friends !! i hope this letter finds you doing well. I wanted to share a cool story where the Lord reminded me of why i'm here. 

About a week ago we got to our ministry base here in Jaco, Costa Rica. After a longggg travel day (about 23 hours in total) we finally arrived. We were in the dinner line grabbing some food when I started joking with a friend who wasn't in the mood to joke back. & because world racers are still humans & can still get irritated - they responded with an unkind comment. At first I was shocked. I couldn't believe the comment that this person made. 

The next morning i was pondering the whole ordeal, when this thought came to me "It wasn't that the comment was rude or hurtful to me, but because i knew it was out of character for them." 

Two months ago if this person made this comment I wouldn't be surprised. But this isn't the same person from two months ago. No, i've witnessed with my own eyes how this person walks out thoughtfulness, gentleness & genuine love for the Church. They are kind & caring. It was the fingertips of God on their heart that changed them & now i know that they won't ever be the same! 

Then the Lord spoke to me 

"this is why you follow Me, because I am He who changes hearts" 

I've seen the Lord's hand so evidently on this group of people & they are changed because of it. HE. IS. WORKING. 

& that's why i do what i do! why i keep going! why i love this life with Him! 

after all of this happened, they came up to me & reached out to apologize for their words. I didn't have to ask or beg, but out of the Lord's kindness they were moved to repentance; And out of repentance, forgiveness; and out of forgiveness, Love. 

this is my why. 

why i sacrifice comfort, safety, family & friends. because God is He who changes hearts. & it's 100% utterly & completely worth it to see that. 

per usual, thank you for keeping up with this! I still have a way to go with fundraising for the Middle East trip this spring. Thank you to everyone who's donated so far! I have about $8,500 more to reach my goal. Please reach out if you have any questions or comments or if you wanna catch up! 

God is good. 

• M