Who? Lacy Booth is currently enjoying in her senior year at Liberty University. She has declared Psychology: with a cognate in Counseling as her major with a minor in Biblical Studies. It is her desire to utilize the skills that she learns at Liberty in a full-time ministry position in the future. One of my favorite things about this university is the heart and passion for taking God’s love and gospel message to the ends of the earth. 

Where:
Lacy has been chosen to be on a team of Liberty students embarking on a ministry exposure trip to Rwanda, Africa. In 1994 Rwanda experienced a horrific genocide that destroyed much of the nation. Since that time Rwanda has worked hard to grow and develop as a nation while working through the heartache and pain of the genocide. However, there are some unique developmental challenges which result from Rwanda's history. Her team will have the opportunity to learn about the genocide, its impact on psychological development, and the continuing work in rebuilding a country. The team will get educational learning and ministry experience, and the opportunity to work with widows and orphans.

How can you help?
These are Lacy's own words for you on how you can help.

Pray: The most important way that you can be involved is through your prayers. There is absolutely nothing more powerful than prayer. I would like to invite you to pray for believers in Rwanda, that they would receive healing and encouragement and that their faith will be firm and steadfast.  Will you pray that God will reveal His truth and heal the people of Rwanda? Will you also ask God to prepare our team to be used and that we will fall more in love with Him than ever before?  Will you also pray that God would provide the means for this trip to happen?

Give: The total cost of this mission opportunity will be $3500 and is due by March 1st. I have raised $1000 for the trip, so the remaining amount is $2500. The cost covers lodging, food, I realize that not everyone is called to every cause, but maybe you are one that God has called to this one? I trust that you will hear God's voice if this is a way in which you can minister. You can give through my gofundme page https://www.gofundme.com/zegrtn-rwanda-mission-trip or through Venmo @Lacy-Booth

Who: Rachel is 21 years old and has a passion for seeing people changed by Jesus. She is originally from Asheville, NC and currently calls Anderson SC home. She currently works as a personal assistant for author and speaker Sharie King and attends Penn State World Campus where she is majoring in Biobehavioral Health. Rachel has been passionate about sharing the gospel with unreached people groups for as long as she can remember and responded to a call to ministry in the 7th grade. Since then she has been on 7 international mission trips serving in 4 different countries.


Where: Rachel will be traveling to Delhi India along with a couple who has spent their life planting churches and training pastors and churches on how to share the gospel and make disciples. 

What: She will be learning what it looks like to plant house churches to reach people who have never had the opportunity to hear the name of Jesus. She will be traveling to a few different cities and visiting with multiple missionaries as well as participating in No Place Left trainings with pastors and churches.

How you can help?:
Pray: For wisdom and direction that she would be able to learn about the culture and a different model of church. Pray for clear direction as to moving full time eventually. 

Give :You can also donate to Rachel as she looks to buy pane tickets and as well as her visa and on ground accommodations within the next two weeks. You can give via square cash $rachelhipps or Venmo @RachelHipps as well as cash or check. Feel free to reach out to Rachel on her Facebook or email her at rllhipps@gmail.com. 

They have jobs, families, school, and many other things to juggle. They get up early and stay up late. But with hope in their hearts, and a story on their mind, they have all been given a gift of writing and I am so glad they were!

If you're looking for some new reads for the New Year, check out these "In The Spotlight" features.

​Amie Lewis & Shannon Valone
Category: Fun, Parenting, Lifestyle, Marriage, Health

Amie & Shannon are two Mama's who have found a beautiful friendship through their uncanny similarities and unique differences. They are both lovers of Jesus, family, #momlife, all things southern, and writing.

https://www.2kindredmamas.com/​

They have learned that this whole Motherhood thing isn't for the faint of heart. Knowing that, they have decided to put themselves out there and share some of their struggles and triumphs they have endured on their journey. You can find just about any and everything on their blog! They say that nothing is really off-limits! It's not always easy, but they are just loving this journey, using a light-hearted approach to some of life's greatest obstacles, to hopefully inspiring others with a lot of laughter and maybe even a few tears.   

