2 weeks and 50% to go!

There's Still Time to Give!

In 3 weeks I will be boarding a plane for the UK. I can't believe it's only 3 weeks away!! I still need to raise $2,585.09! I'm working like crazy and trying to sell things (to no avail) and I know God will provide what I need! If you'd like to give, there's still time! Click on the "Give" tab on this website for details on how to give. Thank you SO, SO much to those of you who have already given so generously! I am truly blessed by your love and support!

Faith and Vision

I realized, recently, that this trip may sound like less of a missions trip and more like a fun and expensive trip to London. While this trip will have moments of fun, it will be challenging and life-changing for me. I anticipate big things and I know God has so much for our team on this trip. So, please read on. I want to share with you WHY I'm going.

I am at a crossroads in this season of my life. I lost my job. I now have a job that I don't have to commit to long term. I feel and see God moving in my life now more than ever. In the past, I've made big decisions based on what I wanted and then slapped God's name on it to get people's approval. I realize, now, that it would be hard to take this seriously as many times as I've followed a "dream" or "longing" and failed. However, I'm human. We all make mistakes. And, for the first time, I can honestly say this is God and not me. God is stirring me in ways I don't understand. He's pushing me in directions that are uncomfortable and challenging me to believe in the seemingly impossible.

I'm going to Northern Ireland in May. I'm going. And my hope and my prayer is that I won't come back the same way I left. I'm praying for God's clarity and vision for my future. I'm praying for insight and confirmation for the things my heart burns for. On this trip, I will be stretched. I will live out of a backpack for two weeks. (If you know me, you know this is a challenge in itself.) I will pray for people I don't know in a place I don't know. I will stay with people I don't know. I will be challenged to share my story with people I don't know. My pastor recently informed us that, "When I'm on, you're on. At any time, I could call you up on stage and put you on the spot. Be ready for that." GULP. There will be very little down-time and I foresee there being some stressful moments with such little down-time.

This won't be a trip I take and come back to "life as usual". This will either confirm or deny my future in Northern Ireland. I don't know what God has for me, but I know there is a reason my heart stirs the way it does about this place. My heart breaks to hear about the 20 foot walls that continue to build in the city of Belfast. A mere band-aid to a much bigger problem. I hear about youth so angry and bitter that they have no hope or care for their own lives or future. The last name they want to hear is "Jesus". The last place they want to go is "church". This nation is divided by a history of politics, pride, and prejudice. God wants reconciliation. Matthew 12:25 says, "A city divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can this kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

God calls us to be disciples. "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20

In a time when my life feels so out of control, I'm reminded of how much I need to just let go and follow what God is doing in my life. So many times, I've started to follow a direction God points me and then I veer off on another path because I decided my desires were more important than the direction God was taking me in.

This Easter, I was watching my little cousin fill her Easter basket as she wandered around the back yard looking for fun things. Patrick leaned over to me and pointed out the fact that my aunt was pointing at something in a bush but my cousin kept walking forward looking at the immediate area around saying, "I'm looking! I don't see anything!" Patrick then said, "It kind of reminds me of how we are with God sometimes. God is calling us to do something and yet our eyes are fixed on the immediate things around us and we're frustrated saying, "I'm looking! I don't see anything!"' How profound that was!

I'm in this place now. I'm being challenged to look up and trust that God will take my hand and lead me. I know that God will take care of my immediate surroundings. I'm fixing my eyes on Him and the direction He wants me to go in. I'm standing on the ledge, I'm taking a deep breath, and I'm jumping.

Plane Ticket Purchased!

Well, it's been an interesting week. We had planned on having a yard sale last weekend to raise the remainder of what I needed for the plane ticket due date (yesterday). However, mother nature decided otherwise. We made the decision to postpone the yard sale due to the fact that there was still so much snow on the ground and threats of more snow that weekend. I really had to give it up to God and trust that He would provide the money I needed by Monday. Well, He did! I have raised 35% of the money for my trip which was enough to make the deadline to purchase my plane ticket! I'm really going! (I keep having moments when I tell myself that.) It seems so crazy. I don't think it'll hit me until I'm there....or maybe about 6 hours into our flight. (8 hours on a plane?! That's just nuts!)

I was supposed to start a new job last week. The HR department was backed up with open enrollment and didn't get to my information until, well, now. So, I've been waiting. And waiting. And waiting. It's been frustrating. Today, I finally got a call and they "officially" offered me the position and I should be starting in a couple days! Yay!

It seems as though I was tested in a lot of ways last week. Tested with trusting that God will provide what I need when situations were out of my control. That's another thing. Not having control of anything right now is driving me nuts! Really makes me realize just how human I am. Thank God for grace!!

Looking ahead, I have another $2,000 due in a couple weeks. I know God will provide! I'm so excited for what God has for me on this trip! I'm already having conversations with people on our team that are stirring things in my heart. I know this trip is going to stretch me in many ways. It is going to challenge me. But, it's in challenging and stretching that we grow. I'm excited for growth!

Our Yard Sale will take place this weekend. Several people have donated items and I am so grateful for that! Please pray that the weather cooperates! We will be giving people the option of just donating. Please pray for generous hearts!

I'm so grateful to be surrounded by such amazing, supportive people. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

Send Me

Mile High Vineyard UK Missions Promo from Tristan Ringering on Vimeo.

I have officially raised 25% of what I need for my trip! Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of you who have sent in your support!

I still need to raise $385 by Monday to purchase my plane ticket and ensure my spot to go. After that, I have about a month to raise the remaining $2,900. I feel God moving and providing in this and I've had just enough to make my payments on the due dates so far!

Please continue praying for provision and encouragement! Thank you, again for your support!

P.S. I will be posting some information about Northern Ireland and the condition of the culture in a couple days under the "Northern Ireland" tab. Stay tuned!

Hope

The last two weeks have been challenging but have only confirmed how much I'm supposed to go on this trip. It seems as though every day brings new and ridiculous challenges brought on by spiritual warfare. Although, through it all, I've been able to remain calm and hopeful. I know that God is in control. I know that God will provide.

Two weeks ago, I was wondering how I'd even come up with $100 (which was our first payment due last Monday). I thought to myself, "if I'm wondering where I'm going to get $100, where in the world am I going to get $4,400?!" It was that Thursday night that I sat in my car calculating the $20 gifts I'd received that week. I had just been given $40 before I got into my car. As I added it up, I realized I was only $15 short of the $100 due on Monday. It was then that I knew this fundraising has nothing to do with me and everything to do with God. I'm now seven days from the due date of our next payment, $700, and I'm once again crunching numbers. I'm slightly short of the $700 but I know that God will provide just enough just in time.

Last Tuesday, I lost my job. They laid me off. I've never been fired or laid off. I've always left jobs on my terms. This is the first time I've had to process leaving a job under these circumstances. I know, however, that I'm not alone. I realize I share this burden with thousands of people. I thought about weather or not it would be a good idea to go on this trip since I lost my job. I thought about how people would think of me raising support when I don't have a job. I came up with a million excuses for why it won't work. Then I realized, they are excuses. God has made it clear that He wants me to go on this trip. He has made it clear that I'm to let go of excuses. I believe He'll make it happen. I have hope. I have faith that I'll find a job. I have faith that God will stir the right people to give.

In this moment, it seems impossible. I believe, however, that God chooses these times to act miraculously! Because it's in these times I find faith. I will look back and have no doubt in my mind that it was God that got me through it. It's these times that people look back at and know He IS the great provider.

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31