Dead Cockroaches, Capulanas, Surprises, and "the weepies."

Note: If you don’t want to read all of my ramblings and just get to the more straight forward facts and updates, see the bottom of this post in bold.

    Well hello there, dear friends. Thanks for taking a minute out of your busy lives to stop and read some of my ramblings! I am so blessed by all of you. Your enthusiasm, and excitement that you have expressed for my up and coming adventure has quite honestly caused me to break out in abnormal amounts of what I like to call the “weepies.” This can be described as a mixture of laughter and crying that comes from the realization that one is incredibly blessed. They often like to hit at random times such as when trying to go to sleep, driving to work, or walking alone to class. Thanks for that, friends. Thanks for expressing the love of Jesus through your friendship!  I pray your week is filled with something similar to “ the weepies.”  May there be lots and lots of moments of realization of the infinite ways that God is intricately wrapping His blessings and His presence around your lives.

 As I prepare to go to Mozambique, life continues to sprint ahead at full force. My sweet-roommate and I are training for a half marathon, one of my dear friends is getting ready to get married, and I have been doing my best to take my schooling seriously. This is difficult when Mozambique daydreams seem to like to show up in the middle of lectures. My studies have included raising a cockroach, which I affectionately named, Jason. Unfortunately, Jason passed away on my way to return him back to Entomology Hall at the end of the project. This could or could not be due to the fact that I left him in his "cage" in  the trunk of my car on a very cold day while I was at work, but we just won’t think about that. I’m honestly just thankful for the opportunity to be exposed to cockroaches BEFORE getting to Africa.  One less thing standing in my way!  Cockroaches ain’t got anything on me now! ;) Photo proof of the "Jason tragedy."

                 

What does this have to do with going to Africa, you might ask.
Nothing really. It just makes me laugh. 

            

         God has  been what I like to call “sneak attack” surprising me with the ways He is ironing out all of the details for this trip. I probably shouldn’t be so surprised because HE is, after all, the creator of Galaxies. No biggie for Him! ;) One example would be that the other day my N-card, which is the card needed to get into buildings and dining halls at school, just stopped working.  I went to the N-card office (yes, my school has an entire office dedicated to these things) and the gentleman working there told me how it was super weird that my N-card would stop working like it did. Needless to say, while I was in this office, I realized I could get my Passport renewed there.  Long story short, I had been trying to get my passport renewed somewhere else, and it was going to be a much longer process and cost me $100 extra dollars than it would cost to get it renewed at school. I probably wouldn’t have realized this convenience that was literally right next door to me, had my N-card not stopped working. Good job, God! Ha! He saved me time AND money! He’s really good at doing stuff like that!

            Another example of a “sneak attack” would be that one day I started looking for long skirts to take with me to Mozambique as this is in the dress code. I just wasn’t “feeling the shopping vibe,” if you know what I mean. I told God, “ God, I know you can provide even little things like skirts for me to wear in Mozambique.” The next day, I was at a prayer meeting and I felt something drop in my lap. A wonderful mother in the faith, who had been to Mozambique before, had throws a Capulana into my lap.  A capulana is basically a style of a skirt that many women wear in Mozambique. She told me she wanted me to have it for Mozambique! Wow, God! He really does care about every single little detail.

 Needless to say, I am still pinching myself. Still overwhelmed by His love and provision.  Believing Him to bless you all with more than you could ever think or imagine. He loves making dreams come true! 

For those of you who have asked, here are some more details as far as the financial aspects of this trip, and areas where I am hoping for some prayer. 

So far, I have around $2,200 that has been given toward my trip. Wohooo!

Tuition of $2,800 is due in full by April 25^th.

My round trip plane ticket will cost approximately $2,000

I have been informed to expect to spend around $300 per month while in Mozambique on necessities such as water bottles and other miscellaneous items.

I now have an account set up with my home church,  All Nations Church Omaha, where all donations can receive tax deductions.  If you are interested in supporting me financially, you can send checks to my home at the following address:

Alyssa Gregerson

14805 Erskine Street

Omaha, NE 68116

You can write the check to All Nations Church Omaha and designate  “Alyssa Gregerson Mozambique” in the memo.  I will be sure to deposit these checks into the church account.

Things you can be praying for:

PEACE: Things are starting to get crazy, but a good crazy, and I will need to learn to manage my time well.

HEALTH: I will be getting vaccinations and medication for the trip in two week. Most of you know I don’t handle vaccinations very well, and I usually end up fainting. BUT, I am so thankful that vaccinations are even an option.

Preparation: That Jesus would continue to prepare my heart to match His love and passion for the nation of Mozambique, and for what He wants to teach me in Mozambique.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you! You all are Blessings with a capitol B in my life. Be blessed this week!