neustále se modlete

pray without ceasing

There's never a time when prayer is needed any less, but there are many times when prayer is needed more.

For three years now I've been asking people to come alongside of me to pray with me for the Czech Republic. After living there for a year, and spending another year and a half in preparation to go back...my departure date is just around the corner. I don't have my tickets yet, but the goal is to leave on June 19th!

There are a few things you can be praying about with me.
-I need to raise at least another $500 a month. Pray that God will provide and that I'll do my part in making the right connections.
-I'm praying for people to come alongside of me who want to help me build an even stronger network of prayer warriors and potential supporters.
-There are a lot of changes happening in Czech. Because of some of these changes, we're asking God's direction in His placement for me.
-That God will give me peace in knowing that this is all happening in His timing...not mine.

Thank you for being on your knees with me!
~Autumn~

living in paradox

One of the things that we talked about at my training in Colorado is the paradox of leaving for the mission field. On one hand, it’s really exciting to get to go to the place where God called me, on the other . . . I’m going to miss everyone SO MUCH! Last weekend, I went up to Minneapolis to visit with and say goodbye to a couple of my good friends. While it was SO good to get time with them (and meet some of their friends), it was also SO hard to say goodbye. It also reminded me that I have more goodbyes to come that are going to be hard as well. I can’t even describe how it feels to be both ecstatic and heartbroken at the same time.

This time in the states has had its ups and downs. I think some of the downs have been my own fault for not having the right attitude going into things. For a long time, I tried living in the states while keeping my heart in Czech. Looking back, I’ve realized that a lot of the reason I did that was to protect my heart from getting hurt. If I didn’t get close to anyone during the time I was here, it wouldn’t be hard when I had to say goodbye. But instead of protecting my heart, I ended up hurting my heart in the long run by not getting close to anyone. Thankfully, God has allowed me to push through and I’ve been blessed with some AMAZING friendships with people who will be all over the world.

One of the great things about being in the states has been the time with my niece and nephews. I have to admit, it’s hard to leave everyone, but when I leave and come back to a kid I hardly recognize…it breaks my heart more than anything. This past year or so has been so great to be able to soak up as much time as I can with the kids I’m going to miss the most. (My 1 & ½ year old nephew is even saying Auntie Autumn all the time now.)

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this paradox I’m living in. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a life of paradox. One of my friends even said to me, “As missionaries we’ll always have a sense of homesickness, no matter where we live.” I’m not looking forward to always having this feeling, but at the same time…this isn’t really our permanent home, so how comfortable should we really get here?