​Ashley Setterlind
Category: Faith, Transparent Encouragement, Parenting, Lifestyle

Ashley Setterlind  is a pastor’s wife, a new mom, and unashamed dog mom.

https://adabee.weebly.com/

Ada Bee is a blog inspired by one new momma’s desire to infuse the Gospel of Jesus Christ into every part of her adventure into parenthood. Through her pregnancy journey, she has realized that parenting is more than just “raising a child,” but that investing into a little one’s soul is both a rich gift and responsibility. Her blog welcomes imperfection, and follows her journey into motherhood as she figures it all out for the first time.
 

Emily Caldwell
Category: Transparent Encouragement, Faith

Emily is a lover of Jesus, family, and photography.  She has experienced some unfortunate events which have resulted in a level of spiritual growth so significant that she says wouldn’t change a single thing; all of which have led her to her writing, 

Emily says, "I lost my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law before my marriage had even celebrated its one year anniversary. I lost my own mother 16 months after that, I experienced my first miscarriage 8 weeks later, and I have been on this uncharted journey called “infertility” ever since."

https://desperatesurrender.wordpress.com/

She overcame her fear of sharing all her secrets for the sake of helping others when her blog, Desperate Surrender, launched February of 2017,  Loss was her theme until God did what only He could. Emily saw what God promises us in Romans 8:28 come to life as He slowly and gracefully walked her through the healing process. With a desperate pursuit of her Creator and an exploration of levels of surrender. Emily says, He helped her so that she can help others. This blog is a place for her to share fresh revelations and her struggles as they’re happening; Doing all of this in hopes that just one person would find comfort in the only One that can give the kind of comfort we all need.

​Erin Scarnecchia 
Category: Transparent Encouragement, Faith, Lifestyle

Erin lives in Odessa, TX with her husband, Phillip, and dog, Jax. Writing never interested her until 2015, when God gave her the push to share her heart with others through writing. It's a gift that she believes God has given her, so she can share many of the ways He has worked and continues to work in her life. 

https://herfaithfulsteps.wordpress.com/

Her purpose of Her Faithful Steps, is to tell others about my personal experiences, good and bad, and what God has taught her through those experiences. In doing so, she hopes that she is able to help others who may be going through similar situations. My passion is helping others grow into who God created them to be, and to help them realize how extremely loved and cherished they are. Erin has seen that God has worked in and through her life in so many ways and it is her hope and prayer that her words will encourage others.

Joy Johnston
Category: lifestyle, college and career, faith, transparent encouragement

Joy is a soon to be Pastor's wife, senior at Western Carolina University. She enjoys leading worship at her local Church, hiking, photography and song writing. 

http://johnston274537.wixsite.com/joyfullyliving-blog 

Joy started the blog Joyfully Living four years ago with the intention of using what God was doing in her life to speak to others who may be in similar places. She feels that vulnerable writing is the most powerful kind. So, with this mindset she set out to begin a blog journey that showcased the good, the bad, and the ugly of what life is like as a young Christian woman.

Laura Bell
Category: lifestyle, family, encouragement 

Laura is a southern woman and story teller. By day she works for a photography company. She loves running, reading, and writing! 

Theivorybell.com

The Ivory Bell really is a place for storytelling. It is a place to share what’s happening in Laura's life, or the life of others to inspire and encourage those that read. From house renovations, to coffee, to inspiring people in the city, to stories of her life, she writes about it all! You never know what you may find here, but it will always be a fun read because Laura is an amazing story teller!

Rachel Hipps
Category: faith, encouragement 

Rachel Is from the mountains of Western NC but currently calls Anderson, SC home. She is s student and assistant to author and speaker Sharie King. She enjoys all things outdoors and trying all sorts of new vegan foods. 

https://www.writtentheblog.com

Through different seasons in her recent years, from being a women's ministry intern to being part of an intensive discipleship program, the Lord has lead her to start Written the Blog. Written is a collective of writers seeking to help women write or rewrite their stories daily based on the truths of scripture. Written is a blog and social media platform designed to show women what it looks like to apply the truths of scripture directly to their own lives through the thoughtful insight of those who have walked the same path. Their hope is to see women write or rewrite their own stories daily based on the truths of scripture. 

Are you a writer, but haven't quite been brave enough to start your own blog? 

Written would be considered a "reverse blog" where a collective of writers contribute to the bulk of the content with the occasional post from Rachel. You can apply to be a part of the collective here https://www.writtentheblog.com/be-a-contributor/  

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