Hello Wallet

Well, hi! Some of you may have read about my misfortune with my wallet last week here.

This is how that story ends.

I got an email from "DPS Lost and Found" on Friday.

I must've just skipped over it because I get emails constantly.

I mean constantly because of my job.

Well, Sunday as I  more methodically checked those emails, I opened it. 

And BAM.

It was telling me that a wallet was turned in that may be mine.

Well hopefully it had my ID in it.

So, this morning I made sure to leave for class a little early to make my way to the little police desk in the union.

On the way over, I was thinking that maybe my faith in humanity was restored a little.

I mean, someone turned it in right?!

But...why did it not get turned in until Friday if I had lost it Wednesday night?

Well, I'm all about giving people the benefit of the doubt so I was hoping everything was still in there.

Here's the good news:

IT WAS MINE!

I showed him my ID, took my wallet, and made my way to class.

Here's the bummer:

Someone took my credit card and debit card.

That little sucker.

Good thing I cancelled them real quick and they hadn't had a chance to use them.

Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for them, they left me the good stuff!

They let me keep:

my drivers license (which would have been $28 to replace)

my student ID (which would have been $15 to replace)

my gift cards

my yogurtland coupons for free yogurt

and everything else. 

*there was no cash in there*

The other weird part that is was turned into the AIRC on campus. It's a building really close to the union which is open 24/7.

My theory is that someone picked up my wallet from the floor. Walked outside. Took my cards. Dropped it in the AIRC. Someone else found it and turned it in.

Unless the person who took my cards turned it in to the other building when they were done.

It had to have happened fast if they didn't take the time to look in the little nooks and crannies for my giftcards.

I am just really thankful that I don't have to pay for my dumb mistake. 

I'm glad that someone turned it in.

Sometimes sucky things happen. And sometimes they turn out to be not-so-bad.

Keep your head up.

Look at the good things in life.

Take care of what you need to.

And enjoy the ride.

1,010

Raising financial support is always a growing experience before a missions trip ever begins. I am thankful that as of today, I have been supported financially $1,010 and I know that my friends and family continually pray for me and our team and I am extremely thankful that.

Have you ever had to trust God for something as big as raising $5200 in three months? Let me tell you--it sure is a heck of a ride. He provided for Ocean City and Buenos Aires...and I confident again in His goodness and His faithfulness. 

Here is something that I am so thankful for: God is the same.

Yesterday.

Today.

Forever.

He is always good. Always worthy of praise. Always just. Always loving. Always providing. Always kind. Always compassionate. And always pursuing each and everyone of us.

I challenge you to trust God in BIG ways. 

-how you love your family

-how you spend your money

-with your future

-cast your anxieties on Him

-trust Him to provide your needs

To read more about why I am raising financially support, click here.

To support me financially, go here.

To support me prayerfully, let me know by sending me an email:

AUDREY.L.DESOTO@GMAIL.COM

Have questions? Send them my way as well.

Goodbye Wallet

A seriously unfortunate thing happened tonight.

My wallet is gone.

See ya later....

or actually probably never.

I met up with Greg (our campus director for Cru) and his wife Amanda in the good ole student union for dinner. I'm giving a senior talk next week and Greg was giving me some pointers.

I had so many things in my hands from carrying the food back to our table and when I sat down, I just put my wallet on the floor next to my backpack...thinking I would pick it up when I left.

Mistake number one.

Then, it was time to head to Cru and get the meeting rolling. 

I didn't look back and check our table like I usually do.

Mistake number two. 

Well I assume that I left it because after Cru, a group of girls went to fro-yo. Yes, I have an unhealthy obsession with Yogurtland. And guess what? No wallet in my backpack. 

Oops.

I called a friend who was still in the union and she looked for me and asked the information desk. 

Nothing.

Nada.

Lydia and I went back to the union so I could look again.

It wasn't where I ate dinner.

It wasn't in the room we have Cru.

It wasn't in the bathroom.

No one turned it in to the front desk.

I even called campus police to see if someone turned it in.

Nope.

Cool.

So, my credit and debit card are cancelled.

But, I'll have to navigate my way to the DMV soon to get a new license.

I still have hope that someone will turn it in.

There's no cash in it.

Not sure why someone would keep it.

Take my gift cards and turn it in.

That's totally fine with me at this point.

I guess this is just a reminder that as humans, we often fail to do the right thing. I take responsibility for leaving my wallet somewhere, but it's unfortunate that whoever picked it up did not choose to turn it in.

We live in a broken world and people make poor choices.

I am thankful that even when sucky things happen,  I can look at the big picture and realize that it is certainly not the end of the world.

With finals approaching be on guard to not be pushed into the emotions of stress and chaos. Take a deep breath, enjoy what's going on around you, and keep an eye on your wallet. ;)

Support

Yup. It's that time again. Raising support is such a huge part of trusting God for His provision.

Please be praying with me as I continue sending out more letters and talking to my friends and family (and probably you) about supporting me prayerfully and/or financially this summer.

I am trusting God to raise up $5200 for my summer project.

Wanna learn more about how to join my team of ministry partners prayerfully and/or financially?

Email me: audrey.l.desoto@gmail.com

(l as in lauren. not the number one.)

I would love to meet up with you, call you, or send you a letter that better explains how you can be involved in my trip to East Asia and what kind of impact YOU could have!

