Answered Prayers

Hello everyone,


Sorry it has taken me so long to get an update out, two days after I arrived home from my last trip all the plumbing in my house decided to die. It started with my down stairs den flooding for the fourth time, after installing a extra sump pump in a crawl space too small to stand up in and tearing out the carpet in our den for the fourth time, the den flooded yet again.. After having my septic tank pumped out I find out that all my fill lines are no good, so now I have back yard that looks like a big dug out mud pit. I've replaced all the plumbing pipes on the out side of my house going to the tank and all the pipes in the tank (not a fun experience I might add). All I have left to do is dig up my old fill lines replace them plant some grass and remodel a den. All I need now is the time to do it. As someone who has to have everything just a certain way almost to the point of OCD, I feel like God is taking this opportunity to teach me to be content in the midst of chaos. And that some days I will work all day at something and feel as if I accomplished nothing. I think he's telling me not to focus on the days and days of work I still have left to do and to only focus on this day and the work God would have me do today. Also just to be thankfull that I have house to work on and the abilty to do so. It is taking time to ajust but I'm starting to get ok with the Idea that my house and yard are going to have to be in shambels for now and that I can't always take care of a problem or problems as soon as they come up. It's funny but ever since Alicia and
I have started this journey we have tried to look at every situation that arises as a teaching tool that God is using to prepare us for a life in the mission field. It has made it easer to handle problems when we don't focus on the problem and keep our focus on what God is trying to show us. We still have moments of being totally overwhelmed especially for me over the last couple of weeks with everything going on with the house, but I have found in those moments when I feel like I can't catch my breath and am on the verge of a massive panic attack,
that God never fails to throw me a life line. For the last few weeks that life line has been my dad. He always seems to show up at just the right time to lend a helping hand to hold me up and encourage me so I can make it through whatever disaster I'm dealing with at the time. Both of my parents are such a blessing and I'm so thankful for them.


This last trip to the ranch was great, just to see all my African friends so soon after my last trip was awesome. Dad and I were able to get most of the work done that brought us back so soon. We even got to see one of the generators run off bio-gas. How cool is that!!! I wish I could say that God revealed his big plan and the work he would have my family and I to do while I was their but thats not the case. I left broken hearted the same as before wishing I didn't have to leave and wishing my family was already there with me. I guess the biggest thing
God has been teaching me through this whole process is patience. So for now we will continue to move forward with our plans of getting Alicia on the first team trip after she graduates, unless God opens the door for her to go sooner, then following that a 3 month stay with the whole family. Dad and I will began planning and organizing the next team trip which right now looks like will be Sept. 24th thru Oct. 8th. If anyone is interested in going just shoot me an E-mail.

Please continue to pray for our family. For wisdom for Alicia and I. For us to be patient and to wait on Gods timing. For our hearts to continue to be broken for the people he would have us to serve.

Before I go I want to share an answered prayer request that I just found out about last night. After I got home from my last trip Alicia made the comment about how she could not wait until she graduated so she could go with us on her first trip to Africa. And how she wished she could go sooner, but knew that would be impossible if she was going to graduate by next spring. I told her we should pray about it and ask God if it was his will for her to go sooner that he would provide away for that to happen. We prayed that night and the next morning I told her I wanted to share the prayer request with all of you, she asked me not to because it was a silly idea and that it
wasn't going to happen and that she didn't want to get her hopes up just for both of us to be disappointed. That morning I began to pray that God would show her that through him nothing was impossible. She found out Wednesday morning at school that she has got to do a 4 week interim term this January in order for her to graduate and that she can do that interim in Africa with ACM. All she has to do is write up an interim contract and get it approved. She e-mailed the lady in charge of the interim terms last night a rough draft interim contract
to see what she would say. It was about five minutes later that she responded and said "yes definitely yes". Though nothing is in stone yet it looks like Alicia and I will be able to make the trip to the ranch this coming January, needless to say we are both extremely excited to be able to go 8 months sooner than we anticipated an even more excited that God answered our prayer in such a big way.


Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. You have no idea how much it means to us.

Wes

Patience

This might come as a surprise to some of you…but I am not a very patient person!

I know, shocking right? :)

One day when Wes and I were dating, we were watching The Newlywed Game Show. One of the questions was "what is your spouse most lacking…brain cells, patience cells, or love cells".

Wes without hesitation shouted "patience cells!!".

I've come a long way since those days, twin girls will do that to a mother!

But I still have such a long way to go. I so often want things accomplished on my time, when I want them and how I want them.

I really have to focus on making myself stop and think about how this affects other people.

So with this {journey} I've felt God so often tell me

"stop. just wait. be patient."

And that is so hard…so very very hard. Because when I have something in my sites I go for it.

I'm all about research and planning and list making and weighing options…but once I've done that and have decided I'm gunning to accomplish it.

For whatever reason though, with Uganda, God is telling me to wait.

I want more than anything to spend my days pouring love into the children of Uganda…

the people of Uganda.

I want more than anything to spend my days pouring love and knowledge into my children.

I want more than anything to spend my days depending solely on my heavenly father.

I really want more than anything to rewind time by five, ten years and move to Uganda then.

Why did it take us so long to hear what our Father was telling us?

Why didn't we see what He wanted so long ago?

I don't know the answers to these questions but I know that we are never to old or too set in our ways to be used by God.

His timing is perfect

I know He has a plan for us

I can't wait to see what that is.

But for now I have to have {patience}...