The Countdown Begins...

Time for an update on my journey to Ibiza this summer…

As I shared in my last post, I was a little bummed when I found out that getting a Spanish visa is a major undertaking! I had been planning on spending the whole season in Ibiza, but now I’ll be there for about 3 months. For those of you know what’s been going on in my life lately, isn’t it cool how God has everything taken care of? I ended up having surgery in April, and I’ll just be ready physically to head to Spain in July. God’s timing is PERFECT!

I’m still working on fundraising, for my trip. I was super excited to get invited to do a service at Christian Faith Centerin California in early July. I’ll get to sing and share about my trip and raise some money. I’ll have raised most of my money before I leave, and I’ll be trusting that God will provide the rest along the way. Sounds scary, doesn’t it! The cool thing is that I’m not scared…I feel like God is asking me to trust him in a big way.

I’ll be in Europe from July 17th - October 22nd. If you’d like to make a donation towards my trip, click on the donate link at the top right hand side of this page. You can donate now, or at any time during my trip.

I appreciate it!

Update..

Hello!

Here's an update on how things are going...

The visa situation didn't turn out at all like I'd planned it! After some research, and several phone calls to the Spanish consulate, it looks like I don't fit into any of the Spanish visa categories. So that means in order for me to stay in Spain for longer than 3 months I would need to apply for a Spanish work visa. As it turns out, this is the hardest, and most expensive visa there is to get! Ugggghhhhh! Legally I can stay in the country for 90 days with just my passport, so as of right now, that's what I'm planning to do. I'll be headed to Spain in mid July, and I'll stay through mid October. I'm really excited!

Well that's it for now. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks!

Big News!

Hello All!

Thanks so much for checking out my Ibiza fundraising blog. I got the chance to go to Ibiza in April of 09 to work with a fabulous ministry called 24/7 Ibiza. This past October I started to feel like God was calling me to go back to Ibiza for a longer amount of time. So I'm taking a leap of faith, and I'll be heading back to Spain for the 2010 summer season. My goal is to be there from April 26th until the season is over in October. And so the fundraising machine is getting ready to start up again! Right now I'm just asking you to pray for me. When you're done reading this just stop and take some time to pray about these requests:

1. Spanish Visa - to stay in the country for 6 months I'll need to get a Spanish Visa. It's a very involved process, and I'll pretty much have one shot at getting it right. Pray that I'll be able to get all of my documentation, and that I'll have favor when I go the the Spanish consulate to apply.

2. Finances - Once again I'll have to raise the money to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. I truly belive that if God is calling me, He will provide a way.

That's it for now. Check back for updates on my progress!

Ibiza Trip Report

Hello all! I have returned home from my European adventure. It was to say at the very least - life changing...

Now that I’m at least a little rested here is my official trip report. I’ll apologize in advance because it’s a little long. There are lots of details for those of you who like that (Jenny!). And also loads of pictures... Enjoy!

So before I went to Spain, I flew to California a few days early so that I could go to the Worship Central conference that was being held at my old church Rock Harbor. The conference was fantastic! It was even better than last years. The worship was great, and exactly what I needed. There were several seminars and one that sticks out was taught by a seminary professor named J.D. Walt. It was about the theology of doxology…it was very deep! Here are a few quotes from the class:

“Worship is where we construct a context for revelation from the Holy Spirit.”

“The only way to measure the impact of worship is to watch what happens after. How does it affect people’s lives?”

I got a few new CD’s and a new book. If you’ve never heard of Brenton Brown, I suggest you go out and get his new worship CD. It’s called Because of Your Love. There’s a song on it called “Adoration” that is quickly becoming a favorite. I also heard Francis Chan speak for the first time, and he was very thought provoking. I love it when a speaker makes me reflect, and then apply what they’ve said to my own life. Overall the conference was just what I needed before my trip. While in California I stayed with my friends Amber and Kevin (and Brody!) Their couch was fit for a queen, and much appreciated. I also want to say thanks to Renee for being my conference buddy. It’s amazing how God knows exactly what we need.

The conference was Friday and Saturday and on Sunday morning the WONDERFUL Ms. Linda Chang took me to the airport at 5:00 am! What a trooper! From Los Angeles, I flew to Charlotte, then to Frankfurt Germany, and finally to Barcelona. In Barcelona I met up with most of the team that was headed to Ibiza. Henrike and Sandra from Germany, and Charl, Carla, Jemma, and Tina who are all living in the U.K. doing a year out with 24/7 prayer. Tina is actually from the U.S. so I wasn’t the only American! We met and grabbed a bite to eat before catching our flight to Ibiza.

Once in Ibiza we met up with Tracy Heasley who picked us up from the airport. She dropped us at the hotel where we met our final team member Casey who was also from the UK.

The year round 24/7 Ibiza team consists of Brian and Tracey Heasley (and their two sons), and Bruce and Helen. They live in Ibiza year round. During the busy season, which lasts from May to October, they have others volunteers who come in to help them with the work they do. They also have 2 week long mission’s teams that come in during various weeks over the summer.

The next morning after breakfast we headed to the 24/7 Ibiza center in the West End. The cool thing is that they are actually right there in the middle of all the action.

As you can see from the picture the West End is a street that’s full of bars, and strip clubs. During the summer months this street is crowded with tourists. 24/7 Ibiza basically sends teams out into the streets to talk to, and help people. They may get to pray with a group of young people, or they may intervene to make sure that someone who’s had too much to drink get’s back to their hotel without being robbed or worse. The team I was on is the prayer team. We were there to pray for the upcoming season, and to help them get ready in practical ways. We did several prayer walks, and it was great to listen to Brian tell us all about the history of the island of Ibiza. We walked in pairs and just prayed for the coming season.

