Almost Time!

We leave in less than 48 hours and I am almost packed! I have gotten all the shots, prescriptions, and tools I need so now we just have to get on the plane. I am quite excited!

For me the hardest part might be getting everything else ready... work stuff caught up, groceries purchased for my husband and kids, banks called, bills paid, email vacation messages typed, etc. It is surprising how much there is to do in order to free up 2 weeks of time to go do what God has called me to do. Pondering this reminded me of something....

Yesterday in church a couple shared their story about a recent decision to go into full-time mission work....locally. No they are not moving to a foreign land, but one of them left a fulltime job so he could work here in our community as a missionary, spreading the gospel with urgency through his actions and his words. This required an extreme sacrifice as they are now living on one salary and making daily sacrifices to do so.

I commend them for this decision and will pray for them as they embark on this journey. As for the Cali team, we all had to make some sacrifices to take this trip and do this work, but in 2 weeks we will return to our lives and pickup where we left off. I do pray, though, that when we return we will see our lives and our sphere of influence as our personal mission field in a way we haven't in the past. I genuinely ask God to break our hearts for what breaks His so we can come home with a new perspective on what he calls us to do every day. I know I need that reminder and I need a new view from my front porch!

Friends, as we make our final preparations, I ask for prayers for safety and stamina, and for our families back home to thrive while we are away. I pray that Jesus will be real to those we encounter, that His work be done and that we experience a "broken heart" for His glory!