Highlights

Well, I've never had a blog before and never thought I'd have one. I always thought they were kind of a waste of time. But I decided to give it a try since I have some exciting opportunities and stories to share!

This past year after I graduated from college I've remained here in Tampa, working and teaching at a local middle school as a math teacher, but the Lord has been gently nudging my heart to let go of this job for a while and trust him in going into full-time ministry with the Navigator's collegiate ministry, EDGE Corps. I will be moving up to Tallahassee in August to work with college students on the Florida State campus, leading Bible studies and investigative Bible discussions, engaging students in one-on-one mentoring and discipleship, and sharing the gospel with students who are curious about Jesus or may never have even heard of his name!

I am so excited about what God has called me to do and there's so much to share, but not enough time to write it all down at once! My hope for this blog for now is that it would be a way to communicate what God is doing at the Florida State campus through our ministry with the Navigators. But before I can get on campus to minister to students, I must trust the Lord with a team of people who will pray faithfully and give cheerfully through financial gifts.

My hope for this blog is not that it would be another outlet to invite people to join me in this ministry (although it is available for such a reason as well!), but that it would be a collection of stories and "victories" to share with others, encourage my fellow laborers, and offer praise to God along the way as I follow Christ to Florida State. The journey is long and winding, but it's only just begun! I can't wait to see what's next!

Like I said, the journey has just begun, and the beginning includes a LOT of trusting God. I've had to trust God with a lot throughout the past couple years, but never with my entire livelihood! Even when my whole world was spinning, I still had a job to rely on every day to provide for myself. I still have a job to do, but now I must rely totally on God to provide for me. It's been neat though, to see God show up in very unexpected ways. I know there's a lot left to experience, but I'm already so amazed at what He's done so far.

Let me explain. I returned back from our EDGE Corps training about 11 days ago, and immediately dove into getting out there, sharing God's vision for my life and the FSU ministry. We have what are called "face-to-faces" (F2F) where we meet with friends, family, and other acquaintances to cast vision for how God has been at work in our lives, how he has called us to the EDGE Corps ministry, and how they can join our team and be a part of the great work that he is doing. I had my first F2F the day after I got back from training, and have had one nearly every day since then! I thought I was going to really dread this part of raising support, but it has turned out to be the most encouraging and fun part of the process! I now look forward to each F2F because I get to connect with people and get them excited about what God is doing and how we all can be a part of it!

So far, I've gotten to meet with some great friends, and I just wanted to share the highlights of some of my F2Fs:

Before I even left Summit, our training, God was already surprising me. On our last day of training, they want us to practice our F2F with someone we don't really know or have never met and receive feedback. We were assigned partners, and I was blessed to have met with Cynthia twice before that day in a couple of counseling sessions (a whole other amazing story!). I sat down with her and shared my presentation of God's vision and calling on my life to do EDGE Corps and it was going well. It was like a role play- she was pretending to be a woman I had recently met and was giving me answers to questions almost in a character role. I came to the point of inviting her to join my support team and when she brought out her check book, I naturally thought she was still role playing. Then she started writing in it and I became a little confused. She said, "I actually do want to support you, Victoria!" Wow! I was kind of in shock and didn't know how to respond, not wanting to freak out I tried to keep my cool, but I just beamed and said, "Cynthia, you're my first donor!!" It was awesome! I was so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet her and do my first F2F with her. And I left Summit with my first donor! What a blessing! PTL!

