Placement

I found out where I will be going. I have been placed in 澳门 (Macau), which is off the southern coast of China.  Once a Portugese colony, it now is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China.  They just celebrated their 11th year of freedom from Portugal in December.  "Under the policy of "one country, two systems", the PRC's Central People's Government is responsible for the territory's defense and foreign affairs, while Macau maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, customs policy, and immigration policy." (This all taken from Wikipedia...yes, the most reliable internet source out there...ok, so maybe not, but this is all true).  


It is also the gambling capitol of the world, making 4 times more than Vegas does in a year...at least that's what I heard.  I have been there before, and love it.  It has a landmass of 11.39 square miles, an estimated population of 544,600, and they drive on the left side of the street.  The average temperature is 54º-89ºF, depending on the month.  85% of the population claims Cantonese as their language, possibly knowing Mandarin as well, though only 3% speak Mandarin.  English accounts for 1.5% of the population.


I will be a Relationship Builder through EFL at the English Center there, working one on one with students.  I will also be getting to know the people living in Macau, and enjoying making friends, and talking to my new friends about the wonderful gift that God has given to me and is giving to them as well!  I am excited to transition into this new stage of my life, and ready for what God has in store for me!  


I officially accepted the position, and eventually it will turn into a called position.  I will now begin to fundraise, so if anyone knows of any churches who would like to support a missionary, let me know so I can contact the elders!  I have missionary training in June, with my move to Asia being sometime in August.


Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and I pray that God shows his many blessings in your life as well! :)

In with the NEW!

Well, I guess this is the start of a new blog! I have finished a chapter in my life and am now beginning a new chapter, as well as a new blog!

For those who may not know, I just graduated from Concordia University Wisconsin with a Bachelors degree in Lay Ministry and Theology, with specializations in Youth Ministry and Missions. Translated, that means that I am trained to work in a church as a youth leader, or overseas as a missionary. I am about a month into life as a "big girl," and am still just awaiting the transition that is soon to take place. This transition wil begin once I hear where my missionary placement will be from LCMS-World Missions. I have been informed that pending acception from the mission field, I will be receiving that information sometime this week! I know it's only Monday, but I am still excited and eager, yet trying to be patient!

I am excited for this new chapter to begin, but along with this chapter comes a greater need: support. I do not know where in the world I will be, but no matter where it is I will need the support of the Christian Church! I am asking people to take this journey with me through prayer! Please pray for me as I embark on a journey that is beyond anything I have ever imagined.

In addition, please prayerfully consider supporting me financially in addition to prayerfully. I don't know the amount of money that I will need to raise, but I can estimate it at $20,000-$40,000 per year, depending on the mission field.

I am ready to follow wherever God is sending me, and I thank Him for the wonderful friends and support that He has blessed me with! Please follow my blog to receive updates, prayer requests, stories, pictures, and more directly from me.

I am partially writing now (before receiving my placement) to begin to inform everyone about my life and to start thinking about this adventure, but also to figure out how to blog as awesome as my friend Rebekah. She uses the same blog to blog about her internship in Korea! My blog for my internship teaching English in 中国 (China) was alright, but all blogging websites were blocked in China. That means that in order to update my (new) blog, I had my roommate add the blogs for me. This means I did not use it enough to figure out how to make it look cool, so I now need to figure out the system! Bear with me while I figure this out :)

Until next time, adios!