Penny for my thoughts.

Hey Friends,

Time for another update about my life before China.
Lately I have been having mixed feelings of excitement and stress of all the things I have to do before I leave. My first feelings is the stress about getting everything ready to go, dealing with leaving half way through the summer, fear about going to another country, walking out of my comfort zone teaching by myself to students who's language that I can't speak in any way shape or form, not being ready for such a big task and probably many other fear and stresses that I can't name or comprehend right now.
The things that I am excited about are so much more though because God is Faithful and Just. I am excited about having new experiences in another country and working with a team of people that not knowing very well have been on my heart the last few months. I am amazed at the peace I feel despite not having very much of my finances taken care of yet and struggling to even live my normal life let alone a month long trip across the world. I am grateful to the people that I have talked to that I know will support me in this experience in any way that they can. I had many conversations this week that have encouraged me through this time of preparation. I get a huge smile on my face when I think about the students I will be teaching and all the ways that I will be able to use what God has taught me.
In a packet that I got about my packing list and tips and there was one thing that I thought was really cool. The information said that I should find a good body spray from bath and body works and wearing it everyday while I am in China then not wearing it for a month and when I smell it again it will bring back so many memories about my experience, my students, my team, and the country. That was such a cool idea to me to have memories impacted so much by smells and to use that purposefully to bring the experiences and stories back to my mind. I am definitely going to do that and to try and journal everyday that I am there so I can look back and what I learned to better relate it to the people in the states.

I hope this all made sense and I am hoping for your support and prayer as all these feelings hit me at the same time. Feel free to make any comments or helpful hints if you have had similar experiences and feelings going on a trip.

May his face shine upon you and keep you
Lauren B.

The Journey Begins

As I start this blog I would like the first few months to be dedicated to my trip to China. I will be heading to China on July 8th, 2009. Before going I will be on a plane to Denver, Colorado to train with my team from Cornerstone University. I have 10 teammates from my school that will be traveling and teaching with me in the Sichuan province. I still have lots of finances to raise for the trip so the next few weeks will be spent preparing for the trip.

Before my trip I will be working at the Creative Learning Center Day Care in Grand Rapids and Chuck E. Cheese. At the day care I work with the infants up to one years of age and love it! They are so cute and though they only eat, sleep, poop, and put stuff in their mouths they are some of my favorite company :) I know what I am doing when I get around kids and teaching in some form is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have gifts and talents that I can use in the classroom and I am excited to teach the Chinese high school students I will encounter.

I will be writing about where I am in the process and letting everyone know any prayer requests that come up. I want to hear any comments and prayer requests that you have or tell me what is going on in your lives.

Thank You

Lauren B.