God continues to amaze me with how he provides.  After much thought about whether the Bolivia trip would be possible financially for myself, I decided to take a leap of faith and trust that if God was calling me there, he would provide.  Shortly after this decision, I heard of another opportunity to travel to Bolivia as a subject for a Human Physiology graduate research project.  The goal of the project is to investigate acclimation to high altitude.  The trip included traveling to Bolivia in July for a month, and provided the flexibility to end on the exact date the Bolivia mission trip started.
        At first I was so amazed that God had provided such an amazing opportunity in the field of my study and had answered my prayers because the trip would pay for my flights.  But then doubt seeped in and I almost decided not to pursue this opportunity because it entailed getting many IVs, muscle biopsies and various other unappealing procedures.  Luckily, God knew that I needed some encouragement and after telling my friend Jordan about it, he convinced me that this was not an opportunity to pass up.  Jordan, who is also on the Bolivia mission team, and I then further investigated and went through preliminary testing.  After the initial testing, Jordan was told that he would not be included in the study.  I was very torn because I did not want to go on this trip alone, much less travel on my own, but I knew that this was something God really wanted me to do.  Two weeks later, I was overjoyed to find out from Jordan that the researchers had contacted him and had asked him to be a subject.  It was amazing to be reminded that God was in control and simply wanted us both to trust him.
        So far our testing has gone really well and the researchers have been really willing to work with us so that we will have smooth transition to the mission trip.  This testing has really pushed me to overcome my fears.  Before this testing I was extremely scared of needles but it has been amazing to see how God has given me strength to overcome this fear. We would be grateful if you could keep Jordan and I in your prayers throughout this testing process.  Saturday May 19th is our baseline testing and includes getting a muscle biopsy, arterial catheter and an IV, which really scare me.  Your prayers for strength for both Jordan and I that day would be greatly appreciated. Please also be praying that our transition from the research trip to the mission trip goes smoothly.
        –Erika Chesnutt