...here I go!

  The time has almost arrived for me to embark on the next step in my journey. In 31 hours I will be headed for Chicago to catch a flight to London, then Johannesburg and finally on Wednesday afternoon I will arrive in my home for the summer: Pemba, Mozambique. 

  The past couple weeks have been busy ones (hence my lack of updates) and the past couple days have been even busier. There have been so many people to see before I go and so many things to buy. Today the packing really got underway but right now my suitcase is weighing in at exactly 50Ibs and I keep thinking of more things that need to go in it. Somehow it's all going to get in there and on the plane with me! 

  In the middle of being busy and groaning about my packing frustrations, I am getting more excited for this new adventure. I know I'm going to learn so much about God's heart and serving Him. I am so thankful for all the prayers, encouragement and support I know are going with me. 

  I will do my best to update my blog and send e-mails during my 3 months in Mozambique but our internet will be inconsistent so I don't know how frequent they will be. If nothing else I will be writing about my adventures when I return at the end of August. 

Have a blessed summer! 

...oh my soul...

  I have been thinking about the human soul and it's desires lately. The soul can be a frustrating part of my person. My spirit has been given completely to Jesus.  But my soul, that is, my mind, my will, and my emotions and with those my desires, are all still in a process of sanctification, being made like Jesus. This is the part of me that longs to do good things and yet is still constantly thinking of "Me! Myself! I! What I want, what I need! ME ME ME!"
                             Yuck.

  Sometimes my soul makes me miserable. I make mistakes because I do what I want instead of what is right or  what is best for others. I have unfulfilled desires that I ache and long for. There are days when I want to make it go away. I want to always do the right thing, say the right thing and never long for things I don't have. 

But... 

...if I didn't have a soul, if I couldn't think, if I couldn't desire, if I couldn't choose, if I couldn't feel, I would be a robot or an animal, a being with no eternal significance and no RELATIONSHIPS. The human soul is a beautiful gift from our creator that we need to have fellowship with Him and others. Because we have a soul, we can LOVE.

.beautiful.

  So how do I live with this beautiful, messy, yearning, sometimes selfish, part of me? 

.Jesus.

  This week as I was struggling with my soul over a particular thought and desire, my gracious Jesus gave me this verse: 

"...He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is GOOD." {Ps. 107:9}

Jesus will satisfy my soul with what is good...Himself. 

I also found this quote in a book I'm reading in preparation for Mozambique: 

"Though the world is so large, it is utterly unable to satisfy this tired heart. Man's ever-growing soul and its capacities can only be satisfied in the infinite God." ~Sadhu Sundar Singh

Only God in His greatness and glory can satisfy this soul. So I just keep waking up everyday and asking Jesus to satisfy the aches, the longings, and the desire. I depend on Him in desperation every day. 

Bless the Lord oh my soul!!

in 3 weeks...

In 3 weeks I will be on my way to a new adventure!

In 3 weeks I will be on the other side of the equator.

In 3 weeks I will miss my family and friends.

In 3 weeks the fundraising, packing, and preparing will be done.

In 3 weeks everything is going to change!

    I cannot believe how fast it is coming! This week I began training the new assistant that will replace me at work and realized that I will only be employed for another 2 weeks. My faithful Heavenly Father has provided for all my big expenses and is taking care of the little ones too so my fundraising is almost complete! While I haven't begun my packing, I have begun shopping and collecting the items I need. The biggest purchases on the shopping list this week are a water purifier and medical insurance. 

   
    In the midst of all these details, I can feel Jesus preparing my heart. A couple weeks ago I shared about what the Lord has been doing in my heart towards His little ones {See: No Longer A Slumdog}. When my passport came back with my visa for Mozambique, the adventure began to feel more real and I had such joy and anticipation bubbling up in me. With the arrival of the month of my departure, May, I began to feel a little apprehensive though. I started thinking about all I had to do in just 28 days and all that was going to change. My life in Africa is going to look very different. But Jesus was faithful to remind me that He will not change when my geographical location does. He will still love me, He will still lead me, He will be faithful to me ALWAYS. Those truths give me what I need each day to keep pressing forward.