked up again, I didn't take the stand with me just because I was so attached to that (how weird would that have looked haha), but instead I took advantage of my time being free. The same is true with my past - it is so silly when I drag it around behind me because Jesus has already freed me from it. I don't ever have to be hooked up to that again. PRAISE THE LORD! I listened to a sermon this morning and the pastor said, "Never remind God of something He has chosen to forget, and He has chosen to forget our sins." I'll say it again, PRAISE THE LORD!

When I was in the hospital, I happened to see a little baby just lying there on the hospital bed in the room next to mine - nobody seemed to be in the room with it. My heart instantly went out to that child! Sometimes I would be in my room and I would hear a baby crying, and how sad that was to hear, not because I was annoyed by it, but it was sad because in my mind, babies shouldn't have to be in the hospital. This was only the 2nd time of me being hospitalized in my life, but there was a little baby there who has the same thing I do and he was only 2 weeks old. To make matters worse, I asked about the baby next door to me (because I had seen it), and I heard that it was all alone - nobody was there with it. My heart broke. I really struggled with the thought of a baby being there with nobody there to love it and comfort it. It really put things in perspective for me. I wanted so badly to go and hold the baby, and I tried, but there are far too many rules in the hospital that hindered me from doing so. I just wanted to be able to love it. I was really burdened, and I kept asking questions about the baby - though nobody was allowed to tell me ANYTHING I managed to get some information. :) There were multiple babies there so it was really hard to keep track of which was which - especially when they weren't allowed to say names. I found out that the baby wasn't alone, although it is not unheard of for a baby to be there alone, and that even though she had a messed up family life, she now has a foster mom there who is very loving. This made me feel better - but I still wanted to go see her! The night before I went home, I was questioning my nurse about the baby in the next room, and I asked him if it would be okay if I visited her after I was discharged (because then I wouldn't be a patient anymore), and if it was okay with the foster mom. He asked me how I knew there was a foster mom but I wouldn't tell him (I protect those who give me information haha), and he told me it would be okay, but I just needed to be sure to get permission.

The next day was very long and didn't go as planned, but I did finally get discharged and my Mom went and asked the foster mom if I could come in to visit the baby. She gave permission and I was able to go and visit sweet baby Stevie :) What a blessing to end my hospital stay by visiting her.

Being there at the hospital, I once again learned how everywhere I go is a mission field. It was so easy to focus on myself when I was in my room, but as I got out around others, I realized how there are so many there who are hurting, whether for themselves or for a loved one. When I got out and looked for ways to minister to others, I felt so blessed myself. The Lord uses us even in our weaknesses, especially in our weaknesses.

One of the songs that came on when I was in the hospital that really ministered to me is called "Aslan" by Kendall Payne. The lyrics that really spoke to me are these:

"But He won't say the words you wish that He would 
Oh, He don't do the deeds you know that He could
He won't think the thoughts you think He should
But He is good, He is good"

How true these words are. So often the Lord doesn't do what I wish He would do, He doesn't do what I know He could do, He doesn't think like I think He should think, but He IS good. Are there things I don't understand in this life? For sure. I don't understand why babies and little kids have to be in the hospital, why parents leave their children, or why we have to walk through some of the things we do, but I do KNOW that He is good. I am so thankful that He doesn't say, do, and think the things I think He should, because His ways are so much better than mine. Even though it hurts to see the pain and suffering of others, I am so comforted to know that He is good and He will be faithful to care for all those children. If I don't even know them and I love and care for them, how much more does He love and care for them, who intimately knows them. He doesn't even have to try to get the information out of the nurses, He just KNOWS. God is seriously so good! 

During our month of reentry in Montana, we worked through a book called "Blueprint for Life", and we had to write down our dreams, goals, etc. One of my goals was to be able to go to the hospital and visit children. How cool it is that the Lord helped me with that goal in a way that I wouldn't have expected.

I will close with something short I wrote while in Costa Rica, because lately I have been needing to remember that God's strength IS perfected in my weakness, and that even my weaknesses are a testament of His love for me, because my weaknesses are what draw me closer to His side. Thank You, Lord, for choosing to use weak people for Your glory.

2 Corinthians 12:5

"On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses."

Paul boasted of his weaknesses. How contrary to human nature! Yet Paul knew his weaknesses kept him dependent upon the Lord, thus his weaknesses became his strengths, his weaknesses became God's strength magnified in him. We can either let the enemy use our weaknesses to tear us down, or we can let God use them to build us up in His strength.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers for me these past months. I am so thankful, and I still appreciate your prayers as I seek His direction for the future. I need to keep my eyes fixed on Him!

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

I'm so very thankful for the Lord's faithfulness in my life. Even though my time here in Costa Rica has been very different than what I expected, it has been so very blessed. I once heard something said about how the problem with expectations is that most of the time we don't realize we have them until they are not met. How true that is!

