the dominican republic

i got accepted to go on a mission trip to the dominican republic with my church and i am thrilled. today was our first team meeting which made me even more excited.
i have a special place in my heart for the dr. i’ve never been before but i took a latin american class my last semester in college which caused the initial interest in the dr. i read this book called "in the time of the butterflies" about these sisters who stood up to the political regime of their time and died for their cause-to see their people released from a horrible dictatorship and helped lead the country into a democratic system. That book sparked an interest in me for several reasons, so my continued interested of the dr increased. i had a desire to go but never knew it would come as a mission trip with my church.
over a month ago i was driving to church and thinking about wanting to go on a summer mission trip but nothing specific came to mind besides uganda because i know my church sponsors trips to uganda, but i wasn’t sure when and what trips would be offered. so i just prayed about it. when i got to church that morning there were brochures on our seats for the summer global trips. my heart leapt. i opened up the brochure and the first trip on the list was to the dominican republic. my heart literally did a back flip somersault sort of thing. that’s when i started to pray if that was something god wanted me to do. i told my friend sarah sitting next to me and she said i definitely needed to go to the information booth after the service. so i did. after talking with one of the trip leaders, i got even more excited. the trip itself was so much but then i was informed it was a high school sponsored trip. i almost let out a joyous holler. i love high school students. that’s almost an understatement. i used to work in full time youth ministry and continue to volunteer on a part time basis, so working alongside teenagers was right up my alley. so my friend was like, yeah, you need to apply. over the next few weeks, i continued to pray as i filled out my application. i was then called in for an interview which ended up happening the day after i lost my job. it was rather intense but i just kept praying about it. a week later i was accepted to go on the trip and then today was our first meeting. expressing my excitement is perhaps almost redundant. my excitement exudes from the depths of my soul.
a little about our trip... we will be working alongside a church in santo domingo, the capital doing some construction, working with cancer and aids kids at a hospital, street evangelism and working with students at the university. it is going to be an incredible trip. i am hoping to see god move in some mighty ways, not only in the people we are serving but in the people i'm serving alongside and especially the students who are going on this trip.
i could really use some prayer for this trip as we prepare to go and as i ask for support to cover the cost of the trip. i also need prayer for my finances since losing my job had a great toll on that and also when i do find a full time job-that they will let me take the time off. the trip is june 21-30. thanks for your prayers.
again, can i just say, i’m excited. stoked. pumped. thrilled. beyond words.