an update on STiM

STiM seems to embody a whole bunch of processes...

the writing letter process: i finished writing my personal support letter! thank you jenn for editing and lina for making my letter much more asthetically pleasing by formatting it :). i love it when people help and are involved with this whole STiM business! writing the letter wasnt too bad but i wish i could add more. you know me, i always have more to say :p. thank you ariel for providing the entire STiM team with stamps! it was a huge help and definite sign of God's faithfulness to our team :). i hadnt even thought about needing stamps until ariel emailed me about it! i had a tough time deciding if i should write personal notes on my letters due to time and i had no idea what to write on some of them (ie. my parent's friends). i ended up writing personal notes only to people i mailed my support letter to. i hope this was a good decision :p. my goal is to finish sending out all my support letters by the end of spring break.

the fundraising process: personally, this has not been bad at all. Jesus has definitely given me peace and a good mind-set about fundraising. i honestly believe that God will provide for our team and i see fundraising as a means for people to get involved in Jesus's work. however, being in a society where fundraising is sometimes annoying, burdensome, and overwhelming is what i find tough. i also find fundraising a humbling experience for not only me but for others as well.

the health precaution process: i got my hep A shot today at the doctor. OUCH! i would complain more, but i'll save you from that (you can thank me for not complaining by supporting me ;)).

the 1st training weekend process: at our first training, we learned about mission's history, the biblical basis for missions, fundraising, how you approach differences, and how to share your testimony. it was a weekend packed with emotions, learning new things, and meeting knew people. there were some hard things i struggled with and i still dont have an answer for but experiencing it is something i will never forget. it's interesting how i left the retreat feeling really refreshed instead of burdened or bogged down by the stuff STiM involves. the highlight of my first weekend was bonding with the girls in AACM (all 4 of us fell asleep on jenny's twin-sized bed :p).

the project process: for manila, you can either do project A or B. A = this website. B = this website. and NO i will not summarize because the website does a much better (holistic) job of describing the 2 projects. anyways, I COULD NOT DECIDE WHICH PROJECT I WANTED TO DO. ahhh! i was freaking out (christine's a witness to this :x). i even got a "warning" email from the directors telling me that i needed to decide by a certain date and time OR ELSE. after much prayer and consideration, i decided to go on A. i dont know if my reasons are really good because i havent been, but i picked A because i felt the spirit tugging my heart towards A, i was more scared/uncertain about A, and i'm definitely more of a B person ("doing") and maybe "being" is something i will grow in.

"learning ("being") among native Filipino leaders and communities who have boldly ministered amidst difficult places and situations through their holistic understanding of the gospel" --> this excerpt from the website totally got me excited!

the team-bonding process: i have been SO blessed by such a great team!!! we have so much fun together. i know i can be "antsy" when it comes to getting things done but they have been really patient with me :). we had 2.5 stuffing-letter parties so far and even planned on going running on friday morning around town lake. we want to be in great physical and spiritual shape! the car ride to techqwerousvsdlw was also really fun and filled with great conversations :). i think the coolest thing about my team is that i get to hang out and get to know people that i normally wouldnt be able to. what a blessing :). miss fara is SO GREAT that i dont even want to begin on what a big blessing she has been to our team!! finally, the old STiMers invited us over for dessert so we could share all about our STiM experience. "welcome to the STiM family!" says ariel yang. cheers to great memories with great people!

the prayer process: what can you pray for me for?
1. reasons for going
2. continued faith with FUNdraising stuff
3. people to approach me about what i've been learning, for me to be honest in sharing, good conversations about STiM
4. our 2nd training weekend (3/24-26)