Vineyard Rocks My World!

Today I embraced my nature side (which, let's be honest, is hard to embrace since I am pretty much terrified of everything that lives outside that isn't soft, furry and cute) and went white water rafting with some friends on the Lehigh River. Our five hour trek covered about 8 miles, and though there were very few rapids I would consider "white water," it was still a blast. I even managed to come home just as pale as I left (Thank you for SPF 70!)

As I floated down the lazy parts of the river, my mind started to drift towards all the things I need to get done before I leave--everything from visa requirements I need to fulfill, to lesson planning, to the fact that I need a new glasses case. My head started to race at a million miles a minute, and those of you who have been around when that starts to happen have witnessed my panic moments. Today, however, I made a mental effort to stop the panic. I looked around at my wonderful outdoorsy friends (who still love me and invite me to go white water rafting even though I am horribly afraid of all things that live in water and tend to scream quite a bit when I encounter any sort of fish-like creature), and felt completely blessed. I have such wonderful friends and family--and this is particularly true of my church family.

This past Sunday, I gave a little schpiel (okay, I'm sure that's not how you spell it...but you know what I mean!) about my move to Portugal and what I'll be doing there. I basically laid out my whole financial situation--and the church responded with such generosity that I am still in shock. The church gave a total of $1,550 last week towards my missionary support. That is AMAZING! I feel so at home and so loved at Vineyard, and I am honored to be a part of this church family.

Thanks to you guys--my updated support total is as follows:

Needed by 8/14 in Cash: $700

Needed by 8/14 in Pledges and/or Cash: $3,600

Thank you again to everyone! Seriously, you guys rock my world :)

Love you all,

Ariel

"Expect great things from God; Attempt great things for God."

The above quote is from William Carey, the Father of Modern Missions. His words are powerful--encouraging us to expect great things from God, while reminding us to attempt great things at the same time. God wants to do incredible things in our lives. He is a miracle worker--He's raised people from the dead, created life out of nothing, formed the whole universe with only His voice!

It's tragic how sometimes we doubt that the God who did all of those things, can do anything in our lives today. We can believe that he formed mankind out of dust, but not that he will provide enough money to pay our bills this week or that he can heal our illness. God is so much bigger than the box we place him in, and he is so faithful to His children. I am expecting great things from God--not just that the rest of my funds will be raised in the next 25 (ahh!) days before I leave; but also that great things will happen as I join this ministry in Portugal.

Be encouraged--attempt great things for God! You don't have to move across the ocean. Just love people the way He loves people. Look for the broken hearted, the poor, and the forgotten--and treat them the way God would. Attempt great things--and expect great things to happen!

Okay, mini-sermon over :) I've had requests for updates on my fundraising--so here we are!
So far, I've raised (with your help, of course!) $1800. This is just enough to buy my plane ticket, which I'll be doing in the next few days. I am still required to raise another $2200 in cash before I leave. The other $4000 I need to raise, can be raised in the form of pledges, but I must have all $4000 accounted for before I leave. I've already received one pledge of about $40 a month (Thank you!), so I still need to raise pledges that amount to $360 a month (or $3600 total). That means if 36 people pledge $10 a month for the next 10 months, I'd have it all raised! Please keep praying, as we all believe the money will come in!

Love you all,
Ariel

Update!

Yard sale weekend has officially come to a close. Thank God! It was A LOT of work, but we did okay. Thanks to the relentless work of my mom, dad, and b-ma, we raised about $400, which is great. Every little bit helps.

Here's an update on the fundraising:

I've only raised about $1000 so far, and I'm supposed to leave for Portugal in just a little over a month. That means, according to my grandmother who told me this today, I need to raise about $220 a day to meet my budget. Scary, right?! The truth is, I don't have to have all $8000 in cash before I leave. I could definitely just have some monthly pledges--even $25 a month would be great. I will, however, probably need about half of my total budget in cash before I leave. This would be for my plane ticket, settling into Portugal (paying deposits, rent, moving stuff), and whatever else might pop up.

The missions organization that is handling all of my finances requires that I have the whole budget raised (pledges count) before I leave, so I'm a bit anxious. I'm also completely out of ideas! So if you have any ideas for fundraising, please let me know!

I'm also in the process of trying to get my visa, which is INSANE! There's so much work to be done, and if I don't do it just perfectly, I have to start all over. Prayers would be much appreciated as I try to navigate this visa craziness.

Thank you so much to the people who have already given towards my support--I cannot express how much this means to me. You have been a huge blessing to me, and I pray that God rewards you for your kindness ten times over!

Love,

Ariel

41 Days and Counting...

Here's what's happening on the home front!

Rain, Rain, go away!

The big yard sale we had planned for today was postponed due to the yucky weather. My family and I spent hours and hours going through everything so it would be ready for today--and I so appreciate all of those who took the time to go through their own garages for items to donate. It's frustrating that things didn't quite work out as I hoped, but we'll reschedule the yard sale for next Saturday (when the weatherman tells me it will be sunny) and hopefully we'll be able to raise some of my support.

It is with an extremely red face that I admit I accidently sent out newsletters without postage to my extended family this past week. They were simply dropped into the post office box, and I didn't even realize I had forgot to put stamps on them until one of them was returned to me. I looked at the little note which said, "Returned for Postage" and instantly realized my mistake! Apparently, some of the letters were delivered anyway (God must love me!), but if any of you were asked to pay postage, please, let me know and I will reimburse you! I feel so horrible about it!!

There are only 41 days until I need to be in Portugal, and there is still so much to be done. My first challenge is raising the money I need for the airfare ($1200). Once I've bought my plane ticket, I can proceed onto my visa. Please, keep praying that God will provide the money necessary for me to go!

Love you all,

Ariel