Whew!! I started, and FINISHED, packing today!!! :D My mind was a little tense about packing. If I forget something it's not like I can just run back home for it :) I think that I have packed everything though. We were allowed two checked bags but I managed to fit all my junk in the carry-on suitcase and one large checked bag. (One very very VERY large -*heavy*- checked bag. Don't worry though; I'm pretty sure it's under the 50lb. max.) This means that I have a completely empty bag in case someone else needs extra space, or if Bob and LuAnn have something that they need us to bring. And, although it was a personal goal to pack all my stuff in just one checked bag, hopefully I will get some advice on shifting my luggage so I can take it in two reasonably weighted bags.
I am very excited for this trip. I believe that it is God's will for me to go and that He has made that evident by supplying my financial need and making the preparations smooth. I also know that we are covered in Christ's righteousness. However, talking to some of my friends this week, I feel that many of them are much more "worthy" of taking this trip than I am. Hopefully this feeling serves to keep me humble on this trip and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the lessons that God wants to teach.
Thanks again to all of you who have corresponded with me and helped to make this trip a reality!! My financial goal of $2500 was reached two weeks ago. So amazing...
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Morning
I don't think that the full import of this trip has dawned on me yet. Of course I am excited to be going and I think about it a lot and have been preparing for weeks. It just doesn't seem like I will be flying out of the U.S. on Tuesday to a completely different continent and culture, leaving my normal life behind for a month. Unfortunately, I won't be able to completely leave my school work behind. (I'm just kidding.)
This pre-trip excitement is having one noticeable affect on me:
Someone once told me that I am a morning person. If you saw me in the morning you might make alternate conclusions. I am usually very slow in the morning and highly reluctant to get out of bed. (The fact that it's been below zero for the past couple days might have something to do with that.) However, lately I am quick to get out of bed and look eagerly forward to each day. I feel that there are many things that I need to accomplish and little remaining time to be with my family and friends before taking off for a while. --- (Really, I think we'd all feel much more motivated if we remembered that any day could be our last, each day is short, and there's no "re-do" button. Somebody remember that so you can tell me later when I need to be reminded. :) ----
I am also reminded of why I want to go on this trip in the first place. No, it's not to take pictures of giraffes... It's not even for the cross-cultural experience. I feel confident that God is leading me to be involved in life-long, over-seas ministry. On this trip, I will not only be able to see a bunch of beautiful children, but also help out in a couple of medical clinics. Hopefully, this experience will show if God has suited me for medical work..... or not.
This pre-trip excitement is having one noticeable affect on me:
Someone once told me that I am a morning person. If you saw me in the morning you might make alternate conclusions. I am usually very slow in the morning and highly reluctant to get out of bed. (The fact that it's been below zero for the past couple days might have something to do with that.) However, lately I am quick to get out of bed and look eagerly forward to each day. I feel that there are many things that I need to accomplish and little remaining time to be with my family and friends before taking off for a while. --- (Really, I think we'd all feel much more motivated if we remembered that any day could be our last, each day is short, and there's no "re-do" button. Somebody remember that so you can tell me later when I need to be reminded. :) ----
I am also reminded of why I want to go on this trip in the first place. No, it's not to take pictures of giraffes... It's not even for the cross-cultural experience. I feel confident that God is leading me to be involved in life-long, over-seas ministry. On this trip, I will not only be able to see a bunch of beautiful children, but also help out in a couple of medical clinics. Hopefully, this experience will show if God has suited me for medical work..... or not.
Monday, January 13, 2014
"Coincidence? I think not!"
