good mornin!

whew, whatta morning i've already had!
i'm starting the long journey to bangladesh this afternoon and wow, it's so surreal.  bags are all packed & i've checked em twice!  like santa! ..nevermind. ha.
i have no concept in my mind of bangladesh.  most places you can picture sort of, even if you've never been there, but bangladesh is something so foreign to me, so new, i have no concept of it at all. 
i'm feeling lots of things,
nervous... there are quite a few steps before actually getting to bangladesh and i'm a little anxious about all the traveling/things running smoothly. 
excited... i have that jumpy feeling in my stomach like i had on christmas mornin as a kid.. a big adventure this will be!  i've craved entering into a new culture and people and way of life for just a long long time and this is really exciting for me. 
hopeful... i think, i hope, this trip will really change my heart.. maybe even exponentially.  i asked God that as a result of this trip, i would be a more compassionate person, see people more like Him, and that i will be affected by the things i see and experience.  i want to be a better follower of Jesus and a better lover of humans.  i think this trip can really help that cause!
thankful... oh boy, am i thankful.  i can't even express to you with words how moved i've been by the kindness of others leading up to this trip and now.  it's overwhelming.  yesterday, my coworker, zoe, brought in doughnuts and made muffins for my 'last day' before heading off; all my coworkers have been so curious about my trip, asking me questions, looking up airport options for me when i figured out that i'll need to kill about 10 hours tonight outside of the airport in san francisco (:/); this mornin my aunt wendy came by to drop off gifties for shuvo and snacks for me and hugged me with tears in her eyes; my aunt kathy & uncle mark also stopped by separately to pray for me and give to me; my grandpa texted me that he is praying for me; everything my parents have done to help me/calm my nerves/remind me of things to pack; my dad's whole men's group took time to pray for me when they met up yesterday; paige went with me to pick out an outfit to give shuvo and paid for half of it; my boy is comin all the way over here to drive me to the airport and spend a little time with me before i leave;
and all of this after i've been fully funded by the most generous humans from different parts of my life.  i'm so overwhelmed.  i think it'll really be somethin to be standing on bangladesh soil, thinkin about how my feet got there because a whole team of people chose to stand behind me.  if that isn't a powerful thought to me..

so, here i go!  eeek!  lots of stories of God encountered in all new ways to come.  oh man.  oh man oh man.

& if you think of it, friend!  please pray for me- for us.  prayer really really means somethin to me.  i can't tell you how much i crave your prayers over this trip.
also!  if you're lookin to get in touch with me while i'm away, you can use the app, 'whatsapp' and find me on there.  i'll be able to call/text through that if ya need me (:
bye, friends!  here i go!

​great is Thy faithfulness!  great is Thy faithfulness!
  morning by morning new mercies i see;
all i have needed Thy hand hath provided--
    great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

and here are some pics of me in case ya forget what i look like while i'm gone (: ...

see ya on the other side!

​lex.

happy valentine's day to you, friend! 
may you be aware in abundance today and everyday how dearly loved you are by our beautiful God. 
this paraphrase of psalm 86:15 really stuck out to me...
"but you, o God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit."
​psalm 86:15; msg

wow.  today's about our sweet Jesus, who knows us & formed us & made our lives have any meaning at all.
we're loved we're loved we're loved!  more loved than we could've ever hoped!
​

...and a cute little lovey song that was in my head.  because that's fun too (:

today's been so springy out, all i wanted to do was take my valentine on a walk..
​hope you got a chance to do that!

you should just read the whole chapter (2 corinthians 5), but here are my favorite verses from it for a firey, get-pumped-and-get-out-there kinda start to your day!

"we make it our goal to please Him...
that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again..
therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!  all this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ.. and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  we are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us."

mhmm, FIRE.  woo!  go get em!  and read the full chapter.  those were just my favorite nuggets.