The Journey...05/20/2011
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I can’t sleep. A million things are flashing through my head...it’s going to be hard to leave them, I won’t know the new baby, he won’t know me...will Haley forget me? where will I live? how will I get there? what about my house? what about the rest of the grandkids? I have so much “stuff” what am I going to do with it? and the list rages on.
It all began with a phone call tonight that I had really given up on. I certainly hoped it would come. I’ve prayed for it long enough, I just thought it wouldn’t happen or I was afraid it wouldn’t. The long awaited call from PCUSA...are you still interested in the position in Akobo? YES!!! I couldn’t say it fast enough. And, yet, I am still afraid to get my hopes up. More prayers are still needed and praying I am. God, please let the funding meeting this weekend be successful.
Celia called to let me know they had received the security clearance for Akobo, now the issue is funding. A donor called and wanted to fund a medical mission. “They” are meeting with him this weekend, and if he approves the funding, I will be heading to Akobo in the near future! Linda doesn’t think they would have called if they weren’t pretty sure it would go through. I don’t know...
Last time I went on a mission trip, I lost so many of my feelings and emotions by not writing them down, I decided this time I would start from the beginning. Well, not quite the beginning...this journey began about a year ago - April 14, 2010 to be exact. I sent a letter to Debbie Braksma asking what options were available for me to go back to Ethiopia. She wrote and said she thought she had something better for me - a position in Akobo. Many conversations later I submitted my application and began to wait.
I waited and learned I would be interviewing in Louisville in September. A whirlwind three days that I left me so full of excitement and energy that I thought I would explode. That is when the waiting really began. I waited and waited - word came that they were delaying the position until after the elections in January. The elections came and went and still I waited. Then I learned Debbie was making a trip to Akobo and I would hear something after that. And I waited some more. No word. I sent an email - I didn’t even know if I was on the list for consideration. Debbie wrote back that a decision would be made “soon”. And so I waited until I was running out of patience. I contacted Andy at WIM yesterday. Today we made plans to get together and discuss options through WIM.
Tonight, I came home from work, turned on the computer, and Celia popped up on Skype! Can we talk about the position in Sudan? OF COURSE! It was a good conversation. She told me they had received the security clearance and about the possible donor. It made me feel really good that she said I had always been on the top of the list, they just couldn’t say anything.
So, now I sit and wait again....wait for word of the meeting with the donor, wait for him to approve the position, wait to hear if he does. In the mean time, I am full of excitement. Restored in my faith that God does answer prayers; that my “gut” feeling that I should serve through PCUSA is right, And, I am laughing. I guess God really did have a plan for me when I started the interfaith conflict resolution course. I suspect I will be needing some of those lessons I learned.
And so, I continue to wait for answers to the donor question, for answers to the “what next” question and all the millions that are going through my head and keeping me from sleeping. And I continue to pray for God’s hand in the process and direction and guidance for me to make the right decisions. Lord, you will be done, not mine.
It all began with a phone call tonight that I had really given up on. I certainly hoped it would come. I’ve prayed for it long enough, I just thought it wouldn’t happen or I was afraid it wouldn’t. The long awaited call from PCUSA...are you still interested in the position in Akobo? YES!!! I couldn’t say it fast enough. And, yet, I am still afraid to get my hopes up. More prayers are still needed and praying I am. God, please let the funding meeting this weekend be successful.
Celia called to let me know they had received the security clearance for Akobo, now the issue is funding. A donor called and wanted to fund a medical mission. “They” are meeting with him this weekend, and if he approves the funding, I will be heading to Akobo in the near future! Linda doesn’t think they would have called if they weren’t pretty sure it would go through. I don’t know...
Last time I went on a mission trip, I lost so many of my feelings and emotions by not writing them down, I decided this time I would start from the beginning. Well, not quite the beginning...this journey began about a year ago - April 14, 2010 to be exact. I sent a letter to Debbie Braksma asking what options were available for me to go back to Ethiopia. She wrote and said she thought she had something better for me - a position in Akobo. Many conversations later I submitted my application and began to wait.
I waited and learned I would be interviewing in Louisville in September. A whirlwind three days that I left me so full of excitement and energy that I thought I would explode. That is when the waiting really began. I waited and waited - word came that they were delaying the position until after the elections in January. The elections came and went and still I waited. Then I learned Debbie was making a trip to Akobo and I would hear something after that. And I waited some more. No word. I sent an email - I didn’t even know if I was on the list for consideration. Debbie wrote back that a decision would be made “soon”. And so I waited until I was running out of patience. I contacted Andy at WIM yesterday. Today we made plans to get together and discuss options through WIM.
Tonight, I came home from work, turned on the computer, and Celia popped up on Skype! Can we talk about the position in Sudan? OF COURSE! It was a good conversation. She told me they had received the security clearance and about the possible donor. It made me feel really good that she said I had always been on the top of the list, they just couldn’t say anything.
So, now I sit and wait again....wait for word of the meeting with the donor, wait for him to approve the position, wait to hear if he does. In the mean time, I am full of excitement. Restored in my faith that God does answer prayers; that my “gut” feeling that I should serve through PCUSA is right, And, I am laughing. I guess God really did have a plan for me when I started the interfaith conflict resolution course. I suspect I will be needing some of those lessons I learned.
And so, I continue to wait for answers to the donor question, for answers to the “what next” question and all the millions that are going through my head and keeping me from sleeping. And I continue to pray for God’s hand in the process and direction and guidance for me to make the right decisions. Lord, you will be done, not mine.
This could be my new home!!
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| http://chg7.wordpress.com/settlement/ |
These could be the people I will be working with…
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| http://article.wn.com/view/2010/04/08/Skeletal_children_sign_of_crisis_in_Sudanese_town_x/ |
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