Hey all!

Here's an update on my Guatemala plans!

After all the challenges of the last several months, my flight is booked and my departure is rapidly approaching! I am now flying out early in the morning on March 24th. The exact length of how long I'll be gone isn't set in stone, but I'm anticipating being in Guatemala for most of this year. 

As a fundraising update, God has raised $3,060! I'm still looking to raise about $11,500 ish for the whole time. With the different changes, direct donations to me personally, whether via Venmo (shananz), Zelle (bank transfer), check, or other method are most helpful, but for tax-deductible donations, you're still all good to donate via my blog! For anyone who may be concerned if the money is going to me directly with the ambiguity in my plans: no need to worry. Money raised for this time will be used for expenses in Guatemala, and if any is not needed for that time, it will go toward my next missionary venture. 

I also wanted to share an insight God showed me recently when I was reading 1 Kings 19:20-21. For context, Elijah the prophet just conferred the prophetic calling to Elisha. 

Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, "First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!" Elijah replied, "Go on back, but think about what I have done to you."

So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.

The first thing that struck me about this passage was how Elijah permitted him to go say farewell to his old life. Later on in the Bible, Jesus called several people to follow him, but when they wanted to finish up what they were working on when he called them, he told them to leave it all behind, but they thought his directive was too harsh. Based on what happens after Elisha returns to his plowing, I think Elijah's permission was probably based on Holy Spirit guidance. I imagine Elisha would have left even if Elijah told him to follow him without looking back. 

Elisha, a man who was just recruited by Elijah while in the middle of plowing the fields, goes back to "kiss my father and mother good-bye." What astounds me is that he was so committed to obedience to that call that he literally killed the very oxen he was using to plow the earth with in his old life, and used that same plow to build a fire to roast those oxen! There was no turning back for him. Elisha did not have a back up plan. There was no "just in case." 

He was so fully committed to obedience, that at the first call of God on his life, he destroyed all remnants of his old life in celebration of the new. The ashes provided the fertilizer for his new growth.

How convicting is that?! 

I know I was convicted.

How many times do we have a million different back-up plans, little remnants of our old life "just in case." 

What if we dared to commit so FULLY to obedience that we had no other option but to follow Him?

It's something I'm thinking about. I love to be prepared. But I'm realizing in this season that God gave me this life, really just a breath in the wind in the scheme of eternity. Even if I never accomplish anything "productive" by the world's standards, as long as I live a life of obedience and surrender to God, my life will be productive. And you know, God knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11). I don't need to have my own contingency plans to protect me "if following Him doesn't work out." What I actually need is enough trust to take the remains of my life and use it as the fuel to fan the passion of my love for Jesus, the flame of obedience. 

I challenge you to think about how this could apply in your own life. Do you struggle with not wanting to "put all your eggs in one basket," so to speak? You're not alone, but God wants so much more for us. We can't rest in the freedom of His guidance if we're weighed down with our own guidebooks. Lord, I pray that you would give us all the courage to live a life of abandon - abandon to everything that's not You.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to sending more regular updates as I move forward in this next season. I am infinitely grateful for your support! May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.