Hey from Africa!

Hey everybody!
We made it safely to Zambia - we didn't even miss any of our flights this year! God's favor was upon us and we had safe travels. We did, unfortunately, lose about half of our luggage, including my personal bag. Our team was so great about it and we just laughed it off and waited for God to work it out. I was a little bit glad because I packed extra stuff in my carry on in case of this and so I was glad to put it to use!

We've been busy visiting many schools and churches. The youth team was able on two occasions to do street witnessing. It was great to see their excitement as they had the priviledge of leading Africans to the Lord!

Well, computer time is limited here, so I should go (plus I'm sick of Hoang giving me a hard time here :). I might not get to update again, so check out www.zambiamission.blogspot.com for more updates and pictures! Thanks for your prayers!

Ready or not, here I go!

It's hard to believe, but in less than 48 hours, I will be on a plane to Africa! It's come up so fast. Today was a crazy day. We flew back home from North Carolina. Came home and threw all of our clothes in the wash. We had to have our suitcases packed and handed in tonight. We quickly stuffed all of our stuff in and headed off to the church offices. Tonight was 707's Zambia Nite. We had the team lead the worship, share their testimonies and perform the mimes they've learned. It was a great night! The students had an opportunity to show their support and encouragement by writing notes for team members.

Tomorrow will be last minute stuff - scheduling bills to be paid, cleaning, getting things ready for the cats, etc. It's crazy all of the stuff you have to remember when leaving the country for two weeks.

That's it for now....keep checking 'cause I'll try to update a few times from Africa!!!

This is Jon in his hunky African shirt - a gift from the Crusade staff at the end of our trip last year. 

This is me belting out Steven Curtis Chapman's "Great Adventure" as part of a game highlighting our staff tonight. Don't you just love those moments when you let loose and make a total fool of yourself? It was very fun! 

Zambia team leads 707 in worship... 

Students had time to write prayers or notes of encouragement to all of the Zambia team members. The notes were collected in envelopes for each person. They will receive them on the trip and get to experience encouragement from believers back home! 

"Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don't forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ..." Colossians 4:2-3, The Message 

Praying over Zambia team tonight. 

The 707 community sends off the Zambia team covered in prayer. 

Snickers is packed and ready to go to Africa with me! 

Excerpt from "Infertility - Finding God's Peace in the Journey"

Initially, one of my biggest questions with the news of our infertility was ,"why?" Why didn't God answer me the way I wanted Him to? Did He even hear me? The following excerpt from the intro to the book really hit me and reminded me of the real question - "Do I trust God to be who He says He is?"

God didn't always answer our prayers like we wanted Him to answer them. But He did answer them.

Sometimes He said yes. Many times He said no. But most often, He seemed to answer with a simple, deeply probing question: Do you trust Me? Do you trust Me to handle the future of your family? Do you trust Me to know what I'm doing with your life? When you want to do it your way, when you start doubting My faithfulness, when you start comparing yourself to others...do you trust Me?

As we pondered these difficult questions, we came to realize that ultimately, our answers had much more to do with the way we viewed God and how He related to us as His children than they did with our desire to bring our own child into the world. Did we really believe all the things we had been taught about God for so many years - that He loves us, that He knows what's best for us, that He hears and answers our prayers, that He is in control of everything? Or did we embrace our faith in a sovereign God only when it was easy or convenient for us? It wasn't a dramatic crisis of belief, but it was a crisis of belief nonetheless, one that quietly confronted us time and time again.

What was God up to in our lives? Why were we unable to conceive the baby we longed for when people around us were getting pregnant without even trying? What was the point of all of this?

I do believe that God has a point in all of this for us. Somehow the outcome will be what ultimately brings Him the most glory possible. I believe that He has a plan to use this to reach and touch others. I don't know what it will look like, but I keep my eyes open everyday to see it.

When Someone You Love Is Infertile...

One of the books we have on infertility has a section in the back with the above title. It gives guidance on how to respond to people in your life who are struggling with infertility. I haven't read the book yet, but skimmed this section at the end. This is just one small part of the chapter, but I couldn't say it better myself.

Anecdotes About Other People

If I had a dollar for every infertility success story I've heard in the last few years, I'd probably have enough to take a very nice vacation. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't want to hear about your sister, cousin, or next-door neighbor who had severe endometriosis and now has three biological children. Nor do I want to hear about your friend or co-worker who tried to conceive for seven years, gave up, and is now expecting baby number two.

Those stories are wonderful, and I am happy for those people. But this isn't about you and your stories, as hopeful as they are. It's about me and my life. You disregard my sadness when you rush to tell me all kinds of anecdotes about people you know. Just because it happened to them does not mean it will happen to me. It might, but it might not. For my own mental and emotional health, I have to deal with reality as it exists for me today. Although your anecdotes may be somewhat encouraging to people in the earliest stages of infertility, the longer the journey lasts, the less welcome they are.

You might think that such stories would stop coming once a couple decides to adopt, but I've found just the opposite to be true. If you've read the rest of this book, you know that I wrote it while my husband and I were in the process of adopting our first child, a baby girl from China. Nearly everyone we told about our adoption plans was very happy for us. But after asking us a few questions about the specifics, almost everyone had this bit of encouragement for us: "Just you wait. As soon as you get that baby home, you're going to get pregnant!" Such proclamations were nearly always followed by a glowing report about a friend, co-worker, or relative who had conceived after completing an adoption.

