Precious Equipping Time in our Lives

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times- this adoption process is just the tip of the iceberg to what God is doing in our lives! He has used our journey to Isa to work in numerous facets in Joshua and I's souls to reveal Himself in fresh new ways, over and over again! I've been reluctant a little bit to share details of specific burdens that He's placed on our hearts, because A. We're still sorting through what responding to these burdens looks like in our lives, and B. Honestly, I am scared of the accountability that comes with actually putting it out there for others to read! Actually typing out the words and having them stare back at me, somehow makes things more concrete. Scaredy cat, I know... but I truly do feel like the Lord is asking me to be transparent through out this process in all the ways He's at work in our lives.

That being said, I shall nervously begin pouring out one specific burden that is weighing heavy on our hearts...

Deep Breath... We feel like, in time (and I don't know when that time is yet), our family will move to Africa. There you have it folks, I said it! We know that right now, our priority is to get Isa home- and that we're kind of in this "holding phase" until our adoption is complete. Right now, the timing of when we get Isa home is completely out of our control- we did our part in busting butt to get our dossier whipped up and sent off... and then, well- we wait, and pray, and wait some more, and pray some more! Any international adoption, as a whole, is somewhat risky and unpredictable- seeing as how any country could choose to just shut down for whatever random reason at any time. And while I don't see that happening with Ethiopia, there is still so much out of our control as far as how the rest of this process plays out! We have no real grasp of what our timeframe from here on out looks like. So, we continue to hold loosely to our desire of having Isa in our arms and home by Christmas andtrust that God is using this "waiting for Isa phase"as precious equipping time in our lives!

Like I said, I have NO IDEA of when and where we'll move to Africa,  and what door of ministry God will open up for us to walk through at just the right time to get us there! And when I say "no idea", I really mean, I am completely clueless as to how this is all going to pan out! Maybe that's why I feel a bit silly writing about this- but I'm determined to lay it out there as God throws it at me, so that in the long run, His hand will be all the more evident in looking back and seeing how He was clearly putting puzzle pieces together at this point in our lives. So that's my motive in sharing. For months now, both Joshua and I have had an uneasiness about staying here, our hearts have been captured by Africa and it's people, we feel an urgency to go and share the gospel, and we feel a strange peace about God leading us there... yet at the same time- I'm the one who is scared to type it out! Go figure! Like I said, I trust that God is equipping us during this "waiting for Isa phase", for bigger "God things", that He probably knows we would freak out about if He revealed all of it to us now.... so I'm soaking in these moments of preparation.

Okay, all that being said- there is an obvious "equipping opportunity" that we truly feel like God has laid in our laps and we're going to ask you to be in prayer with us about.  Joshua is going to Uganda this July on a mission trip with our church, PTCC! We just found out this past weekend that his application was accepted to be a part of the team going to Kampala to work with Hesed International and Food Step (Natalie from the Sixty Feet Bereaved Documentary that many of you have seen). We went back and forth on whether he should apply or not- (the "NOT" aspect of our discussions centered almost entirely around me being pooped on raising money and not really in the mood to tackle another $3,300- if I'm being real here). So here's the deal... at the end of the day- I had to ask myself once again if I trusted that God is faithful to fund His callings? Well how stupid would I be if I said no?! Duh... God has clearly rocked our faces off in less then a year in providing in crazy amazing ways towards our adoption!  (I'll have you know, we are seriously ONLY $459 short of our TOTALY GOAL OF $28,000!!!). I find it no coincidence that God timed this mission trip at the exact time of us being almost fully funded for our adoption- knowing that I totally would have shut the door to it even being considered if we still had thousands of more dollars to raise towards our adoption (I'm not sure that speaks much on behalf of my faith)! So here we are, almost entirely funded for Isa... thinking that we were just about to sit back and take a deep breath and relax a bit... BUT once again being challenged to step out in faith and raise a little bit more!

I trust this Uganda trip in July is just another piece of the preparation puzzle that God is putting together! We'll be sending out letters here shortly with more details and specifics regarding the trip. BUT for now, be in prayer that this "waiting for Isa phase" would be a time of growth and maturing in our faith- because I'm pretty sure we're going to need a whole heckva lot of both when the "moving to Africa phase" is upon us! (o: