The Girls' Perspective

While some have asked what we are going to do with the girls (yes, they are coming with us), the rest of you understand that this is a family endeavor and the girls are very much a part of this decision and the reason we are going. We have come across these writings the girls have done (on their own!) and decided that this week they can speak for themselves.
Kylie Grace - age 9 (until Friday!)

"Dear Hannah, I may move back to colorado if we don't go to mercy ships. I don't mean to make you mad but I think of you alot of the time, but I also think about other things too including a lot of my amazing, scary, wonderful, embarressing, and eciting adventures in africa. You are one of my true friends, a one who comforts me when I'm sad, you enchorage me when I'm sad, and a one who wants to play and make our friendship deeper. Missions is something that has changed my life. We are lucky that we have parents. Some of the kids in the orphanage don't. But they still are happy and brave. I hope this letter will help your feelings about Africa better.

Yors true, Kylie"

Savannah Joy - age 7

"Savannah

I am thankful for everything god has in mind for us when we go to africa on december 18. We are going with Mercy ships a ship that gives surgerys for the worlds forgotten poor."

We are blessed to get this glimpse into our girls' minds and see what God is stirring up inside them too. While this week is full of the bitterness of goodbyes and the beginning of transition to starting over, we are encouraged to know that God is IN THIS and He is good. We have all been changed by missions and we are excited for what God has in mind for us.

Preparing for Gateway

The balancing act continues for us as the countdown for Gateway approaches. We have less than two weeks left in California - two weeks full of finishing up school, AWANA, swim clinic, small groups, work, side jobs, and all our regular routine. And two weeks of the continuing to par down, sort, pack, give, sell, and wait.

Complicating life for us is the fact that it's winter where we are, and where we are headed temporarily. We won't need snow boots and ski caps and gloves and scarves in Sierra Leone, but we will need them in Colorado, and we might want them in East Texas where the weather will be in the 20s-60s fahrenheit range for our stay there in January.

We got an email today with our schedule for Texas - we have been asked (and were wondering ourselves), what will you do for a month in Texas? What sort of training will you be doing? We will be in class from 8-4:30 every day, with evening sessions again from 6-8:00pm a few nights a week. Our topics include:

• The God We Serve


• Kingdom Principles


• Principles to Live By


• Communication with God


• Conflict Resolution


• Basic Safety Training


• Fire Safety


• CPR


• Living & Working in Harmony


• World View Issues


• Tensions in Working with the Poor


• Cross Cultural Communication


• Transformational Development,

as well as team building activities, silent retreats, and preparing for our field service practicum, which will be in Sierra Leone.

This school will have 35 students, from 11 different countries. Not including our 7 and 10 year olds, the students range in ages from 19 to 74! It's never too early, or too late to serve our amazing Lord! Check out the states or countries of origin and the job titles of our classmates.

One of the beautiful things I love about Mercy Ships is that your gift can be used for the glory of the Lord in a simple way. I may not be a nurse or a doctor or an anesthesiologist, but I can use the gifts & resources that God has blessed me with, and put them to work in part of a bigger scheme. While I have not yet been assigned to a job role, I'm sure this will be part of our work in Texas - helping them to identify my skills and put me in the right role there. So, for now, my job is to help get my family there, be organized, and stay sane!

So, we continue to sell off our things (the Camry sold this morning, the piano should be picked up any moment), and trust that God's perfect timing is never late and He knows that selling our fridge and washer and dryer earlier rather than later would be a huge inconvenience. So, we wait and learn patience and dependence on Him!