Blessings

When this journey started the idea of raising $3,300 was completely overwhelming. My uncle and cousins were all encouraging about this and they told me to just trust God and take a leap of faith. This leap has been an amazing journey already. My first post was over a month ago and I have been amazed how much God has provided in that time.

I have 2/3 of my support letters out now. I have contacted a good amount of these people in person or through e-mails or phone calls. Many of them have joined my team, some have already sent financial support, and others have promised future support. The church I attend, Syracuse Church of God, also joined my support team and is excited to find other ways they can help. This brings my support level up to $1670. This not only meets my March 11th support goal but also the April 22nd. I feel so blessed to already have over half of the support in and to have a great start to such a strong support team.

As I have shared with others about China I have been given the names of other people that have lived there or work with teaching Chinese ESL students in the states. I am hoping to talk to some of these people in the coming weeks to get some advice.

Praises

• My church's support and desire to help in any way they can.
• My support level is at 50%  
• I have already felt an incredible amount of support from my support team. Keep praying!
• The people and resources that my support team are already directing me to.

Prayer Requests

• That my support team will continue to grow. 
• Gas prices- as these prices go up our airline prices and transportation costs while we are there will also rise.  

Thanks for your prayers and support!
Melissa


  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZMCkpv-KC0&feature=related

Baby Steps

The journey towards China is a little overwhelming at times so I am trusting God and focusing in on the little baby steps along the way. There have been several small steps in the right direction since last time I wrote that I'd like to praise God for.

• My passport has officially arrived! I knew it would arrive long before China but I feel a lot better having it in my possession.  
• I just sent out my second group of support letters today with some help from my mom. Hayes tried to help too by running away with the roll of stamps and the ink pen. ;-) I now have over 50 letters out. 
• My support team is shaping up nicely. Many people have talked to me about supporting me in prayers and financially.  My support level is at $550 right now. I mailed out the checks to Community Bible Church today. 
• As friends and family have learned about the China trip many people have been giving me resources or ideas of how to learn more about China before I go. I now have a book, some webpages, and some speech articulation resources to look at.

I am excited about how God has already started to answer prayers about the trip and to see everything he has in store.

Prayer Requests:

• Continual prayer as letters arrive and I contact people about joining my support team.
• For the formation of our team. We are hoping to take close to 100 people from churches in: Florida, Texas, South Carolina, California and Indiana (me). When I think about the number of people we are taking and the support teams behind us it is amazing to think about how many people are already praying for this trip even now.
• My support should be at $825 by March 11th. It is more than half way there. These check-ins are important to reach so that preparations can be made ahead of time. I am hoping to get some old text books and other random items on E-Bay to also help with support goals.
• Start praying even now that we will be able to get our airline tickets for a reasonable price. We are hoping to get our tickets after our April 22nd check-in point. Hopefully this will before gas prices take the rise that is expected!   

In Christ,
Melissa