Amazed

I don't know if any of you ever struggle with this, but sometimes when I get so excited or overwhelmed by something God's done, I have a hard time putting it all into words. I'm going to do my best to share what has transpired in the past 48 hours, but know that what is read on this post is only .001% of the excitement, joy and AWE I am feeling at this moment!

Monday afternoon I was doing what I normally do while Riley's napping...checking email, catching up on FB and blogs, etc. I noticed my friend Monica had updated her blog and I was excited to see new ways to pray for she and her family (they are missionaries in Swaziland - a small country inside South Africa). As I read down the list, I got to the part where she listed different volunteer teams that will be helping them the next few months. I looked over the list quickly and one group caught my eye..."some of the camp staff of Camp WorldLight are coming in late July/August." Camp WorldLight is the camp where I served in Florida for 8 summers. One of my closest friends is the director, so I figured she must be taking the team.

**Side note: For those of you who did not know, I served as a Journeyman in South Africa from January 2003 to November 2004. Monica and her husband, Steve, were in Swaziland at the same time. Monica and I also served on camp staff together in Florida before either of us went overseas. I consider her one of my mentors, so since I lived only 2 1/2 hours from her while in Africa, I spent quite a bit of time in Swaziland.

Back to Monday...after finding out about the team going to Swaziland, I sent a short text to Anne (the director) telling her how excited I was she was taking a team back to Swaziland (she went on a short-term trip there in the late 90's). I never dreamed I would receive the text back that she ended up sending. "Yeah! I am so excited about going back. July 29-August 10. You want to go?" If I wouldn't have already been sitting down, I probably would have fallen on the floor right then. You see, I have been praying for over 6 years that the Lord would make a way for me to go back to the land I grew to love so much. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I honestly left a part of my heart in South Africa when I returned to the U.S. in 2004. I told her that after consulting the Lord and my husband, I would let her know. When Daniel came home from work and I told him, his first word was, "GO!" He knows (boy does he know!) how badly I've wanted to return. We decided to think/pray about it and talk about it some more that night and then I'd give Anne my decision the next morning. By the time I went to bed Monday night, I knew I wanted to go. The only possible glitch, though, was she had to make sure with her travel agent that another ticket could be purchased. So even if I decided the Lord was leading me to go, that didn't necessarily seal the deal.

I called Anne Tuesday morning and told her my decision. She said once she heard something back from the travel agent she'd let me know. Tuesday came and went, and I heard nothing. "Be anxious for nothing..." - yeah, that was a hard verse to put into practice yesterday! Thankfully the waiting came to an end this morning when Riley and I went to the park, and as we were playing I got a text from Anne saying, "You're in!" The only way I knew to respond to that was, "God, You are amazing!" I mean, He literally placed this trip in my lap! So many truths can be gleaned from this experience, but one that is standing out so clearly to me is the importance of persisting in prayer. He knows our hearts, and He knows our desires. If we are seeking His will and His glory, He will give us the desires of our hearts! We must trust Him with those desires, though! We also must trust that His timing is absolutely perfect!

Well, since I have about 5 months to write more about this upcoming trip, I guess I'll close for now. :) I would ask prayer for a couple of things, though.

*Please pray that God provides the finances...it's not cheap to fly to Africa! :)
*Please pray that God will begin preparing Riley for my being gone over 2 weeks. He's at the fun age where separation anxiety is in full-swing, and I'm going to be praying that God helps him to know that while I'm gone he'll be just fine.
*Please pray for the hearts of those we come in contact with in Swaziland. May the Holy Spirit begin working on them now!

Thank you so much for reading this long post and praying with me! Like I said, mere words cannot even come close to expressing how grateful I am to the Lord. To HIM be all the glory for this exciting turn of events in my life!