As someone whose chances of getting pregnant are practically nil, I can assure you that this was the last thing I wanted to hear when I told someone my happy news. The fact of the matter is, as I noted earlier in this book, only about 5 percent of women who adopt go on to get pregnant - 5 percent! On top of that, many couples, including Randy and me, decide to adopt after most, if not all, of their hopes of conceiving are gone. We've closed the door to that possibility and are now moving on with our lives. So when you tell me stories about people who adopted and then got pregnant, you make it seem as if my adopted child will be some sort of temporary fix until the real blessing arrives. That is simply not the case.

The moral of the story is this: When people tell you they're having trouble getting pregnant, or when they tell you they've decided to adopt, don't try to encourage them by sharing infertility success stories with them. If you insist on doing this, all you'll do is detract from their pain or diminish their joy.

I know it may sound a little harsh, but it is a true reflection on what goes on daily in the mind of those facing infertility - especially when others attempt to console you in this way. Of course their intentions are good, but I thought typing this out would be my part of helping to educate people so when the moment comes, they truly are an encouragement rather than the reverse.

Lovin the Sun!

Wow! The weather has been awesome since we got back from Texas. I even got to lay out by the pool for a little bit today. I want to have a little bit of a tan so I won't get burnt in Africa - it won't be hot there, but we are closer to the equator.

Been reading more of "Blue Like Jazz" while at the pool. It is a very interesting book. It is basically the story of this guy's spiritual journey. It doesn't have a consistent flow though. He sort of writes stream of consciousness. Makes it hard to follow, but he does have some interesting perspectives. I am almost half-way through it.

Monday we went through our six month process of where we wish we had a pug. Then we go to the pet store and look at the cute little puggies. Then we ask to play with the cute litttle puggy. Then we debate back and forth why right now is not a smart time to get the puggy even though we are loving playing with him. Then we sigh and sadly ask the pet store employee to put the puppy back in its little cage. Hm. This time was worse, however, because we even brought a camera and took pictures with the cute little puggy. So, here it is for your enjoyment!

Might be taking a last minute, pre-Africa trip to North Carolina at the beginning of next week. Still exploring options for new churches. Post-Africa we will head down to Texas once more to have more opportunity to meet students and volunteers. Many of them were not available to meet us last week. We will hopefully know where we are moving by the end of July. Boy, it can be hard to trust God during these uncertain times! Will keep you posted on what happens...

Aren't they cute? :)

A picture is worth a thousand words.. 

Two of my small group girls - Taylor & Denise - representing at our Crud War on Wednesday. Yeah girls!

This is the Compassion wall at Bent Tree. All of these kids and more are sponsored by the people of Bent Tree. There are literally hundreds! They also are doing some cool stuff like adopting a people group in India to reach for Christ. Also they are tithing ten percent of financial gifts towards their building project to go towards worldwide building projects simultaneously. Very cool. 

This is a pic of the auditorium before the service this morning. I really love how they incorporate art - the glowing squares on the stage are paintings that weave together in a design. Very cool looking with the lights on it. 

This is Paul smiling pretty for the camera while we grab some food from the youth kitchen for a parent open house yesterday. 

Back from the Lone Star State!

What a week!!! From Wednesday till about an hour ago, we were constantly around people. We have been in Texas for the week candidating at a church there. It was a really great time! It's just funny how easy it is to forget how drained you can get just from being around people a lot - even when you are a people person. I guess this is good prep for our Zambia trip where we will be around people for 2 weeks straight!

Our visit to Texas was great! It was really fun getting to know other Christians and see how God is teaching and using them. I love that - it just makes the world so much smaller when you get to meet believers from somehwere else. We were at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, TX. They are huge on missions - which is exciting to see. They have over 20 trips this summer just for students!!! We had the opportunity to go to a service this morning. It was good. The message was all about grace and its evidence in our lives. I took like 3 pages of notes!

The one thing I was hoping to do all week was get a chance to sit by the pool. We had time Friday, but it was really overcast and rainy. Yesterday, the sun was out and I had a couple of hours. I go out to the pool. There were about 4 boys there, but I thought, that's not so bad. Well, let's just say once I heard them hawking up balls of spit and saw them spitting it out in the pool - all desire for that watery refreshment dissipated!!! Yuck! They also wanted to play with the life perserver. They made fun of anybody who came around - calling some kids "Mexican freaks" and other white boys they made fun of too. It was so annoying. I just wanted to correct their whole world view. As I wrestled with that, however, God gently reminded me that what they really need is Him. With a somewhat annoyed and unwilling heart, I prayed for them - that somehow they would come to know Jesus personally. It's amazing that God will still listen to a half-hearted prayer like that. So anyway.... so much for the nice relaxation by the pool! Maybe another time.

Less than 2 weeks till we are off for Africa!!! It's come soooooooooo fast. Got to get my prescriptions filled this week. I remember Jon and I being embarrassed last year buying so much medicine at one time - we felt like total druggies. Thankfully, neither of us got sick. I am starting to dread the 30 hours on the plane. I am getting compression stockings this year, though to help with circulation. My feet were so swollen that it hurt to wear my shoes last year. Also have Crud War in 3 days. That should be a good time. Can't wait for life to slow down... one day!