The first big encouragement after training was in a F2F with a friend who has "grown up" in Navs with me. I met with Jon 3 days after returning to Florida and was looking forward to catching up with him and inviting him to join me. At the end of our F2F we spent a while mutually encouraging one another in our current endeavors and he shared something with me that got me really excited and challenged me to pray BIG and trust God for specifics. I told Jon that I trusted that God could provide for me, but it was scary that it is such a short period of time. He shared with me that he had been reading in Nehemiah and encouraged me that God rebuilt the wall in only 52 days! He said that's what he was going to start praying for me: that God would have me fully funded, able to be on campus in 52 days. I pulled out my phone to count the days and see where that put me, and would you believe that 52 days from the day I met with Jon is the day that freshman move into the dorms at FSU!!! How sick awesome is that?! I shared that with Jon and we both got excited about that, and that's my prayer now. I'm praying big, and I'm praying specific. Not only that, I'm learning to pray with full abandonment, trusting that God will provide how he pleases; I can by no means put a time limit on God, but I can pray with faith that he would answer a specific prayer!

So that was about a week ago- 44 days left :) It's been a slow process getting this funding ball rolling. It's not easy starting from scratch. There's a long stretch of road separating 0% and 100%. But that road is not taken alone! God has been faithful and mighty to save! My F2Fs have been really encouraging and I have total faith that nearly all of my friends will give at some point, but it's hard for many of them to commit just yet. I was feeling slightly discouraged the past couple days with a lull because of the July 4th holiday, but was really looking forward to upcoming F2Fs.

That's why I'm finally posting today! Because God really reminded me of how present and totally in control he is!! I had 2 F2Fs scheduled (one only planned since last night!) almost back to back. The first one I was looking forward to catching up with a friend I hadn't seen in a few weeks. I was sort of expecting him to give because I know he has a great heart and a love for our college ministry, but I wasn't sure what to expect exactly. Well, once I shared with him God's call and vision and invited him to be a part of my team, he told me he had already been praying about it and how to give! Right there on the spot he committed to be an anchor donor!!!! WOW! My first anchor donor :) SO exciting!! I am so blessed by God and my friends, I can't even believe it.

Okay, as if that wasn't enough for one day, like I said, I had another F2F a couple hours later. Now this one I had been looking forward to for months! That's right, months. Back in March I was co-teaching with a woman at work and she and I were getting to know each other and she asked me what my plans for next year were. I decided to be honest with her (not knowing where she was spiritually at this point) and tell her about EDGE Corps. Now I should explain that this was back in March, only a few days after turning in my application, not having been accepted yet. She got so excited about it! It turns out she is a believer, and she went home and shared what I told her with her husband and the next day approached me and said, "I talked with my husband last night about what you're going to be doing with the Navigators and we would really like to support you." I hadn't even really mentioned the fact that I would be raising support! And from that point on we continued to become friends and she would check in all the time asking about EDGE and wanting to know more and how she and her husband could be involved. I told her once I got back from training I would call her so we could meet and I could tell her more. All that to set up what happened tonight. One reason she is so excited is that she has 2 teenagers, one of which is a senior and wants to go to FSU next year! It's been a very difficult year for this family with teenage issues and behavior, which she was able to share some personal things so that I could be praying for them. They had me over to their house to share my presentation with them and they are so responsive and excited! Then she and I went out to dinner after and kept talking, sharing stories, and getting to know one another. It was amazing! By the end of the night she said, "I hope this doesn't sound weird, but I am so thankful that the Lord put you in my life. It's been hard having two teenagers who don't want anything to do with you. But it's been wonderful to get to know you and connect with you, despite the age difference. It's so nice to talk to someone young who doesn't hate you and actually wants to talk to you! I know I could never ever replace your mother, but I hope you can feel similarly and have an older woman figure to talk to as well!" Bless her heart, I nearly started crying! Then she said, "I saw that you had something hanging down from your car and I want to write you a check right now to have it fixed." Can you believe that?! She wrote me a very generous check and told me if it's too much to put it towards funding. Then she told me how much she and her husband are committing to give monthly. So far it's my biggest gift and my jaw was nearly on the ground!! I couldn't believe their generosity!! Even more so, I couldn't believe God's faithfulness! Two anchor donors in one day. Please. I can't believe it.

Whew. That was long winded, but I just wanted to get them down now! More stories and updates to come!

A verse I've been clinging to and gently reminded of by the Lord:

"This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." 2 Chronicles 20:15