On my very first mission trip, which was to Germany, the pastor who led the trip said to go with no expectations. I think that is great advice full of wisdom. The problem is, as humans, we do often have expectations in some way, shape, or form. I think something we need to consider is how do we respond when those expectations are not met? Do we become bitter and question God, or do we humbly submit to the Lord's plan, saying, "Not my will but Yours", knowing His ways are so much higher than ours?

I came here to Costa Rica expecting it to be much like my time in Belize was almost two years ago.
My time in Belize was incredibly hard, and also very primitive. We had no electricity, no running water, and there were seven of us who slept in a one room cabin. I was super homesick, but every moment that I talked on the phone to my family was costly, and internet was not something we had access to on a daily basis. There were times it was really scary living out in the jungle, and so many times I cried out to the Lord, knowing I needed His strength to carry on each day.
It was hard, and yet each time I cried to the Lord, He so faithfully strengthened me. My times with Him were so sweet. Though physically and emotionally I felt so weak, spiritually I was being strengthened daily.

All that being said, I guess I came to Costa Rica expecting the same hard times (though I knew it wouldn't be nearly as primitive), and also expected the same sweet times, but therein lies the problem... I was expecting the "same" times, and nothing remains the same except Jesus Christ Himself.

When I found that I was not experiencing the same hard times, as well as the sweet times of crying out to the Lord, I began to feel as if I was doing something wrong. I have had my challenges and hard days here, but, again, not as in Belize, and thus I began to think maybe I'm not a threat to the enemy. I know this probably sounds really silly, but it is something through which I have been really struggling.

I've longed to have the same sweet times with the Lord, and I've felt so frusterated, wondering what is wrong with me.

This all comes back to the expectations that snuck in with my luggage and came with me. I made the terrible mistake of focusing on feelings and what I'm doing, rather than on what Jesus is doing. I worried so much about how my time on the mission field now is different than it was then, which blinded me to all that the Lord is doing presently.

Recently, I talked to both my Mom and the pastor's wife here, and they reminded me that the Lord only desires obedience. Sometimes I can get it into my head that I need to be suffering for Christ, experiencing an excruciating trial, in order to be really living for Christ, but this mindset is so wrong. Of course, suffering does sometimes follow obedience, but we must not gauge our obedience based upon our suffering, based upon how much we are sacrificing.

The Lord desires obedience and not sacrifice. The Lord sees not as I see in my limited point of view. The Lord looks at my obedience, whereas I look at my sacrifice. If my sacrifice doesn't seem grand enough or good enough, I despair, thinking I'm not living in obedience.

Here in Costa Rica, I have running water, electricity, and most of the time access to internet, which means I can talk to my family pretty much whenever I want. These are all huge blessings, and I am so thankful for them. Though being here in Costa Rica does not "feel" like much of a sacrifice, I know that this is where the Lord has called me.

Though I brought with me my expectations, I do not want to carry them back home with me... unmet expecations are far too heavy and thus far too costly to carry.

God's ways are so much better than mine, and He always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.  Though different than what I expected, my time here in Costa Rica has been so very blessed.

This morning as I was on a walk, I saw some of the children in my neighborhood. One of them was a little girl who stole my heart one of my first weeks here. When she sees me, her face lights up with a beautiful smile that makes my day. With her was a little boy, who was anxious to show me he lost a tooth.
A little further down the road, I passed by a couple girls who live across the street from me, and they greeted my warmly with hugs. I love these children!

 It has been very hard not being able to really communicate with them because of the language barrier, but it is so humbling that they are still excited to see me and eager for me to take them into my arms and love them.

I'm going to miss my morning walks, I'm going to miss seeing the children walk to school, I'm going to miss the girls greeting me from across the street when I'm coming and going from my apartment.

Was Costa Rica what I expected? I guess it wasn't, but I know it was what God knew I needed. I don't have to go home carrying unmet expectations, I can go with a heart filled with love for these children, a heart filled with gratitude that for almost six months God saw fit to give me children to love, and somehow they loved me back.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and encouragement while I have been away. I am excited that I will be able to see many of you soon!

Please pray for my team and I as our time here comes to an end. Please pray that by His grace we finish well.

God bless,

Emily

And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Costa Rica Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Once again, thank you so much for your prayer support as I am here in Costa Rica! Time is moving fairly quickly, and it is hard to believe I have less than 2 months left here!

In the afternoons, Sydnie and I often go out to various neighborhoods to invite kids to different children's events that we have. It has definitely been really good to be getting out in the community, not just to tell people about events, but also just because it is wonderful being able to meet more people. Though there is still a language barrier for me, it is a blessing being able to get out and look for other ways to shine Jesus' love.

The Potter's Field Kids' program will be starting back up again on February 25th - I am very excited for this! I have missed this time with the kids, and actually have missed the routine of the program. I know that ministry should not just be a routine, but I do miss having that set time each day with the kids. Quite a few kids have signed up so far for the program and so we are very excited.

