6 days...

6 days.

Only 6 more days until we leave for Chisinau, Moldova. Each and every day that our departure grows closer my excitement grows exponentially. As do my worries about if 6 days is enough to finish all the things I still need to do before we leave. This is the first time I've gone on a mission trip in the midst of having a full time job (the other two I was still a college student). That adds a new and somewhat stressful twist to the planning and preparation for departure. I generally only have from around 5:30 to whenever I get too tired to keep working on things to spend thinking about what I still need to do, and taking action to do those things. That makes all of this just a little more interesting... Clarity is coming though, about my purpose, my passion, missions work, the corporate business world, etc. Hopefully over the course of the next 3 weeks even more clarity will be gained in each of those areas... which leads to the point of this post. 

Prayers are still needed.

Prayers are always appreciated when traveling overseas. I have seen the power of prayer first hand and know that we will need it during our travels. There are a 6 things I would ask you to pray for specifically TODAY:

1. Personal Growth. Pray that each team member, staff member, and child will see personal growth in our own relationships with Christ. 
2. Intentional Conversations. Sometimes it's difficult to have intentional conversations with those around us about Christ, The Kingdom, and matters of faith. Pray that our team invests time in being intentional about being relational with God, with each other, and with the people of Moldova. 
3. Travel Preparations. Pray that each of our team members can get things set and covered for the time in which we will be gone, with jobs, families, and other outlying responsibilities that we can't put on pause while we are gone. (Contributed by Amanda Martin)
4. Prepared Hearts. Pray that we can go without expectation but also hearts that are prepared for the work God is going to do both in the orphanage and in our lives. 
5. Families. Pray for our families as we leave them to do the work of the Lord in another country, and pray for the families of the missionaries that are already serving in Moldova. (This includes, mothers/fathers/brothers/sisters/grandparents/children/cats... especially Bobbett, Amanda's cat, she's kind of obsessed with that cat-- don't believe me? Check Instagram. I'm laughing as I write this, so the prayers for laughter that I requested in yesterday's post are working)
6. Energy/Rest. Pray that over the next six days our team is able to rest at night despite all the things running through our minds as we prepare. Also pray that we have the energy to tie up all loose ends before we leave. 



Those are the 6 things I would ask you to pray for today. Tomorrow I'll have 5 things, then 4, then 3... and so on and so forth. I am encouraged by yours prayers, and by the peace that God has put on my heart that He is going to do great things while I am in Moldova.


Grace and Peace,

Brad aka Evergreen Tree