Thank you for your generosity and partnership in bringing the hope of Jesus to children around the globe through new churches!  As you know, I planned to trek to Everest Basecamp this fall to raise awareness and support for this life-changing work.  Due to Covid-related travel restrictions, this endeavor has been postponed.  We are now scheduled to begin the trek on May 11, 2022.  

God does great things in times of waiting or, what may feel to us like, delay. 

How many times have you been impatient with the Lord during a waiting season and once it actually came to fruition, you were grateful for the timing? I’ve experienced this dozens and dozens of times. It’s easier to see things 20/20 when we are looking back at them from the other side. 

I am engaged and getting married in December! I’m 36 years old and have been wanting to be married since I was 9 or 10. I’ve been praying to the Lord about a spouse for over 20 years. My journey of singleness up until now has been a rollercoaster. There were seasons I trusted God would provide, seasons of frustration, seasons of feeling left out, seasons of enjoying the dating life with free meals and meeting new people, and then seasons of deep pain in having an unmet desire. The journey finally led to a season where I was able to release my desire for a spouse to the Lord, fully surrender it, and live in real contentment. What joy and peace it brought me. 

As I wedding plan, and plan a future life with my soon-to-be spouse, Christopher, I am able to reflect on those decades. I am able to see that those years of waiting never went in vain. The Lord used it all for good. The Lord grew me and my faith. He grew me in communication, caring for others, compassion, understanding, and in showing grace. He let me watch and learn from dozens of marriages around me. He allowed me to mature through the years and prepare me for what He knew was to come. I’ll be not only becoming a wife, but a stepmom, or what I call “bonus mom,” to 3 kids as well. God had some preparing in me to do. I am living in deep gratitude for God’s timing; for the season of waiting. 

With a delayed trek to Everest, I am reminded of what God can do in seasons of waiting. I imagine there is more preparation He will do in our team for this trek. I believe He will use this extra time for good and in ways, we may not fully understand yet. And so in learning from my past experience with the Lord,  trust that our new trek dates are for a purpose and I am grateful.

All gifts given towards my Everest Basecamp fundraising goal will still be used to plant churches and reach the next generation with the good news of Jesus, and I will continue to fundraise to reach my goal of $50,000 before we depart in May.

Thank you again for your partnership!  Your generosity will have an eternal impact on the lives of children around the globe! Stay tuned for more of this journey and please share with anyone else you think may be interested!

Until Every Child Has A Church,

Andrea