It's sinking in....

I've started to tell people I'm going, which is always interesting to see how they respond. Some look genuinely happy for me, some have that plastered smile like "better you than me" look, others look worried like I'm going to die going there- oh ye of such little faith :) Besides, if it's my time, it's my time-that's my feeling. All these responses do nothing but strengthen my resolve at what God wants me to do in Africa. If I walked around doing what people told me to do or thought I should do-I wouldn't be me, now would I? I'm excited that I know what to expect and how to pack, yea! I'm excited I get to go with someone I respect and have a growing friendship with. I'm grateful for a husband who understands that to love me is to allow me to follow my heart with God. I'm grateful for family and friends who support and surround my family while I'm gone. And I'm especially grateful for an almighty God who continues to provide the funds for this trip without taking anything away from my family. Thank you Lord, let's do this!

I get to go again, woo hoo!

Ever since I went to Malawi in October 2007, I have wanted to return. Not to vacation or for any other reason you might normally think. I experienced God in a way I never had before. I saw Him in the eyes of the children with no parents, food or clothing. The love for God radiates from these children, they have nothing yet they have Him. So who really has more? Many westerners go there on the pretext of helping yet they treat it like a vacation. Some go once and never come back. I want to go back and dance with the village women, sing with the children and pray with the people. I really feel God there beckoning us to join Him, to come alongside His people and help them help themselves. They don't need us to tell them how to do things, they just need God and for us to walk alongside them, to support them. God wants them to experience real christianity through our love, not just our money. So as He beckons me back, I run into His arms, saying yes to what lies ahead, knowing I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And in the process knowing I will never be the same and I am grateful for that fact!