We Are Here, Finally

Hi Friends and Family!  Well, our trip here didn't go quite as planned.  Due to high winds in D.C. we were delayed a couple of hours which, in turn, made us miss our flight across to London on Friday.  So we spent Friday night in D.C. and flew to London on Saturday.  Of course, we missed our connection to Kenya, so we had to wait to catch the next flight on Sunday morning to Kenya. We stayed Saturday night in London.  We actually debated staying in the airport in London because we only had a few hours before we would need to be back for our flight the next morning.  Many miracles have happened along the way including having our luggage - all of it - arrive in Kenya today with us.  This was no small thing. 

Overall, we are exhausted, but excited all at the same time.  We know that when we are weak He is shown to be strong, mighty, and able. 

Please be patient with me as I can't get my email to work and this is my only way to communicate with my family right now.  Hi Elizabeth and Joshua.  Here are the pictures we took at the airport.  Miss you both and love you completely.  Hi Cory!  So wishing you were here to share the adventure.  I'm reminded of all our many traveling adventures and the many crazy places we've been.  Pray hard and don't forget to feed the children. :) Love you forever, Carole.  PS Guess what Michael is eating in this picture from London?

Planning Now...or Not

Okay, so those of you who know me, know that I am a planner.  I like to know that I will be prepared for whatever comes my way.  I'm sure there is sin there - my need to control or to seem responsible to others.  So I see God continuing to work out my "junk." This trip to Kenya has made me chuckle as I have heard God over and over tell me to move out of the way and watch Him work and reveal himself to me. To keep my mind going in the right direction these last couple of months, I've been reading My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers.  Below is an excerpt from the day my hubby turned 41 - I had to squeeze that in there ;)

I love reflecting on this devotion as I try to think of how to prepare for Kenya.  I'm not sure what we'll be doing, so preparations have been slim.  God is telling me to trust him.  Do I trust him to provide the funds?  Do I trust him to use Michael and me while we're there?  Do I trust him to keep us safe?  Ugh!  Every time I question these things or feel myself fretting over them, I know it is a question of my faith and trust in God.  It's not all about what God is going to do, it's about knowing who He is. So bring it on. I can't muster it myself.  Embolden, strengthen, and set my feet on solid ground!

January 2 - WILL YOU GO OUT WITHOUT KNOWING?

"He went out, not knowing whither he went." Hebrews 11:8

Have you been "out" in this way? If so, there is no logical statement possible when anyone asks you what you are doing.  One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question - "What do you expect to do"?  You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you known is that God knows what He is doing.  Continually, revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely.  It is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder - you do not know what God is going to do next.  Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out," building in confidence on God.  "Take no thought for your life...nor yet for your body" - take no thought for the things for which you did take thought before you "went out."

Have you been asking God what He is going to do?  He will never tell you.  God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.  Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you go out in surrender to Him until you are not surprised an atom at anything He does?