This last Monday, Tandrian, Sydnie, and I went to San Jose with a lady from the church here. We came back Tuesday, so it was a short trip, but it was good. We were able to walk around and see the different shops there, and we also went to a mall. It was a nice taste of home! In a way, it made me miss home because even though it reminded me of home and I was able to get things that I get back in the states (Cinnabon for example :)), it wasn't home and my family wasn't there. It was still really good though, and it was nice to have a little bit of a break. We also went to Price Smart while we were there, which reminded me so much of Costco, and of working there. I didn't see any sample people though! :)

In the mornings, before we start work at the church, I have been listening to sermons online by Jon Courson. I have been blessed by his teachings. My Mom actually really encouraged me to listen to a sermon every day if I can, because it is so important to be feeding on the Word. I was becoming really discouraged with things, and she thought some of it might be because of the language barrier and not really being able to have fellowship with people at church, and also not understanding the sermons. I do have a translator most of the time at church, and that is really good, but it's not quite the same as being able to understand the pastor for yourself. I am thankful for the online resources that we have available to us!

Overall, I am doing well and am blessed to be here. The sermon I listened to this morning was a reminder to me to be still and know that He is God. Pastor Jon was talking about how we think "what do we need to do?"... but really we need to think "what do we need to be?" The answer is, be still. Be still and know that He is God. This is always such a good reminder to me! Sure, we can walk around all anxious trying to figure everything out, but Jesus wants us to simply come to Him, to simply be still in His presence, to recognize it's not about what we do, but about who He is, and to trust Him with all our hearts. Lately, I have been feeling like there is so much to do, and I become discouraged by the expectations I place upon myself, and feeling like I constantly have things to get done. It is so encouraging to remind myself to be still, to know that He is God, and, thankfully, I'm not. I can be still, trusting in Him with a thankful heart, and He will be faithful to enable me to do the things which He wants me to do.

I hope that you are all doing well and being blessed. Thank you again so much for praying for me. If there is anything that you would like me to pray for you about, please don't hesitate to email! What a blessing it is to be able to pray for one another.

Love and God bless!

Emily

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10

Costa Rica Update and Prayer Requests

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers for me! I love you all.

Things have been much more laid back than my first couple months here. Right now the kids here are on summer break and so that also means the Potter's Field Kids after school program is on break as well. I am excited for PFK to start back up again next month! 

It's hard to believe my time here is over halfway done. Yesterday we made a trip to Nicaragua to get our visas renewed. Praise the Lord, we all got 90 days and so will not have to make another visa trip. It was neat to be able to see another country. We had to be out of Costa Rica for 3 hours in order to get our visas renewed, and so once in Nicaragua we took a taxi to Rivas, which isn't too far from the border. We spent time there, and then when it was time we took a taxi back to the border and crossed back into Costa Rica. Thankfully, the trip was uneventful for the most part, and it ended up costing a lot less than I had planned, which made me happy.

At Christmas time we had a couple weeks off of working at the church. We are now back to working there, which means spending most mornings there doing whatever may need to be done on that particular day, cleaning and what not. I talked to Corey today and asked him what we should be doing in the afternoons while PFK is on break, and he mentioned that he would like us go out and tell kids about PFK so that they can register for it, and for us to get out and do more evangelism. This will be good to help fill our time. I am thankful that we have time to rest and that I am not worn out (I was afraid I would be tired all the time here), but it is a struggle to have so much free time. I feel as though I am living in Costa Rica but not really doing anything of value, and my heart is to be sharing Jesus with others. The language barrier is so very hard for me and there are so many times I feel useless here because of it. Even when we go out evangelizing, I feel as though I am just following the others since I am not the one having the conversations. I have often felt that I would be so much more usable to the Lord if I were at home and working. 

These have been some of my thoughts and struggles as I am here, and yet the Lord is so good and is faithful to encourage me and remind me to trust Him, and that His ways are not my ways. He doesn't ask me to understand His ways, only to trust Him. I know that it doesn't matter if I feel useful and effective, because that is just focusing on myself and how I feel. Maybe the Lord is using this in my life to keep me dependent on Him, to make me see that my adequacy and sufficiency is not in myself, but in Him. Even if I were at home and could speak the language, my adequacy and sufficiency would still all be in Him.

I need to trust the Lord with all my heart. I so desperately want my time here to be spent for God's glory and for His purpose. I want to live a life that brings Him glory and points others to Him. I don't want to merely live in Costa Rica, I want to live in Costa Rica for Jesus. I know that the Lord has called me here, I know that He has me here for this season of my life, and so I must trust that He will use this time for His glory, and in the way that He sees fit.

God is good, and He is faithful. 

Thank you for continuing to pray for me!

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given my in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Prayer requests:

Please pray for my health - that my lungs would be healthy and I would be faithful to do my treatments like I need to do them.

Please pray that I would trust the Lord with all my heart, and be content with where He has me and for what purpose He has me here. 

Please pray for my team (Tandrian and Sydnie) and I, that we would be unified and serve well with one another. 

Thank you!