If you're just ready to dive in, there are two things you can do.

1. Email me and let me know that you are praying for me and our team.

or

2. You can give financially online at give.cru.org/5588358

If you do give online, could you please email me anyways and let me know? I'd love to properly thank you and it takes a little while for me to know exactly who gives online right away. 

Stingers up! Round two.

This girl was accepted to Sac State's graduate program for Speech Pathology.

And I couldn't be more happy.

I found out last Friday when we were in Wisconsin for Ian and Aly's wedding.

I was in the hotel's hallway on my way to my dad's room when I checked my email. This is a little taste of how excited I was!

Stinger's up! (It'a a hornet thing...)

Do not be fooled. This has been a process that has absolutely tested my faith and I have really had to work on casting all my anxieties on the Lord.

In March, I was having a total identity crisis. I wasn't sure if I was even passionate about speech pathology anymore. Senioritis had taken over and I just didn't want to be in school anymore. I was really questioning why I wanted to even go to graduate school if I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be a speech pathologist.

I had just submitted my final application a couple weeks before and then I had no clue what I was doing.

Here's a blog post that I started and never finished...and obviously never published from that week:

Have you ever felt like you were so sure of something and then all of a sudden, you were tossed to the wind...more like a tornado...and you're just praying that you land on your feet? My plan has always been to go to graduate school for Speech Pathology. All of my applications are in, I've even had an interview...and now here I am...doubting. Is this really what I'm passionate about? Is this how I want

and I stopped right there. Couldn't even get my thoughts down about it.

Interning with Cru sounded really enticing. I could continue doing what I was doing at Sac State without having to go to class or taking finals. How sweet?! Regardless of how much I wanted that, something just never felt quite right.

I prayed a lot. I asked God to either reignite my passion for speech path or to make it obvious what he wanted me to do. I started to read the book of Joshua. I had never read it before and was challenged by Joshua's faith to step into the Jordan River. 

We had our Executive and Entrepreneurship Forum for Cru that week. Executive and entrepreneurs came to share with students their stories of successes and failures in life, business, and faith.

At the dinner, one of the speakers talked about when he knew that God wanted him to take a step of faith and start up his own business. He read Joshua.

What. The. Heck. I totally felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I needed to step out in faith and trust that God has great plans for me in grad school. My heart for the military and desire to help veterans with traumatic brain injuries stirred up again inside of me. I started to enjoy going to clinic and my prayer was answered. I was confident that I was going to go to grad school.

Then, the rejections started to come. I was waitlisted and rejected. Rejected and waitlisted.

This was hard for me. I've never really been rejected before. Sac State was the last school to send out notifications...weeks after I heard back from other universities. 

Then, my acceptance finally came.

It could really be a blow to one's ego when you aren't getting into schools that you thought for sure you had in the bag. However, I prayed so many times that God would make it clear where he wanted me in the fall. And although it was answered in a way that I wasn't expecting...that prayer was answered.

And like I said, I couldn't be more happy.

Who knows where my path will lead after this fall, after graduate school, or later in life...but I am excited to continue serving the Lord and being sensitive to His will for my life.

God answers prayers. It may not always be how we expect, but He does. Anxiety, fear, and confusion do not come from God. His perfect love casts out fear. He gives us a spirit of courage. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power of love and self-discipline. [2 Timothy 1:7]

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. [Joshua 1:9]

The Day I Finally Got A Sister

21 years.

That's how long I had to wait to finally get a sister.

But let me tell you, my brother picked out a good one.

A really good one.

And I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives being sisters together.

Aly and I met in December of 2010 when she came for her first visit to California.

I liked her immediately.
Who wouldn't?

Read about Ian and Aly and how they met here. It's a good story.

The first day I met Aly. We took her around San Francisco. 

Aly visted again the next fall and we took her to Lake Tahoe.

My mom and I visited the East Coast last summer and got to see these love birds again.

Here we are at a Washington National's baseball game. Let me tell you a little fun fact. At some point, everyone else had gone to get food or for a bathroom break and just me and Ian were left watching the game. Of course I was going to take advantage of the opportunity and ask about Aly. I asked him if he was going to marry her. He told me yes. I asked what was holding him back. He said nothing. He then told me his plans of proposing the next month and shoot dang. I was pumped! It was really hard not saying anything or be awkward. 

Ian proposed the next month. Read about that story here.

Want to see more cute pictures of Aly and Ian? Find them here.

Aly asked me to be a bridesmaid. That made me real excited! It wasn't something I was necessarily expecting but I'm real glad that she did.

I threw here a bridal shower this January on one of her visits to California.

Then, it was time for the BIG DAY!

04-13-13

See more pictures from the photographer here.

It was a really sweet day. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a complete blast.

I am so thankful that my brother married someone who is excited to be a part of our family, not just someone who is married in and stuck with us.

When Ian is gone out at sea, I love that I can always talk to Aly. She totally gets it (probably better than me) and I know that she genuinely cares about me and things going on in my life.

Welcome to the family, Aly! 

Nicaragua In Pictures

Hello world! We've been back from Nicaragua for a couple weeks but soo many things have been going on and I can't wait to update you on all of that. But for now, I will share our journey with you with lots of pictures.


My mom and I went with my church in Galt to Masatepe, Nicaragua for a week during my Spring Break. We went and built a house, played soccer, encouraged the church, had adventures, and grew closer to God.