Countdown to Africa~10 DAYS!

Hi friends!  Well, since we have moved into our house I have been so busy playing outside, watering flowers, and enjoying our new found freedom with space I haven't taken time to write!  And now look where we are.....10 days 'til departure for Malawi!

Well all of my vaccinations are complete, I have a prescription for anti-malaria meds to be filled, and a first-aid kit with everything known to man ready to go.  Now, if I could only find my bottle of "don't cry your eyes out when you say goodbye to your husband and kids" pills.  It's going to be the hardest most rewarding thing I could ever do!  However, just last night I was telling my lovie that I felt completely inadequate to go on this trip.  He said, "Well, then it seems like you are just where you need to be to go on this trip."  He is so right, what better place can we be for God to have complete control over our lives than complete inadequacy?  Thank you God, for a husband who supports his wife in ALL things.

Can we talk about that for a moment?  My lovie is jumping in feet first to the life of a stay at home mom while I'm gone.  The only difference is that he also has to work on and off and make sure his employees don't feel abandoned.  Thanks to a couple of very awesome (maybe crazy after this is over) friends who will be loving on our kids for a few days a week he might be able to make it through without turning completely gray!  Would you please pray for my lovie and for our friends who will hug my kids when I can't in the coming weeks?  Thank you God for sweet willing friends!

I have been praying for the Lord to build a wall around my emotions and to keep me focused on Him and his plans.  He has heard my prayer, I do have times that tears fill my eyes when I just look at those sweet faces that I will miss so much for two weeks, but otherwise I am OK.  I don't think He wants me to be without emotion, but I don't want to be controlled by them either.  He will provide on this one!

One super awesome praise is that I was Baptised this past Sunday!  I had been convicted about this for years (having never actually been baptised by submersion) since rededicating my life to Christ.  Finally, I received confirmation enough to desire that portion of obedience to the God who saved me.  It was an awesome moment in my walk with the Lord!  Thank you God for the Pastors who feed me Spiritually.

And so here we are, 10 days 'til departure and I don't want to say goodbye to my family, I certainly do not want to fly 18 hours to get there, and I don't want to face my fears.  But guess what?  All of that is so easy to overcome when I think of being on African soil having the opportunity to share the Gospel with the children at the Passion Center.  To hopefully have the chance to meet the children we sponsor, Kalipe and Phalles, and hug them if they allow me that joy.  What sweet moments are to come!
Thank you God for calling and equipping the inadequate to be the vessels that share your love to the world! I can't believe this is happening......

I hope you enjoy this song by Caedmon's Call, "Two weeks in Africa".  It really sums up going on this trip for me!  And below that are a few pictures from my Baptism. *Note: this is just a video I found on YouTube because I love this song and not from Northwest Bible's trips to Africa but I hope to be able to share one from our trip when we return!

Perfect Timing

First, apology due for the long blogging lapse.  Excuse~life.  Sorry.

It's been almost two months since I last wrote and oh my has it been a whirlwind!  I believe I had mentioned in my last blog about moving into a rental home in Delaware, Oh on May 1st, right?  Well, let's make this long story short and tie it up with a bow because I am ready to move on!

So two weeks before we were to move into the home in Delaware, my lovie received a call letting him know about a position in Witchita, Kansas (of all places, right?).  My words, when he told me where, "I think I'm going to throw up."  I was serious.  The apartment was a gigantic mess, the kids were sleeping on an inflatable mattress in the living room, and the weather outside was beyond crappy (leaving us no where to escape the madness).  Hubby and I agreed he should at least see what the story was in Kansas and proceeded to fly to Iowa for an interview.  Meanwhile, we had enlisted our prayer warrior family to join us in praying for a CLEAR open or shut door nothing more, nothing less.  A week passed after the Iowa interview and we were still just on pause with our May 1st move just a few days away.   At the suggestion of my lovie the kids and I packed up the car and escaped to Indiana for the week for some rest and relaxation with the grandparents!  It was such a great time~all the while I was still praying for clarity and I had gained a huge peace about whatever the answer was to be.  On Wednesday, Ryan called and said we were moving to...........Delaware, Ohio!  Friday brought two packed cars, one set of very helpful grandparents and a U-Haul being towed behind!  Perfect Timing!

So here I am feeling like I should be in a Kool-Aid commercial sitting outside on the deck, with the sun kissing my hands as I type, two very happy children playing in the sprinkler, and Popsicle time quickly approaching!  What a blessing this house is to us.  I have certainly been reminded that I took the home and the yard we had back in Indiana very much for granted 3 years ago!  Being able to set on this deck and soak in the sweet laughter of my children on a perfectly perfect almost summer day is nothing more than Perfect Timing!


And should I mention that our team leaves for Malawi in 39 days!  EEEK!!!  I can feel the reality of emotions I'll have about leaving my kids and my husband welling up inside.  I am trying desperately to suppress them, but I know that God will have to bring me to my breaking point in order to have my full attention.  How can I be used there, if I can never face leaving here?  I have been praying specifically this week for God to help me build a wall around the emotions that are surfacing out of fear.  And then there's the daily dying to self that I am trying to make a priority in order to be filled with the Spirit.  Wow, did I never know I was this selfish and needy??!!  I'm sure I sound no different to God than my own children sound to me with their constant, "Mommy, I need this.  Mommy, I'm having trouble here.  Mommy, help me.  Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...."  Of course I will actually miss hearing all those Mommy requests some day, but I am becoming aware of how much my parent child relationship with my children is just like my FATHER child relationship with God.

Well, as the days pass and take off approaches I will trust that God will send me off very prepared, emotions in check, and eyes on HIM.  So when my feet touch that African soil (do they actually have soil in Africa??) I will have complete faith in HIS Perfect Timing.  


And so the page turns....

I had to include this picture, the very first flower Hallie chose for our yard is a Shasta Daisy.

I love that these sweet little bursts of happiness are ALWAYS looking straight UP!