Almost there....

Hello! Today is going to be a long day! That's the way it always is before leaving on a trip. I finished packing about half an hour ago and am now doing a few things to make sure I am ready to go. One of them being cleaning my room so my sister doesn't have to put up with the packing mess(which is the worst of all messes). I am so excited to go! We will be meeting horribly early tomorrow(if you can even say morning); 1:30 am. That's not even right! Our plane will leave MSP at 5:20 am! We will be in Honduras by lunch time tomorrow! AHHHH!!! I received an email this morning from Dan Monson, our missions pastor. He said that he had spoken with Pastor Olman, our host. Olman told Dan that we will not be able to stay in the parochia. We will instead be staying in a 3-bedroom house. Will you please pray that God will give us all patience and generosity as we live together, 30 of us, for a week in the same house? I have to admit that I am a little freaked out about the sleeping arrangements. This move shatters all my plans for organization and packing. Right now, I just keep praying/remaining myself that the Lord has chosen this house specifically for this trip and team. His plan is far greater than we could ever hope to understand. We will do our ministry, no matter where we stay because we are going down to do the Lord's glorious work, not to sleep! I will probably email you tomorrow right before I leave. From then on, my mom will update or email when I am able to call her or when she gets updates! Thank you again! Will you please continue to pray? Here is the prayer I have been praying! "Father God, I thank you for this opportunity to AGAIN go to Honduras! I thank you for giving us the resources to do what we do. I don't always understand why you have blessed America so greatly, but I pray that I will never fail to remember that you have called us to share what you have given. I have been given so much, help me to give even more! Father, I know that you have hand-chosen each and every member of this team for a very specific and beautiful purpose; even if they will impact only one person. I pray that we will remember that we are down there to do your work, not pad our resumes. We have been given this opportunity, help us to use it to the fullest! I pray that you will give me courage to do what you want me to do. I pray that you will give me patience with every person on our team, some in particular. I pray that I can work with them, and help them to fulfill what it is that you want them to do! I pray that you will give me the courage and the words to say if you have chosen me to speak to Pastor Olman's church or on his radio. Father, I know that you have a plan for this trip. Help me to set aside my hopes and agendas and be completely open to yours! Help me to hear your voice amidst the noise and busyness and help me to listen and obey! I love you always!" Thank you again for your continued support! Oh,yeah! Undie update! There was total 1017 donated as of Sunday! I received more yesterday, but those will not be going on this trip! 200 pairs went with Pastor Z. on his trip to Africa, the remaining 817 pairs are packed and will be going to Honduras. They will be brought to each clinic and given to every woman who comes through our clinic. If some still remain at the end of the week, they will be given to someone who can give them to those who need them and were not reached by our ministry! God bless you!

Exciting Stuff!

Last night was the team packing night! We got most of the packing done! Almost all of the undies got packed, too! Last night it hit me hard that we leave in a week! I am so excited! I firmly believe that God is going to do amazing things with the team. One thing that we have to remember though, is that we must set aside our personal agendas. And that is often very hard! But God will be faithful, He will never allow a quiet moment! I know that much! Everything that we do, as long as we seek Him in all of it, will have a divine purpose; whether we can see it or not! I am looking forward to being back with the people I love so much! They are so kind, and generous, and open! How can people with so little, be so beautifully happy? I long to be that happy, in all I do! God grant me the grace to be like them! As the date draws closer, I will post more! Until then, I had better go and start packing! God bless you!

Getting closer!

Hello! I know it has been a long time since I have posted, sorry about that. I have been out of town! But now I am back, until I leave again. Well, updates. Let's see! I have over 700 pairs of undies, and still have over $200 with which to buy more! Exciting! Tomorrow is the packing day. The whole team will be meeting at church and we will pack our luggage; the team bags at least. Each person is allowed one checked bag and that will be filled with all the supplies we, as a team, need to bring down to be able to do our ministry. This includes medical supplies( medicines, bandages, intake sheets, etc.), clothing, school supplies, hygiene packs, and undies! I have a big 30 gallon bin FULL of undies and I am planning on bringing that bin tomorrow night and just filling in all the nooks and crannies of suitcases with undies, and what doesn't fit will go in my second suitcase which I am planning on paying for! The trip has come up really fast this year! I have done no personal packing. AHHH!! I am so excited to see what God will do with my team this year, and with the undies! I will be write again soon! Thank you for you love and support! God bless! "I press on toward the goal..."

Hello my dear friends! What a crazy few weeks it has been! Every day I get more undies from friends and family! I have had packages come from Arkansas and North Dakota! It amazes me how far my project has reached! Thank you for supporting me in my ministry! God is so good to give me wonderful people like you. I am getting so excited for the trip! It is less than a month until we leave! I have many things to do before we leave! I am so excited to see what God will have me do while I am down there! Thank you for your prayers and God bless! I will write again soon!

The Next Chapter!

Hello Friends! Here we go again! Another trip! Another chapter in the amazing journey God has set me on towards heaven. Whenever I think of what God has asked me to do, I think of Philippians 3:14: "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." What an amazing goal! To do work here on earth with the ultimate prize of eternity in paradise with my Savior, King, Best Friend, family, and all those whom I have impacted! It just gives me the shivers thinking about it! As you probably know, my big project this year is the Skivvy Drive! The success of the project has blown my mind. It has done things and gone places I never thought it would! My original goal was to collect 200 pairs of undies. But I have already exceeded 400!! So amazing! And the drive isn't even over yet! I am so blessed to have such amazing supporters and such a wonderful church family. God is so good. As the trip gets closer, I need prayer. The trip last summer was a tough one because of some bad things that happened between team members, and I ended up in the middle. I had to eventually give it all over to the Lord to be able to be useful for Him while I was down there. This year is going to be hard too. I am no longer in the middle of the trouble, but it is still present. Can you please pray for those who are going down and were involved in the trouble last year? Can you pray for unity, patience, and understanding? That would be wonderful! Thank you again for your support! I will write again soon! "I press on toward the goal....."!

Greetings family and friends,
This is Cristine, Anna's mom. The team has been in Honduras since last Thursday afternoon, that is 8 long days here, but 8 short days there. We spoke to Anna on Tuesday, the team is doing great. The report from Anna was that they were staying busy enough to feel useful, but not so busy as to feel over whelmed. The team visited some schools last week and it sounded like they worked on a project for a local pastor.
One day most of the group traveled to a school and Anna and her great Aunt Sue stayed back to organize medical supplies, in preparation for this week. Sue, a nurse at The Phillips Eye Institute, was able to bring a great quantity of medical supplies to use or leave for the Honduran people.
The remainder of the team arrived in Honduras this mid week and the group started right in with medical clinics. This is a report that came in last night:

Saw 142 individuals at clinic.
Saw too many to estimate in dentistry.
Maureen (on of the team members from Northridge Fellowship) took and printed over 100 family photos (the Hondurans have mostly never had their picture taken before).

Please pray for their continued safety and impact.

Thank you for continued prayers and all your support
Cristine Nielsen

We're Off!

Hi friends! Team one leaves today! We will be driving to Chicago throughout the night tonight and arriving in Honduras sometime tomorrow afternoon! While I am gone my mom will send updates as they come. I don't know how often I will be able to call, but will do so as often as possible. As I head out, I want to thank you for your support. I know I keep saying this, but it really does mean a lot to me. I pray that I will do what the Lord wants me do to. Thank you for your continuing prayer! I can't wait to tell you about what we will do, when I get back!