eleven things to note while i’m gone

LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL LAUNCH!!!

How wild.

I am currently about $7,000 from being fully funded!!! If you feel led to partner with me in this ministry financially, simply click the ‘donate’ button at the top! All donations are tax deductible! 🙂

1) I’m excited to go, but it doesn’t mean it is easy to leave.

I’ll be honest in saying that one of the things I am the most terrified of leaving is losing contact with my community back home. Manhattan has been my home for 8 years, and the thought of leaving is scary, as exciting as the journey that lies ahead is. I leave my dear and sweet community. A lot of characters from my Manhattan chapters, which are greater in number than I ever imagined. Manhattan: I didn’t really like you when I first moved here. But I am thankful God let me stay for these past chapters. I can’t begin to list all of the characters who entered my story here, but I am thankful for every single one.

2) The missionary life is not always as glamorous as it looks.

Yes. We will go on many adventures. Yes. We will have an incredible time. But I can’t begin to tell you all of the hard things we will have to sacrifice and let go of for this coming 11 months serving people in the name of Jesus. For a glimpse of what we will sometimes be walking through, please check out this blog post from my dear friend, Corrie. She gives a very real and raw description of what the mission life is like. As she says in the post, it’s not to get sympathy. It’s simply to give a real view of what it is like.

3) Lower communication.

I won’t always have internet access while on the field. If you haven’t heard from me in awhile, it is no cause for alarm. I’m more than likely just somewhere I don’t have access. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

4) Social media less. Community more.

Y’all know I love social media. I’ll post updates every so often. But I made a covenant with this squad to be present and be living community. That means I’ll have to take a step back from how much I’m using social media to be present with them. This doesn’t mean I don’t miss or love you all. I need to be present with them while we’re on the field, and present to what God is doing through my team and squad. I’m also going to throw a challenge at you and ask you to pick one day out of the week to stay off social media for 12 hours that day. You’ll be glad you did.

5) Snail mail will not be received.

This honestly kills my soul a little bit. I am taking letters to open along the way, though!! If you’d like to write me a letter, ask me for my address and I’ll take it with me on the field to open while away!

6) Ask questions, but avoid these two.

Though they are our go-to questions, please avoid asking: How are you? as well as How are you feeling? This might seem simple, but I’ve honestly stopped answering them. Right now, I’m a mess, and I’ll be honest in saying that. But they’re really loaded questions right now, and there is still a lot of processing as I prepare to leave. If asked, I’ll answer them as I am at the time, but have some grace with me as I’m still trying to wrap my head around a lot.

7) Do ask where I’m going and what I’m doing.

We do presently have our first ministry location! And I’ll be sharing that on here later, but if you want to know, do ask! I’d love to talk to people more one-on-one about this until I post about it!

8) Subscribe to my blog if you want to stay updated.

Though I will be posting to social media occasionally, it won’t always be consistent. And I’m going to be trying to stay present with my team and ministry, which will mean being more unplugged than normal. If you subscribe to my blog, you’ll get an email notification each time I post, which will keep you in the loop of what God’s doing in us and through us! Which I would love for you to be able to do! Everyone on my subscription list will also get a newsletter update each month entailing where we were and highlights of what we did. So hit that subscribe button. 🙂

9) Let’s do coffee.

While I’m gone, I still love you and I still love coffee. While we can’t just meet up at Bluestem or Arrow, I still want to have coffee with you. This is a small ask, but please, if you are thinking of me on a particular day, please send me $5 via Venmo (@VicksMix) or PayPal ([email protected]). In return, I’ll send you a photo or video of me with the coffee. This might seem small, but it will be huge when I’m out on the field and knowing I’m being thought of back home, and able to have coffee with you from a distance. 🙂

10) Love hard, even in the distance.

 There will be hard days, weeks, months. I will need prayers, love, encouragement, and support from home. Please pray for me, my team, and my squad while we’re away! Your love and support mean the world. If you want to stay up to date on our journey, please subscribe to the blog! I will also be sending out monthly newsletters via email!

11) I’m not coming back.

I don’t know I’ll be when I get back…but I know that after these 11 months, I will not return home the same person. Please be patient with me as I process and grow. Have grace for me when I return a different human than the one you know now. I don’t know who I’ll be, but I do know that I will be able to love harder, listen more, and encourage you more in the story God is writing for you. I think it’s something I’m okay at now, but something I’m still learning and growing in, and I think it’s a lot of what this year is about for me.

I love you all. I am only able to go on this journey because of the Lord providing through all of you. Through prayers, encouragement, finances. It is the wildest journey I’ve ever been on, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. You’ve all helped strengthen my faith in the Lord, and in the insane ways He can and does provide. Thank you for being willing to answer the call to help send me.

XOXO,

Victoria

Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.

–Isaiah 43:19