Yes, this September. As in three weeks from now.

 

I’ll be staying at The Youth With A Mission (YWAM) training center in a small farming village outside of Geneva called Burtigny. I’ll be living on the base with several other Christian writers from all over the country. I’ve already started getting to know a few of them through our private Facebook group and am looking forward to meeting them in real life.

 

During our time together, we’ll receive valuable hands-on teaching from Mary on various parts of the writing process, share critiques with each other on our works-in-progress, attend one-on-one workshops with Mary, and receive encouragement and prayer over our writing journeys. I signed up for the Advanced Week, which is tailored for writers who have been published and have received editorial feedback.

 

There are a few things I’m hoping for from this week. I want to gain clarity on how to go about sharing my story on a bigger platform. Input on whether to go the self or traditional publishing route. Marketing advice from someone who knows that world a lot better than I do. Tips for turning my book into the most beautiful version of itself it can be.

 

I’m also just looking forward to sharing this story with people outside of the smallish circle I’ve kept it to. To receive feedback on what parts resonate with them and on which details should maybe stay within that circle.

 

I’m especially excited to share it with Mary, who has been a champion for women — including herself — with hard stories to tell.

 

The second week of the trip is a Retreat Week. This is a week meant to give writers precious, unrestricted time to devote to their works-in-progress, to explore the Swiss countryside a little more, and to continue building relationships with our fellow writers.

 

Even having cut back hours at my job with the intention of devoting more time to writing and art, I have still found it difficult to prioritize these things over the past few months. Part of it is the fact that the summer months are the busiest time for my field of work. Another part is that adapting to a new schedule is hard, period.

 

So having a whole week to just work on my book in Switzerland — this will be the first time I’ve traveled internationally since a mission trip to Trinidad ninth grade — sounds like a dream.

As dreamy as it all is…there are some hard things about this trip. Things that almost held me back from going at all.

 

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, part of my fear around this trip is the reality that this is one step closer toward possibly putting my book out into the world. Another part is the fact that it will be my first time traveling internationally by myself. I flew to Seattle alone a couple of years ago and was an absolute mess leading up to it. (I think I have this irrational fear that not a single person in the airport around me will speak English and I'll never make it onto the plane during my layover and will end up stuck in a foreign airport forever.)

 

But, if I'm honest, the biggest anxiety I have about this trip has to do with money.

 

This writer's seminar costs a little over 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). According to the current exchange rate, this is around $1200. A round trip plane ticket to Switzerland is the same amount.

 

Add to those things the usual travel expenses, I’m expecting to spend around $2500 on this trip.

 

Mary DeMuth offers this trip as a ministry. The cost includes transfers to and from the Geneva airport, food, lodging, and training. It’s incredibly affordable for everything that’s included.

 

But as someone who has lived paycheck to paycheck for more years than I like to count and who recently made the financially risky decision of giving up a full-time job, $2500 feels like a lot.

 

Even so, I have incredible peace about my decision to attend this seminar. Since starting this journey back in April — after I prayed to God for confirmation that I was making the right choice in going part-time at my job, then received that little card from a friend telling me to step out in faith with my gifts — I have seen the Lord show up again, and again, and again.

 

I have not missed a single bill deadline. I have not had to go deeper into the debt that I've been working towards paying off. Every month, I have had enough — sometimes more than, sometimes just, but always enough.

 

As I mentioned before, I have struggled to put the time and effort into my art and writing like I thought I would. The money I’ve made these last few months — money I was hoping to make from creative pursuits — has mostly been God providing in unexpected ways, in Facebook Marketplace sales and pet-sitting gigs and the generosity of loved ones. I don’t feel like I deserve it.

 

Thankfully, He reminds me over and over that His grace isn’t something I have to earn. That His mercies are new every morning. That He is somehow redeeming the time that feels wasted.

 

He is a good father who gives good gifts, even to prodigal children who squander their inheritance and make poor choices with their credit card.

I'm grateful that His love isn’t limited to just the honor roll kids.

 

(But as a former honor roll kid, I can confirm that He does love them a lot, too).

 

I’m trusting in my Jehovah-Jireh to provide again. I have spent a lot of time in prayer over this book, and this trip feels like the right next step to take. Even though, as of writing this newsletter, I have just about enough to pay for my plane ticket.

 

And so I’m asking you, my reader and my friend, to prayerfully consider helping me get the rest of the way there.

 

I’ll admit, this part feels uncomfortable. I debated whether I should include this in my newsletter at all, or if it would be better to just blindly trust the Lord to drop the money from the sky and into my lap.

 

(Which, for the record, I have full confidence that He could do if He wanted to work that way.)

 

But I also know that He often works through His people.

 

The reality is that lot of the writing I have shared publicly has been for free. And I really, truly love that.

 

But writing, even the most fun kind, is still work. And it can be hard to spend a lot of time working at something that doesn’t help me afford my groceries. It can be hard to leave my desk at work and go straight to my desk at home, to spend my evenings in front of my laptop instead of resting on the couch with a book or a TV remote after a long day.

 

Many of you have been keeping up with my writing journey over the years. You’ve expressed words of kindness and encouragement that make every second I spend hunched over a notebook in the middle of the night worth it.

 

These words make me feel like I’m doing what He made me to do. And there’s no better feeling in the entire world.

 

This is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.

 

 

So here, my friend, is what I want to ask:

 

If anything I’ve written has ever touched you in a special way…

 

If a piece of my story has ever made you feel seen, heard, known, or valued…

 

If the words I’ve shared have ever helped to draw you closer to the heart of the One who loves you the most…

 

Would you consider supporting my trip to Switzerland?

 

I accept payment through Venmo, PayPal, or Koji. If you know me in real life and prefer a different payment method, just let me know! Even $5 will go a long way (airport coffee is not cheap!), but whatever amount the Lord leads you to give will be appreciated more than I can express. And if you want to put “Switzerland trip” as a note so I know what it’s for, that would be great :)

 

 

I have a few projects already lined up that need to take priority in the next couple of weeks, but I would love to add more to my docket. I’m going to send a separate newsletter in the next few days with more information about opportunities to support my art, but in the meantime you can check out the link to my Facebook page to learn more about the commissions I offer.

 

 

Do you know someone who would enjoy and benefit from my writing? You can forward this email directly to them or send them this link to subscribe. If you’d like to tell them about my trip and think they might be interested in supporting me, the links to the first two parts of this newsletter series are at the top of this email.

 

And if you’d also just like to share my writing with someone, I keep a handy list of all my published articles here!

 

 

Many of you know that I write for the company Well-Watered Women. If you use this link within the next 30 days to buy any of their products (including Refreshed: A Devotional for Women in Dry Seasons, which features two devotionals contributed by yours truly), I make 10% of the purchase! Woohoo!

 

 

Patreon is a platform that allows users to subscribe and receive exclusive content from artists they support. I created an account a little over a year ago and use it to post my drawings, works-in-progress, written reflections, etc.

 

I’ll be honest and admit that this is something I’ve struggled to keep up with these last few months, but if you’d like a way to support me on a monthly basis (you can choose from a $2, $3, and $5 a month subscription), this is an easy way to do that.

 

 

 

I truly can't express how much your prayers mean to me during this exciting (but also terrifying) time in my life. Here are some specific requests I have:

 

 

Regardless of if or how you choose to support this journey, you have read this far and that alone means the world to me. Thank you for taking the time to read through this newsletter, for bearing witness to this sacred new season. I am endlessly, unfathomably grateful for each and every one of you.

 

She is, too.