Exciting change coming up!

On August 26, I will be going to spend a year in Argentina with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program. I will be volunteering a few days a week at a community center on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and a couple days a week I will be working with children at a church.

I have wanted to be a part of the YAGM program for several years now, but it just didn't seem like the right time to go until now. July 31 will be my last day of work. It was a hard decision to leave my job and the life I've had for the last couple years.

It's amazing to me how everything has fallen into place so quickly. I had no intention of applying for this program for this year until the last week of February 2009. In fact, I submitted my application at the last minute, after spending an entire day completing it. It was 1 1/2 months from the time I applied until the time I accepted the placement. Then, I had the responsbility of raising a minimum of $4,000 toward the cost of my program. My brother is in the program as well, but going to a different country and we had the same groups of people to ask to support us. I was dreading this because I hate asking people for money. My brother and I teamed up and sent out a lot of letters explaining what we are doing and asking for support. By the grace of God, we raised well over the minimum $8,000 combined that we needed. THANK YOU to everyone for your support!!!

I don't know how often I will have internet access while I am in Argentina, but I will post updates and photos as often as possible.