That afternoon we went to Es Vedra…

Isn’t it beautiful! First Brian shared more history about the island and then we split up and spent some time alone in reflection and prayer. Back in the day if pirates were trying to come into port there where lookouts that would light a warning beacon to let the people know that trouble was coming. When that happened the people would flee to the churches which were considered places of refuge. I thought that was so cool! I definitely spent some time praying that 24/7 Ibiza would be a refuge for the people that visit Ibiza.

That night we also got to experience an Ibiza sunset. It was breathtaking. During the busy season hundreds of people sit out on the rocks and watch the sunset each night…and then they applaud. It’s like they’re acknowledging the beauty of God’s creation without even knowing it! Here are a few pictures of the sunset…



The next two days we got the chance to spend some quality time on the farm where the team lives. It was beautiful. We got to pray and work and eat, and it was altogether wonderful!




One day we took a hike up to a prayer chapel that is near the house. There were notebooks full of the prayers of people that had made the trek up the trail. People had also posted pictures of loved ones, or written their names on the wall of the chapel.

On our last full day we did another prayer walk through the West End and helped the team actually clean the center which was getting ready for its opening day. The center is a place where they get to connect with a lot of the workers on the Island. They offer them free internet service, and they have a Wii and a pool table. It’s a place for workers to come and hang out and get a chance to chat with someone if they want.

We also got to take a siesta which was great! Any excuse for a nap is okay by me! That night we headed to Pacha. It’s one of the best nightclubs in the world. One of the things that the team does is they go into the clubs and they dance, worship and pray. It was amazing to see how even as we danced and prayed we had people asking us what we were doing. At one point we had a few guys come up to us and ask what we were doing in Ibiza. Imagine their surprise when we told them we had come to pray. It was an interesting conversation starter. Before we headed into the club we actually got to go eat at this wonderful restaurant that was in the hotel across the street. It was a real treat! Of course I took pictures of everything...

The next day was Saturday and it was time to head home. My flight didn’t leave until late so I got to spend the day exploring the city, and doing some last minute souvenir shopping. I read my bible by the water and basically had a really chill day.

Overall I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface of what my trip was really like.

One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 29:13 -

“ When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." (MSG)

It was so cool to see that in action. Every time we sought God he was there to be found. It was also so powerful to know and trust that my prayers were sowing the seed for what’s going to happen this summer in Ibiza. I was challenged to remember that power is present in my everyday life as well. The same God who spoke to me so powerfully in Ibiza is here with me now. I was so moved by what is happening in Spain that I’m going to try and go back to Ibiza to experience what the summer is like. There’s some space on a team in September, and I believe that if it’s God’s desire for me to go back he will provide the funds for me just like he did for this trip.

And speaking of that, I just want to say a HUGE thank you again and again to everyone who prayed and donated for my trip. I’m praying that God blesses you as much as you have blessed me!

I also challenge you to pray for 24/7 Ibiza. To learn more about what they do, go check out their website HERE Or go check out Brian’s blog HERE

Until next time…

In Unexpected Places...

So I'm standing in line at the 99¢ store today when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to find a cute little old lady standing behind me. She asks me about the t-shirt I'm wearing. Now mind you I'm at the store at 9:00 am because I need eggs for an awesome omelet I'm planning on having for breakfast. I've literally gotten out of bed, changed my top, and put on some flip flops before I ran out of the house. The shirt I'd happened to choose this morning was from a youth event called Teen Break that I used to work when I lived in Lake Havasu City. I explained to the lady that I got the t-shirt from an event I worked at. She asks me if I'm a Christian, and I tell her that yes I am. She then proceeds to tell me about how much Jesus has changed her life. I hear her say that she loves to pray, so I tell her that I'm going on a missions trip this coming week, and I ask her to pray for me. So she reaches out to touch my shoulder as she starts to pray, right there in line while the check out lady is ringing up the eggs that I have now forgetten all about. How COOL is that! I don't think I'll forget that experience anytime soon!

Latest Update

I've got a lot of news to share, so lets just get started! The most important piece of news I have to share is that I got my plane ticket! I ended up finding a pretty good price flying out of LAX, so I booked it. I was going to just drive to and from California, since it's only a 4 hour trip, but then my dad in all of his generosity offered to buy me a ticket from Las Vegas to LAX.

A few days before I leave for Spain there's a great worship conference at the church I use to attend in California. It's called Worship Central. I went last year, and it was really good. This year's conference has actually been expanded so it's two days long. I'm flying into California on Friday the 24th so that I can go. So as of right now I'll be attending the conference on Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday my flight leaves for Spain. I know I've said it before, but I'm really excited about getting the opportunity to go and be a part of what they do in Ibiza.

I also got my passport in the mail this week. So I guess that makes me an official U.S. citizen. I applied for it before I left California, and it took exactly four weeks for me to get it in the mail. I've had a passport before, but unfortunately I let it expire. The new passports have an electronic chip inside of them, pretty hi-tech!

Until later...

I'm OFFICIAL!

I got my official invite from the 24-7 Ibiza team today...so I am now officially a part of the April missions team. YEAH! I was getting a little nervous! Now it's just a matter of getting all the details in order. Most importantly I need to buy a plane ticket, and boy are they pricey. It's looking like I'll be flying into Barcelona, and someone will meet me there and fly with me to Ibiza. I can't tell you how excited I am about getting this opportunity.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...THANKS to everyone who's donated so far! Keep checking back for more updates!