Since the last post, oh, gee, about a zillion things have happened that I've "meant" to blog about. Among them....
- Our anonymous friend who left us more financial support for our mission, along with the sweetest, most encouraging note EVER. My friend Beth Johnson delivered his mystery envelope to us. I wish I could thank this man in person, but at least I know that Jesus is telling him "well done".
- We nailed down a caregiver for Jack-Jack. BUT we still need homes for Star, the black lab, and Prince, the orange/brown hound dog of regal heritage. Perhaps even a few families would consider taking turns with these furry friends? Say, 1 or 2 months at a time? Hmmmmmm.......
- Tim spoke at St. Paul's April 22, and at our church, First United Methodist, yesterday, May 6. He did an amazing job at both. Each time I hear him speak, I think, "I'll go! I'll go! Sign me up!" But then I remember: Oh, yeah....I already signed up last April. :-) Truly, it's amazing to see how God has equipped Tim in the public speaking area. Until this mission trip, Tim has always hated public speaking. He says he still hates it, but it sure doesn't show. He used to be all stiff and awkward when he spoke; now he is dynamic, encouraging and inspiring. Ha! Maybe he just needed a topic that really excited him!
- I took Hannah to visit Wheaton College two weeks ago. It is the most beautiful campus I've ever seen. Of course, it doesn't really matter what I think. I already went to college. I think Hannah liked it a lot, as well. Good thing for her, she'll have 10 more months to pray through where she wants to go. She went to four classes plus chapel, and loved each one. Who knows where she'll land in the fall of 2013, or where she fits best, but I do think she really liked this place.
Our 3 day college trip turned into nearly a week when I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to leave at 6:30 and make our return plane. I'd been up til past 4:30 a.m. worrying over various details. Funny how you can KNOW scripture and promises God makes about carrying you, how He promises His burden is light and His yoke is easy, but........well, I don't know about you, dear reader of this blog, but sometimes I am just too dumb to REMEMBER THIS and I find myself sleepless or exhausted trying to carry things myself. Speaking of all of this, I listened to this song today on youtube, and it reminded me to give all my anxieties to HIM. We really were not intended to carry all our "stuff" on our shoulders. His shoulders are so much stronger than ours. Thanks to Amy Grant for writing this song.
Due to missing our flight, we changed our plans, rented a car and drove to Michigan - only 4 hours away - and met up with Tim, who was attending a missions conference. I had planned on joining him all along, but was going to get off my return flight with Hannah only to jump back on another one to Michigan the next morning. Instead, I cancelled the return and other outbound flight, and drove to meet him in Michigan, and we bought a new return trip for Hannah. What was truly amazing at all these last minute changes, is we ended up SAVING MONEY! Somehow, we were refunded more money from canceling our return tickets than it cost to rebook Hannah for a return from Michigan and rent a car to drive from Chicago to Spring Arbor, MI. That was a happy surprise. If you're confused by all these crazy travel details, so were we. Anyway, Wheaton is beautiful! What a great college! And an added bonus? I got to see the Wade Museum, somewhere I've wanted to see for years and years. It houses Lewis' and Tolkien's and some other great author's original manuscripts. Also there? The Wardrobe that inspired Lewis' wardrobe in the Narnia series. How cool is that? Who knows where Hannah will land in the fall of 2013. Whether she goes to Wheaton or not, I'm glad we made the trip. It is a cool place, imho.
- Hannah got to meet a beloved teacher from her online school, The Potter's School, while at the missions conference! Mr. Mailand, her History teacher for 9-11th grade, lives only 45 minutes from the conference. He drove over and took Hannah to breakfast. How cool to attach a person to that voice! I learned more about US History from Mr. Mailand than I ever learned in high school or college. He is a gifted teacher and a truly great person. We are so thankful we got to meet him!
- Tim and I met so many wonderful folks at the conference. Many families who had lived at Kibogora in years past were there - it was sort of a Rwanda Reunion. They were so encouraging. One young man in particular really warmed our hearts. His name is Tim. He was 10 years old when the genocide happened. He escaped the chaos with his Mom and his sisters. His dad, a pastor, was studying in seminary in the US when the genocide broke out, and of course he was worried sick about his family. Tim told the story about how he and his mom and little sisters fled on foot, walking for three days without eating a thing. They also rescued two very little girls who were neighbors of theirs. These girls' parents had been massacred in their front yard. To see the peace in this young man's eyes, to hear about his desire for Rwanda to heal and to grow in grace -- it was beautiful, and so, so inspiring. He thanked everyone there for the work they were doing in Rwanda and for the work they had done. At the end, he said, "The hope for Rwanda is that Rwandans will continue learning to forgive. Without forgiveness, we have no hope, but with the forgiveness that is available to us because of the work of Jesus on the cross, we can receive and extend forgiveness to others. In that forgiveness lies hope for my country." Well put, Tim. Thank you for your words of wisdom!
- Have I mentioned how much I'll miss our church? Yesterday, I went to three and a half services - and I cried through every one. If you are like me, and you love your church, thank God that you have that community! Embrace it! Cherish it! Like that old singer used to sing, "Oh, don't it seem to go, that you don't know what you got til it's gone." (Big Yellow Taxi) For what it's worth, that is my encouragement to go and really enjoy church next Sunday. And tell your pastor thanks for all he or she does! That's gotta be a hard, hard job!
- We met with Carol, this wonderful lady from our church who felt God leading her to help us with our mission. We didn't even know her before this! She just heard us speak at our Lenten Luncheon a month or so ago, and she came on board! She has arranged a musical farewell concert for us at our church June 3. I hope a lot of folks come! Our pianist/organist, Sabrina, and Eddie Sharp, of Hosanna Lutheran, are playing, They are both amazing musicians. I am so touched they are arranging all of this. Carol amazes me with her extreme organizational, administrative talents. She is working circles around me. Truly, she feels like this amazing gift God just plopped down in my lap. I am overwhelmed with gratitude!
I am needing God to do a miracle here on Lakewood drive before we leave. We need to find homes for our dogs. I need to finish giving away anything I don't want to store. I need to pack up all our other stuff. We need to physically move out of our home between June 16-22. We have so many activities between then that I won't even list them here. I need to do a few things for Hannah's high school graduation. Lots and lots! Dental appointments, orthodontist appointments (Stephen gets his braces off! WooHoo!), doctor's appointments, birthday parties -- the list feels a bit endless.
No comments:
Post a Comment