Why does God want me to go to La Paz?

Hey all!!

Wow, in less than a month and a half Delaney, Colby, Meg and I will be on the ranch! I can hardly believe it.  My feelings are a mixture of anxiety and excitement.  Honestly I am amazed that I’m able to go at all.  I can truly say that God still performs miracles because a year ago I never would have thought that I would serve Him like this.

            About two years ago I started to come to church at GEBC.  It took a while to get plugged in because I have had a bad experience with youth groups in the past.  But Meg brought me along and somehow I ended up going on the Mexico trip when I had only been to youth group once or twice.  I thought that I should go because I wanted an adventure and I thought that it was the right thing to do.  I was blown away by the people I met in La Paz (the interns, the Gattos, the local kids, and most of all my team).  They showed me that God really cared about me and it didn’t matter that I didn’t have all the Bible knowledge that I thought He expected from me.  I was terrified when Antho asked me to share my testimony with Fletch and Korey because I didn’t think that I had anything valuable to say.  I did not have that much faith in God at all, and I didn’t see why they wanted me to speak and not somebody who was a “better Christian”.  However, afterwards I saw that my very small faith in God was enough to make a difference.  I think that was the moment when God called me back to Mexico- and I hadn’t even left yet!!

            My sophomore year has been the hardest year of my life.  So much has changed and I feel burdened by so many things that I can’t escape from.  The whole time I’ve been under the pressure that if I don’t get better, I won’t be able to go to La Paz.  In January I was convinced that I wouldn’t be able to go because I was not making progress.  But right now I am happy to say that God has brought me through this year- there’s just no other way to explain it.  I’m guessing my friends think I’m crazy for thinking that God wants me to give up my summer to work on a ranch but I could not be any more excited to see what He’s gonna do next!

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Katie