There has been a lot happening with me, and I haven't been doing the best to keep everyone updated, but here is my attempt to do so. This should hopefully be the start of me actually doing this on a regular basis, so keep your fingers crossed for that.
I am no longer in Salt Lake City.
That idea still seems rather foreign to me. Even though I have been gone for over a month, it feels as if I'm just on a very long vacation. Nonetheless, SLC is no longer my mission field. To quickly summarize what happened, AIM did not agree with something that might be happening with the church there, so they thought it best to have us leave and continue our field time elsewhere.
I am no longer on the same mission team.
When the team was told of AIM's decision, some decided to leave the program and stay in SLC, and some decided to go home. While they may no longer be part of AIM, they are still continuing God's work where they are and I wish them the best in their journey. For those of us who continued in AIM, I am not going to the same field as the rest. They will be joining the team in San Antonio where I am sure they will do great. Though this may seem like a lot of change, something I heard during my time in Lubbock has helped me a lot; it doesn't really matter what "team" we are on, because we are all part of God's team.
Now, there is a bright side to all of this. Since I left SLC, I was able to spend the holidays back home in Alaska and reconnect with friends and family up there. My time up there helped with all the change I have been going through, as well as make my parents happy I was home for a bit. Afterwards I made my way back to Lubbock where I got to help with Mission Term Orientation and see all my friends there as well as meet with the current AIM class. As weird as being back there was and not being a student, I enjoyed it and glad I made the trip.
It was in Lubbock that I met up with my new teammate, David Rentfro. David recently left his field in Scotland, and we will be spending the rest of our field time in Grass Valley, California and working with the wonderful Eli Hooper. After a long 2-day trip, we are now in Grass Valley and pumped to jump right into the work here.
Thank you to everyone who has been supporting and praying for me on my journey so far. If you want to know more about what is happening with me, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Also, as I am just getting settled here, there are some one-time expenses that I am needing some help with, so if you are interested in supporting me that way, let me know. As always, keep me in your prayers and God bless!
