Pondering

I mentioned to Peter the other day that I needed to write a blog post, but since we are sort of in a holding pattern as far as things go, I didn't really know what to write.  He suggested I go through the blog I kept during the time I lived at the orphanage and see if I could post any part of it over here, just to give a sense of that trip to this new group of friends.  I spent a couple of days revisiting my first journey to Orphanage Emmanuel.  That trip was so challenging.  Those of you who walked with me during that time will recall the challenges, although some I did not even recall until I read my record of them on the blog.  The part I chose to post over here was from after I got home.  

I had been home 10 days.  What I found when I returned was that I missed the kids like an amputation, and I had such a hard time readjusting to normal life once I came back.  I had spent 8 months in full time ministry, four of those months out of the country, and I had to come back and start working almost immediately.  Also, I was sick.  I have a dust allergy that surfaced while I was in Honduras (remind me to get Allegr.a for my trip), and it took me 7 months of being home to get well from the immune shock my system went into to.

But back to this blog entry.  I was reflecting on my time there, still wondering what it all meant (truth be told, I still wonder what it all meant), and this is what I came up with:

As this season ends and the next begins, I look for one thing as the constant in it all, Jesus Christ.  My circumstances will change, but He never does.  And I thank God for that.  People have been telling me that I will continue to see the effects of this time for the rest of my life.  I know I have seen fruit already from my time there, from the deepening of relationships that occurred while I was there to the reduction of the power of want in my life, and I will continue to see fruit in the months and years to come.  Something life changing, eternal occurred there.  And it was worth all the lice, all the exhaustion, all the frustration, everything.  I recall the day I arrived there, and was standing in front of the airport, God gave me a sense of peace, an assurance that I was right where I was supposed to be, and I still have that sense of peace about it.  I know that I went there out of obedience and I fulfilled the task that God put in front of me.  I didn’t do it perfectly, but I did it, and He will honor that.  That’s all I can possibly ask.  I don’t regret a minute of it, and I feel as though I know God better for having gone.

If you are so inclined, you can read the entire entry by clicking HERE.

I'm thrilled to be bringing my daughter to the same place that meant so much to me then and means so much to me now, to be introducing her to the world of loving others in the name of Christ on foreign soil.  

We have bit more to raise, we are having a yard sale at our church on Saturday and a few people have asked how much more we still need, and I am fully confident of God's provision for the rest of the trip.  Blessings, blessings, blessings.  :)  

The next post I am going to ask Peter to write, about sending his precious wife and daughter to the mission field without him.  It'll be a good one.

Look what came today!

Oooh she was pleased as punch to get it, too!  She looked at every page, scratched the inside covers and I eventually had to take it away from her to keep it safe.  She just wanted to carry it everywhere.  And, in classic form, when I asked her to give it to me so I could put it up, she said, "But its mine!"  She did NOT want to part with it.  :)  Much sooner than I expected it to come, it's here...and that is one thing marked off of my list.  Yay!

This and that

I just called Olivia into the room and asked her to tell me about our Honduras trip, and she said to me: "We are going to Honduras.  We're gonna bless the mission trip and we're gonna bless the orphanage and we're gonna pack food for the plane.  We're taking two planes.  Honduras has special mosquitoes, if they bite you you'll have a virus."

We went to the foreign travel immunization clinic at the Alachua County Health Department  the other day.  Thankfully (praise be to God) Jared and Celia were gracious enough to keep the littles so Olivia and I could go alone.  The woman we had the consultation with spoke to us for an hour (!) about things ranging from benzo (something or other) wipes to buy, anti-malarial medicine, and vaccinations.  I am currently having to decide if I should get my 2nd Hepatitis A shot (I got my first before I went but never returned for the booster - those are expensive shots!).  We got Olivia's Hepatitis A but have to go back for one more for both her and I (I can't remember what it is and I'd have to actually get up to go find it. ha!).  I'd have taken a picture of her getting her shot but I was too busy restraining her.  Literally, full body restraining.  Can we say traumatic???  There is no convincing her that it will be just a moment of pain.  She starts stressing about the shot as soon as she figures out she's getting one.  

On a happier note, I did (finally) get the passports sent off last week.  I was waiting on having the funds to do so, it was quite expensive to do.  We took some pictures of us getting pictures, the ones of me, Olivia took.  :)  She's a natural, as you can see.

Did you happen to notice the red line on the thermometer?  It has literally JUMPED since my last update.  We have gotten about $700 donated in the last two weeks.  We are SO close to meeting goal...and still have a yard sale to do!  God has been so good to us in providing so quickly, and I feel so blessed, and Olivia does too.  

If you are praying, please pray for the following:

• That all of our funding would be provided, ours and the other people going on the trip.  I am only one of 70 people raising funds for this.
• That our hearts would be prepared for the trip in all the ways God knows they need to be.
• That God would prepare specific people for us to connect with and bless during our time there.

Thank you, again, for journeying with us.  :)