Steps of the Called

And my God will supply every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

It's been a very busy few weeks, and all of a sudden, I seem to have so much news to share!! First of all, I'm so excited to announce that I have an official timeline for moving to the Azores!! Here's the plan: I'll keep working in Birmingham through the second week of December. Then I'll go home to Georgia to spend the holidays with my family. Hopefully this will also include some time to visit with extended family and friends who I don't see on a regular basis. Then, on January 11, 2013, I will hop on a plane and head to the islands!!!!! In case you can't tell by the overuse of exclamation points, I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! Yes, all of this is pending the approval of my visa application and sufficient fundraising, but I am confident that the Lord is going to provide those things at just the right time.

Speaking of provision, I'm happy to share with you all that the Lord has provided a wonderful place for me to live for my last few months in Birmingham. With the lease on my apartment ending at the end of August, I was hoping to find a temporary housing situation that would be convenient and allow me to save some money. Let me just tell you, the Lord totally worked it out PERFECTLY!! Around the beginning of August I was starting to get a little nervous about where I was going to live. I knew I didn't need to sign another lease on an apartment since I'd be leaving in the next few months, but as I pursued other options, nothing was really working out. Finally, just as I though I was going to have to settle for a less than ideal situation, I was introduced to Ms. Suzanne. Ms. Suzanne is a wonderfully sweet lady from my church who has opened up her home to me and provided just what I was praying for! From now until the time I leave Birmingham, I'll be renting Ms. Suzanne's basement. She's given me an awesome deal which allows me to put more of my income towards the mission fundraising, and now I live literally less than five minutes away from work! (talk about saving on gas!!) I cannot tell you how thankful I am for Ms. Suzanne's hospitality!! The Lord's perfect timing throughout this housing situation makes me all the more confident that all the money and paperwork will come together and I'll be living in the Azores in January!!

Last but not least, an update on fundraising. At this point I have approximately 20% of my budget for the year covered, but I still have a long way to go. With the fall season approaching, I decided that I could probably make a little headway in fundraising by selling these homemade scarves.