8000 Miles

8000 miles.  That is roughly how far it is to Zambia.  8000 miles on an airplane.  Me, who hates to fly.  Me, who can't sit still for 15 minutes and is expected to sit 15 hours on a plane. Me, who hates to be away from home for more than one or two nights.  Me, who checks in with my parents on a daily basis (sometimes 7 or 8 times).  Me,  who has precious grandbabies that I see or at least talk to everyday. Me, whose precious husband is totally helpless when I am away.  OK maybe not totally but somewhat. Ok, maybe he can manage but I do like to think he is totally helpless without me.  But the point is that I will be 8000 miles away from the comforts of my home and family and all that I am blessed with.

If you had told me a year ago that little ole me, a lowly imperfect human with flaws that outnumber the stars, would be traveling to Africa to share God and His love, I would have laughed in your face.  (Sometimes I still laugh.)  Ain't God funny?????  So many factors have played into my upcoming trip. Even strangers have played a part in my going.  I really kept thinking someone would tell me not to go.  Someone would say something negative to keep me from going.  Someone would explain all the reasons I shouldn't go..................this never happened. As a matter of fact, God put so many people and things in my path to make sure I got the message.  "GO".  Well, I got it.  Loud and clear, I got it.

We have been working for the past couple months on raising the funds for this trip.  There are 3 of us going and the cost is roughly 4000.00...................EACH. In a little over 2 months, we have manage to reach and exceed our goal of $12,000.00. (And funds keep coming in.) God is so good.  We have had several fundraisers and all have been successful.  One guy in my Sunday school class said recently, "You know, we could have a fundraiser for this trip everyday, and if God were not in the center, we wouldn't raise a penny."   Amen.

I have been reading a lot and asking a lot of questions about the area I will be in.  Though I know that nothing I read and none of the answers will ever prepare me for this trip, I sometimes get so overwhelmed that I can hardly contain my excitement.  I was asked recently what I see myself doing there.  We were told that we would probably be involved in a children's ministry that would possibly include up to 500 children.  Sorry, but I just cant see 500 children.  WOW.  I was also informed that I will need to prepare a women's bible study for the women in the village and surrounding areas.  I should be prepared to do this study more than once. WOW.  And I was informed that I should prepare a testimony-like presentation.  I asked how long this should be, "what, like 5 to 10 minutes???"  HAHA, she said, more like an hour OR SO.  WHAT????? We were told that 5 to 10 minutes would be an insult.  They want to hear us.  They want to hear us a lot and we would offend them if we only shared for 5 or 10 minutes.  Time is of absolutely no importance to these people.  We were told just to leave our watches at home.  (This will be challenging for us westerners.)  It's a good thing I like to talk...:)....

We leave on our trip in exactly 4 weeks from today.  Tomorrow begins our 40 days of prayer which covers from now until we return on the 11th of August.  Please pray for our team daily.  This is such an exciting time but there are issues that need attention.  Our health and safety, our precious families that will be here and even though they all know we are doing God's will, they worry.  Those who will be placed in our path, the missionaries who serve there on a daily basis and many other things. So please just keep our team and our trip in your prayers.

"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'"  Mark 16:15

If He says go, you go.