SALT 2021

SALT (Student Action Leadership Team) is my heartbeat. I've told many people and I'll say it again, I'll be on SALT until God sends me elsewhere. Perhaps He'll provide something new for me next year, in 20 years, or maybe He will allow me to be at the Louisiana campgrounds for Kids Kamp every year for the rest of my life. No matter, I will always and forever have a special place for SALT in my heart.

ALL THE THINGS went wrong:

• planning was an actual pain in the booty (and I genuinely felt like quitting a few times)
• we found out a few weeks before camp that ALL the dorms had damage
• everyone had to take cold showers the first day
• I got sick during training
• half the SALT team, kitchen team, and office staff got food poisoning (we went through TWO bottles of Pepto Bismol in a DAY)
• both of the evangelists wound up hurt (one literally got stitches five minutes before he went up to preach)

BUT GOD!

• Over 250 children received the gift of the Holy Ghost evidenced by speaking in tongues for the first time. The total number including refills was over 550!
• Multiple miracles! At least 12 are recorded, including several people being healed immediately of pain they'd had for years AND a little boy in a wheelchair getting up and walking for the first time in his life! 
• So many beautiful testimonies from SALT about how God used SALT to show them He had a plan and purpose for them and wants to use them.
• A beautiful spirit of unity.
• Many learned how to listen to the voice of God and He spoke to them.

Nothing is too big for God. Yeah, we dealt with all the awful things, but God was working miracles throughout it all. He outshone the darkness. 

What a blessing it is to be a part of this team still. I've been part of this team for 11 years! I'm so grateful that God has allowed me to come back time and time again. SALT changed my life when I was a teenager, and I am here as part of the administration team because I want to give back and pass it forward. I want SALT to be the best it can be so more teenagers and young adults and children can come to camp and watch God change their life forever. Truly, all the glory is His.

I Said YES!!!

"We're just so relieved she said YES!"

That's what Bro. Alan kept telling people when they found out we got engaged the second day of our mission trip. Then Casey and I would just give each other a look and a smile. He knew he didn't have to worry about what my answer would be when he asked me. There was never any question.

YES!

"Why Singapore?"

That's what everyone kept asking us. We thought it was a strange question, but I guess most people don't realize how special Singapore is to us. It was the place of both of our first missions trips. It was the first place Casey held my hand. It's the place where some of our favorite people live, people we wish we could see more often, people we love and care about more than words can say.

And many of those people were there when he knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him. That was not the plan, I later learned. He had planned to propose on Tuesday at the Merlion statue. He had not planned on the youth group of the church we were working with to insist on taking us to dinner that night. So he let them in on the secret and they made sure we made it to the Merlion after dinner. They were all surrounding us with phones and cameras as he sweetly asked me to be his wife.

And the ring! Oh, the ring. It's gorgeous. I can't help but stare at it. A lot. People ask if he picked it out himself and YES. He did. He did so good. It's absolutely perfect and so very me.

I'm beyond excited to have the privilege of marrying Casey. He is amazing and wonderful and more than I could have ever asked for or dreamed. God really outdid Himself with this one.

Our relationship hasn't always been easy or perfect by any means, but it's been a wonderful adventure, and I'm excited for what's to come. Here's to forever with my favorite human!

See Ya Soon, Singapore!

We're in the single digits, folks. Only NINE more days until take off and I'm on my way back to Singapore again! I've been wanting to go back since I returned last year. I think Singapore will always have a special place in my heart. Partly because it was my first missions trip. Partly because I made amazing friends there. Partly because it was where Casey first held my hand. There are lots of reasons.

This year's plan is the same as last year's--the team of six I'm going with will be the children's ministers at a Vacation Bible School in Singapore and a family camp meeting in Malaysia. We'll spend about a week in Singapore (a few days of VBS, a few days of sightseeing) before loading onto the bus with the rest of the church and heading to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

I'm incredibly excited because Casey is coming again AND my bestie Sarah is coming for the first time! She went to Malaysia earlier this year and is excited to be going to Singapore! (For reference, Sarah is Rachel's sister. Also you should go check out Rachel's blog!)

My first time going to Singapore was a literal dream come true. I've felt called to missions for years but had gotten myself into a position in life where it simply wasn't an option for me. I thought I would never get to go on a missions trip and I begged God daily to take away my desire to go. I mean daily. I mean crying in my car and pouring my heart out to God and begging him to take away my desire for missions. Every. Single. Day. He said no. And then He said, it's time.

Sometimes it's really hard for me to trust God, especially His timing. He often does things quite a bit differently than I would, and it's always better than I would have done. I'm really glad He doesn't let me run the show. I can truly say I'm grateful for the wait. I needed to be in a different place in life before going. I needed to learn to trust Him and rely on Him. I needed to build my relationship with Him. I needed to have more experience. All in all, it was worth it. It was worth all the tears. It was worth a passport that remained unstamped for years and years. He did everything in His timing, and it turned out perfectly.

In nine days I leave for my third missions trip. That's THREE missions trip in the span of a year. THREE missions trips that I thought would never happen. I never thought I'd go to Asia or Hawaii (which I realized I've never shared about here!). But WOW. Here I am! And also along the way I accidentally started a baking business. The last year has been a good one. A crazy one. A busy one. A wonderful one. A year I'll never ever forget.

Photography Friday #8: Singapore!

Three months after I've been back from the other side of the globe and I finally got done editing photos! I'm not even sure that I shared here on the blog, but last December, I went on my first Missions trip! It was literally a dream come true for me. A dream I'd given up on. But God had other plans, and I'm so glad He did. This trip was amazing and life changing, and I'm already planning my next Missions trip! It's amazing how God opens doors when we're least expecting it, right?

Here are just a few photos. I have tons. But I'll just share a few for now. Maybe more later!