Over and over again, God has done things in my life to remind me that NOTHING is coincidental. Here's and example that culminated this week:
I am often sick. Not sickly; but I used to get strep every year and often will have a continual cold or sinus problem during the winter. That means that I generally use a lot of tissues in the winter. [Winter = Colds = Runny Nose = Tissues.] My family is somewhat old-fashioned and traditional, so I didn't realize that there was a simpler way to blow my nose in school - one that didn't entail leaving my desk to pull a tissue out of the tissue box on my teacher's desk. It's called "MINI TISSUE PACKS!!!" This summer while I was school shopping these mini tissue packs were on sale and I really stocked up on them. I felt very proud, and prepared! .... And then... like the blonde that I am, I brought a large tissue BOX to school and placed it on my shelf - completely forgetting about all the mini tissue packs that I had been storing in my closet since summer. I was very aggravated at myself: "Why buy all those tissue packs if you're just going to bring a tissue BOX to school?!??" Good question. Answer: there isn't always TP where I'm going in Kenya! I got an email this week, among other things, advising me to stock up on tissue packs as an improvisation for TP. That was one of those "Ooohhh, I get it!" moments. Thanks God! And now I know why he made me blonde. There really was a purpose behind that seemingly senseless thing that He allowed me to do. :)
But I must still, in my heart of hearts, doubt that nothing is coincidental - that when we think we've made a mistake (not a sin), God is most likely behind that somehow. At Christmas time, I ordered The Purpose Driven Life for one of my friends and then felt like God didn't really want me to give it to her after all. So again I was "giving myself the business" for being "hasty" and wondering what in the world I was supposed to do with the book that I had ordered. I already own a copy. The book has finally come, several weeks after Christmas, and God may have given me an idea of who to give it to. I suppose that we will see eventually who it's for. The person He may have suggested isn't someone that I would have thought of in my top 15 people to give the book to but would probably be a greater blessing to her than any of the people I was thinking of.
It's just cool how God works like that and I encourage you to look for things, that may seem like coincidences, but are really evidence of God, at work in out lives, and in the world around us.
I am often sick. Not sickly; but I used to get strep every year and often will have a continual cold or sinus problem during the winter. That means that I generally use a lot of tissues in the winter. [Winter = Colds = Runny Nose = Tissues.] My family is somewhat old-fashioned and traditional, so I didn't realize that there was a simpler way to blow my nose in school - one that didn't entail leaving my desk to pull a tissue out of the tissue box on my teacher's desk. It's called "MINI TISSUE PACKS!!!" This summer while I was school shopping these mini tissue packs were on sale and I really stocked up on them. I felt very proud, and prepared! .... And then... like the blonde that I am, I brought a large tissue BOX to school and placed it on my shelf - completely forgetting about all the mini tissue packs that I had been storing in my closet since summer. I was very aggravated at myself: "Why buy all those tissue packs if you're just going to bring a tissue BOX to school?!??" Good question. Answer: there isn't always TP where I'm going in Kenya! I got an email this week, among other things, advising me to stock up on tissue packs as an improvisation for TP. That was one of those "Ooohhh, I get it!" moments. Thanks God! And now I know why he made me blonde. There really was a purpose behind that seemingly senseless thing that He allowed me to do. :)
But I must still, in my heart of hearts, doubt that nothing is coincidental - that when we think we've made a mistake (not a sin), God is most likely behind that somehow. At Christmas time, I ordered The Purpose Driven Life for one of my friends and then felt like God didn't really want me to give it to her after all. So again I was "giving myself the business" for being "hasty" and wondering what in the world I was supposed to do with the book that I had ordered. I already own a copy. The book has finally come, several weeks after Christmas, and God may have given me an idea of who to give it to. I suppose that we will see eventually who it's for. The person He may have suggested isn't someone that I would have thought of in my top 15 people to give the book to but would probably be a greater blessing to her than any of the people I was thinking of.
It's just cool how God works like that and I encourage you to look for things, that may seem like coincidences, but are really evidence of God, at work in out lives, and in the world around us.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Pre-trip emotions
Wow. Life seems to be going way too fast right now! I have a lot of things going all at once and I really don't feel like moving ahead to any of them. But as I look ahead and know that my trip is only a few short days away - I am very excited and know that it will be a happy experience. Happy - that this is something that I am passionate about. That this trip is something that God wants me to do and that I will go on more in years to come.... And be happy about it.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Christmas Baby
For Christmas this year, my Mom took Shannon and me to visit our sister Autumn in Virginia. On Monday, January 6th, she had a beautiful, healthy baby girl. We are overjoyed.
Autumn also has 3 other children. Looking at them for the first time in months made me think of children all around the world. Children who look different and speak a different language and who have a different culture. But children who are just has happy and full of life and quirks and skills and dreams as my nephew and nieces. All made by God and all sharing common bonds. I am so excited to go to Kenya!
Autumn also has 3 other children. Looking at them for the first time in months made me think of children all around the world. Children who look different and speak a different language and who have a different culture. But children who are just has happy and full of life and quirks and skills and dreams as my nephew and nieces. All made by God and all sharing common bonds. I am so excited to go to Kenya!
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