Can You Hear Them?

(A poem written by our daughter, Katie Mae)

Listen to their thoughts, can you hear them?

Watch into their dreams, can you understand them?

See into their pain, can you feel them?

Wanting to make a difference takes its toll, but you keep pressing on

keep on going forward, and you keep on looking straight. 

Leaving the ones you love, being left behind, and watching as the rest of the world moves on.

Jumping on the plane, riding, riding, and riding, but you keep on riding and you never stop.

So you take a chance and jump off, and you soar.

Soaring with the moon and the stars, just to land and be with the world.

The world that never stopped moving and never gave you a second thought.

You land with the ones you had to leave behind, hoping it'll be the same, but you've changed.

You've heard their thoughts, watched their dreams, and felt their pain.

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}...

Daily Struggles

One of our strongest daily struggles on this journey is patience. Both of us are Type A personalities and would be starting the packing process today if it were up to us! But we feel God telling us to wait on his direction, not ours. We feel God moving in a deliberate way and have already experienced so much growth in this process!

As is often the case when a believer is trying to put Christ before anything else, we have definitely felt resistance and attack, but we are so glad that God warned us of this beforehand! (see previous post)

The day after Christmas we began dealing with flooding, ceiling leaks & plumbing issues at our home. Somehow, we were still able to thank God that this happened when Wes was off work and not in Africa! I have dealt with extremely stressful issues with school and grades but continue to feel that God is using these circumstances to help me deal with issues with patience and arrogance. Wyatt has been sick and is still suffering from the after effects of Scarlet Fever. The girls have struggled with obedience in these beginning teenage years as I mourn the fact that my girls are so grown up.

There are sure to be many opportunities to praise God in the midst of a storm, but we strongly feel that all of these trials and triumphs are preparing us for the struggles we might face in the mission field. Our bible devotionals have been focusing on knowing and preparing for God to show you his will. One of the steps that we have taken to prepare our hearts to hear God's will for our lives, is to pray for Him to expose any habitual sins that we might have. Not only will this help us to hear His will more clearly, but it is part of the continual firing process to bring us closer to the children of God we were made to be.

A funny story…

Just before Christmas, Wes was surprised one night to see a mouse scurrying across the living room floor. Although our little terrier dog went after it, she missed and Wes couldn't find it again. Well…I found it a few mornings later, while staying home with a sick Wyatt, as it scurryied almost across my bare foot!! I called Wes, (whispering I guess so the mouse wouldn't hear me?!?) but didn't freak out! I never screamed, ran around or jumped up on any chairs (as I have done in the past!) even though I was scared and wanted that mouse gone! We missed catching it again but later found it had gotten stuck in a floorboard and died. God has a funny sense of humor! It was if He was giving me a little glimpse of what creepy crawly things I might encounter in Africa!

Please pray that we would continue to find God's blessings in the midst of struggle and not let the storm over take us. We pray this post finds each of you well.

"You are who You are, no matter where I am"

The Wilbanks Fam

First Steps

Our family is on a journey. We know God is driving and that our family of five are the passengers, but we aren't sure where this journey may lead.

In October of 2010, Wes went on his 4th mission trip to Uganda, East Africa with African Children's Mission (ACM). While there he works with orphaned and destitute children by sharing the gospel and helping to provide for their physical needs. These children are mostly AIDS orphans or orphans from the last Ugandan civil war. Their needs are so great but Wes usually leaves feeling like he has been blessed just as much if not more than the people he has gone to serve. Since his first trip in 2001, he has felt God pulling him to Africa. After this October trip, it was a pull he could no longer ignore.

As we began fervently seeking God's direction, we began a Charles Stanley Daily Devotional bible study together. As we vacationed in Florida over Thanksgiving break, our devotionals began consistently pointing to staying strong in the face of struggles. We really felt God speaking to us through His word and preparing us for the work ahead!

Through much prayer and study, we have begun this journey with God, wherever it might take us. Although we feel a strong pull to Africa and with African Children's Mission, we want to be completely open to wherever God is leading us. And we do feel him leading us. Wow, do we feel him leading us!!

Please pray for us as we begin this journey. Pray that we will be able to continue to exhibit patience as we wait for God's direction instead of following our own selfish desires.

We hope that this blog might serve to help others that might take this journey for themselves as well as give you a glimpse as to what we are dealing with and how best to pray for us, as we also pray for you.

"I want to leave a legacy…because we only get one life…."

The Wilbanks Fam