Have you seen my beautiful new niece and nephews??? Praise God all went well and all babies are healthy and, as far as I know, my sister is recovering well. There are pictures on their blog: www.thedaucs.blogspot.com Thanks for your prayers for them!
I got my cell phone and internet access set up. Please feel free to call me and or text message (you dial) 011 258 82 351 5386. I think that is right.
More to come soon.
I am doing quite well.
I’ve made it. After a long exhausting journey I am here. It feels good. It feels bad. I cry for what I left behind, I cry for what’s ahead. More importantly I try to cling to what I have heard the Lord ask of me in the last year and a half—that’s how long I feel like God has been preparing me for this time.
Once I got on my way from DC everything went pretty well. My time in Johannesburg was nothing but blessed by kindness from an arranged mutual friend. I was well taken care of and graciously received from and returned to the airport with enough Rand (SA currency) in hand to enjoy one last latte!
I managed to maneuver my luggage and get checked into my flight to Beira, Moz after a few grouchy ticket agents and a $250 “rebooking fee” since I missed my flight in DC. Some of you would be proud of me—I am not totally passive in such situations but sometimes you’re just at other persons mercy when your traveling—especially in Africa! I wasn’t thrilled by this expense.
Now that I am back at my house in Moz it seems like I never left. I was going to move into the bedroom Laura lived in before but I couldn’t—it didn’t seem quite right. I am back in my old bed. I did change my mosquito net to a nice, fresh white one which may be a bit less restrictive than the one I suffered under last time. Other than that, I still hate cockroaches, there are still large “crack spiders” that I have chosen to continue to make peace with and the sound of passing sheep could be my alarm clock.
It’s been raining a lot since I have been here. That’s nice though—it does seem to cool it off some. Snow is suddenly a distant memory. I’m suddenly back to a constant state of “moist” and wish I didn’t have bangs to form a nice big curl in the middle of my forehead.
As I sit her with my still packed bags starring me in the face I guess I should try to “settle in”. I still feel quite reluctant by my arrival. I woke up this morning feeling like I was in a very familiar place but feeling very unsure of how I got here and why. I do know why but I need prayers for the strength of it. I feel quite overwhelmed by what I left behind.
My sister’s c-section is on Tues—please cover Disa and Trevor and all involved in prayer. And since I am not there, and you could be, will you help any anyway they need? I know they’re well taken care of. It breaks my heart that I’m not available.
Sarah has graciously let me borrow her phone which allows me to post this. I hope to get my phone arrangements completed tomorrow, so, if successful I’ll send me number out then.
Until then dormir bem. (sleep well, well at least I’m going to sleep:) xoxo
After a number of days of heartache and tearful goodbyes, I was minimally relieved to walk through security in Minneapolis. After I pulled myself together and dried my tears I started to look forward and dwell on the excitement that was to come. God even sent a concerned man to show much needed kindness to me after recognizing my obvious sorrow. I felt well taken care of.
I was off on my first leg of the journey—to Chicago. Things changed drastically upon arrival. When I found the monitor I realized that my flight to DC was already scheduled to leave an hour and 10 minutes late leaving me only about 20 minutes to get from the domestic arrival in DC to my international departure. I will miss my flight to Johannesburg.
A long story short…many hours later after a weather delay and a mechanical delay I did arrive in DC—over two hours after my flight to South Africa departed. I placed many phone calls and attempted to get a message off to Carlos whom I was supposed to be meeting in DC and traveling with. I was fully unsuccessful but thankfully Carlos out witted me and asked a stranger to send me a text message stating where he was and then I got to talk to him. Carlos is on his way and here I sit at a very nice resort with none of my belongings. You would think that with the traveling I have done I would pack a little smarter in my carry on! I do have some deodorant, some body lotion, some hand sanitizer, some toothpaste (no toothbrush), a couple undergarments, a tee shirt and a pair of lounge pants. And don’t worry, I have 2 chap sticks, 3 lipsticks and 2 lip glosses! Nice packing DARA! What was I thinking? Needless to say I got an early start on hand washing some clothing! I am going to start my journey looking just great tomorrow!
I feel exhausted—as if I have already traveled an 18 hour flight, but no, I’ll get to do it all as scheduled, just a day later, alone.
Pray for tomorrow to be less eventful and for my luggage to get to Johannesburg! Also pray that in the midst of trials I stay focused on what I know the Lord has called me to.
I’m tired, I’ll enjoy tonight in a king-sized bed with no mosquito net! It’ll be awhile after this.
I’m on my way.
If you're reading this you may have heard, I am returning to Mozambique. Welcome back to walking this journey with me. Please excuse my misuse of the comma and my elementary spelling errors. Please display grace as you join me as I trek through life. If you care to follow my experiences please bear with me as I pose my questions, as I pondering to make sense of life and as I share my struggles.
It doesn't seem possible that it’s been 2 years since Laura and I were spending hours sitting around discussing what our passions were. At that time I didn't feel like I had a true passion. I remembered having passions as a child. I used to be passionate about running. But I didn't feel I had a real passion that mattered or that was really worth nurturing and living for.
Over the course of the last two years thing have become more clear. I have a passion. A passion that is leading me back to Mozambique. I am passionate for things that I believe have been nurtured within me as I have sought after the Lord. This passion has brought me to a place where I can't NOT return to Mozambique. Those of you who have been close to me over the last year have continued to remind me and encourage me that yes, this is the call God has on my life for "such a time as this.” This passion includes not being able to settle into my American life knowing there are hundreds of thousands of orphaned children struggling to make it on my own. Yes, the masses are overwhelming but the calling on my heart and the hope for the one are too powerful to ignore. God is passionate about the poor and because He is, so must I be.
For the next 2 weeks I’ll be preparing for this departure. I have finished work and am now visiting, enjoying and doing all I can to ready myself for a very unknown future. I go confidently knowing this is the time and in faith trusting in all that is to come.
I had the opportunity to go to a banquet for Master’s Heart Ministries where Carlos spoke last weekend. After an inspiring evening and the heart of God being shared I said to one of the organizers, “thanks for a great night. It was perfect.” And his humble response was, “Well, God cares for people and if we would listen, so would we.”
I guess it’s time to go care for people.
Me, Carlos and Sarah (my friend who first introduced me to Hands At Work). What a special time it was to all be together!
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
L