What a journey these last seven months have been, and what a journey the next phase will be! It is easy to make this whole thing sound like a walk in the park, and in comparison to many people's experiences, my preparations to leave have been. However, there have been days I have wanted to quit, days I have struggled with my own emotions over leaving, as well as tried to carry the emotions of others, days when I struggled to make the people I love understand WHY I have to do this, and days I took on the guilt of the world because of time that I'll miss while I'm gone. I have gotten overwhelmed by the details, stressed over things far beyond my control, and missed countless opportunities to turn to God for what I needed.
Just keeping it real here.
Through all of the ups and downs, I have found myself to be blessed. Yes, there have been times that preparing for this new phase of life was not easy, and yet, when did God ever promise us that following Him would be? Beyond that though, I have had opportunities to open up a window into my heart for the world to see. I have been able to share my deepest passion and craziest dream with the people that I love most. I have been able to watch God at work in my everyday life and observe Him personally putting the pieces of my life's puzzle together. I have gotten to meet and share with so many more people than I ever would have had the opportunity to before. I have been able to watch firsthand how God's people come together to support something that God lays on their hearts. I have gained family and gotten closer to friends. Most importantly, I have been given opportunity after opportunity to put my faith in God and watch as He did a great work with it.
Today, as I continue to go through the roller coaster that is mission work, I am asking you to pray for me personally. I leave in 3 days, 7 hours, and some change. I cannot even begin to imagine, much less describe, all that I will experience in that amount of time, but know that your prayers make a difference!
- Pray that I would continue to be overwhelmed with God's peace in this great change that is on the horizon.
- Pray that my transition into the Ethiopian lifestyle goes smoothly without too many embarrassing flubs on my part ;)
- Pray that I would have patience as I enter a culture where time-frames are not a thing, and that I would not be discouraged when things don't happen right away.
And as always, pray as you feel led. I'm giving you creative freedom to take the gaps and run with them. You're welcome. :)
