& the waiting patiently begins. . .

Welp, I sent in my application for Japan; started & finished in one evening! 

Have Your way Lord.

short & sweet.

"Reserved are the depths of my heart, only for You."

-Hillsong United

God, Costa Rica, Japan, & a legit hammock.

I have been back in the States for two weeks & boy, do I miss Costa Rica. I cried the last night I was there; I've always rolled my eyes at those who would say, "I left a piece of my heart there," but oh, did God humble me when I left. I started to realize how true that statement is! I have enjoyed being back in Colorado, but my heart longs to go back. I desire to write more about my trip, but it's so difficult finding the words to describe (especially in detail) how impacting the trip was & I could never describe how beautiful the people are, especially my new friends! :) Honestly, it would just take up a ton of time, so for right now, I just wanted to get you up to date on what God is leading me toward next.

Do you remember the Patience & Complete Surrender (click on it if you didn't read it) blog I posted awhile back? Well, a couple months ago God told me to go to Japan in January & like I said in the post, I pretty much said no & wanted immediate confirmation. That's when God told me in His timing, not mine.

It's about time I tell you all that I received an offer to move to Costa Rica while I was there & I immediately said yes, but the response was that I needed to talk to the Lord about it first. After a couple of days, Japan was still heavily on my heart & mind; c'mon, having to think about where I actually wanted to be & where God wanted me was extremely confusing! Why would He lay in front of me an amazing opportunity (especially one that I had no problem accepting) to not only be in a country I loved, but also to be in a country that I could give God the glory doing what I was called to do (missions photography)?! Then it hit me. . .He was testing me. It was difficult knowing exactly what I was supposed to do & out of slight frustration (ha), I told Him to prove to me He wanted me in Japan & if He didn't, I was going to move to Costa Rica. Let's just say it's not a good idea to test the Lord because a week later, I received an offer to go to Japan in January.

So here I find myself online looking for plane tickets to Japan for the month of January. I can't say I definitely will be in Japan because I'm not there yet, but at this moment in time, I am definitely planning on being there. I'll be honest with you. . .I don't really want to go, but I do desire to do God's will & obey Him & if it takes choosing Japan over Costa Rica, that's what it takes & I'm not looking back. After deciding to go to Japan, God has been confirming this decision in little, but many ways & I get a little more excited for Japan each time He does. :)

On a different note, I am talking with a friend about creating a new watermark for my photography! Once that is all settled, I will have more Costa Rica photos available for your viewing pleasure! ;) I pray you are all doing well & if you want to know more about Costa Rica, please give me a call or shoot me an e-mail (abigailjoyful1@yahoo.com)! I'm crazy busy because God blessed me with a full-time job this summer, but I would love to make time to share with you!

Also, I just wanted to tell ya'll that my good friend Josh put up my hammock (I bought it in Costa Rica) tonight & I am so excited! Epic God-time in a super rad hammock is something to look forward to everyday! Work starts at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, so goodnight! Love you all.

question: How can I be praying for YOU?!

Please answer the question. . .I would love to be praying for you & all of the adventures God has you on! :)