My Prayer for this Summer

Hello family and friends,

 Thank you for taking time to read my blog and hear about the crazy journey that the Lord is taking me on to the Congo this summer. One week from today I will be sitting on an Ethiopian Airlines flight  heading to the Republic of Congo. I will be serving at Pioneer Christian Hospital in the town of Impfondo, located in the northern part of the country. I will be spending almost my whole summer there, from May 12^th to August 12^th. 

  I cannot believe that I am less than a week away from leaving. I have been planning and praying for this trip since November and it is finally almost here. Over the last few months I have raised support, got all of my shots/medicine and filled out large amounts of paper work. More than all the busy work though; I have been asking the Lord to prepare my heart for what He has to teach me this summer. I see my three months in Congo not just as an opportunity for me to serve medically, but also as a time for my heart to be transformed. Last week in my Applied Health Seminar class, I had to write a mission statement for what I want my life to look like. I choose to base my statement off of Romans 12: 1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Drawing from this verse, my hope for this summer is that I will not be conformed to the world, but will offer myself as a living sacrifice to the Lord. I anticipate hard times of missing home, air conditioning, ice cream and close friends and family, but I pray that I will find comfort knowing that I am doing the will of God in my life.

 As I prepare to leave I have the following prayer requests:

Packages that need to be opened,
 repackaged and brought to the Congo! 

•  That my VISA would arrive by Saturday from the            Congolese embassy in Washington D.C.
• That I would be able to fit everything that is needed to be brought to the hospital in three luggage containers (packages take many months to reach Congo, so I am bringing many needed items to the hospital and the missionaries there)
• For safety as I fly to Ethiopia and then to the Republic of Congo next Sunday May 12^th
• That the Lord would grant peace and comfort to my parents as they send their daughters off to the Republic of Congo, Kenya (Juliann) and Mexico (Hannah) this summer
• That the Lord will prepare my heart to love and serve others with gladness and humility

I leave you all with a Franciscan benediction, that I pray would ring true in my own life, especially this summer:

     "May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths,
       and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

       May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression,
       and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

      May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger
      and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.

      And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the            
      world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our
      children and the poor." 

Peace and blessings,

Lauren