Open arms waiting at home....August 10, 2009
This past week has been busy and hectic as we raced to get ready to go. The Father has performed miracle after miracle to get us here and here we are on the plane to Kiev. We prayed for and were given a peaceful morning before leaving home. Matthew and JD drove us to the airport and watched as we made our way thru security. Carol's purse needed searching and as they pulled out book after book ….Carol finally asked, “Did I leave my pocket knife in there?” Yep...that cute little mother's day present from Steve with her name engraved on it had fallen to the corner of her bag. Thankfully we were in West Columbia and security enjoyed the moment to tease a little and then gave the knife to our sons.
In Charlotte we met a great young couple who are connected with Morningstar. They are songwriters with an incredible destiny. We had a great time sharing and praying and as the Lord would have it their seats were directly behind ours for our 8 hour flight to Munich.
This past week in some ways was a blur. Monday we learned that we needed to be there in 10 days for our appointment. Monday was just literally falling on our face and crying out that we needed His strength in our weakness and lack. He gave us Isaiah 60: 22b I am the Lord; in it's time I will do this swiftly.
Tuesday started with lists and thoughts of packing and cleaning and final thoughts about the kid's rooms. Carol met Tanya for lunch. She is another lady from our area that will be taking this journey in the very near future. They had planned the lunch before we found out we were leaving. It seemed important to make all the connections we could.
Then there's clothes and lists and lists. Mama (Grandma) was getting more anxious by the day. We had it all planned for her someone to bring a meal at least every evening, Carol's sister Sheryl to come once each week to check..... In the end it was decided for Sarah to stay with her each day. We are all more at ease.
Wednesday was another of the same and by time for church we were exhausted and discouraged. Still needing thousands and thousands....most of the pastors were out of town for a conference this week so there wasn't even a chance to request prayer that evening. Carol got into the car crying, not upset with the body at all, just desperate for Jesus. Isn't that always where we find him? We pulled the car over before we'd even left the parking lot and prayed until His peace settled. We knew money or not, nothing mattered but jumping in the river and being obedient. We would watch God send us to Ukraine. It was His doing and would be His glory.
Within 15 minutes the phone rang and a dear friend was sending money. We could go.
The Lord had told Steve the money would appear in our account one day, and Thursday that is just what happened. Carol's brother called later and shared that at that moment on Wednesday night at 7:15 pm CST in Colorado that a group there were praying for us and the Holy Spirit fell on them and he knew God had provided.
Thursday, Ann (our close friend) came and ran around town like crazy with us. The bank, the drug store, the grocery store, the department store, gathering all the little and big things. Mama gave us money for mattresses for the bunk beds.
Friday morning we were trying to finalize accommodations for Kiev. As only God could orchestrate things, our Ukrainian tutor here in Columbia is in Kiev (hasn't been home in 3 years) this week. Her home church has two apartments for rent for travelers for just a token compared to the prices of the hotels/apartments we found. We were just saying we hated to call her cell phone with the price of roaming charges for her when our phone rang. It was Luda. She asked if we wanted the apartment. Yes! God's Amazing.
And as if life isn't wonderful enough, Saturday, our son Matthew asked his girlfriend Becky to be his wife. She said yes!!! Hooray! We are so excited. Maybe a November wedding. After a day trip to the mountains they arrived home to a gathering of family and friends and a fireworks display. (Thanks Daniel)
Sunday was a sweet time of worship and as we left the service friends hugged and wished us blessings. At the door we received a sweet hug from Pastor Steven. He has no idea that Carol had prayed for that connection Wednesday night.
We received an email that afternoon from House of Hope USA. They have a ministry to the orphans that age out of the orphanage. It's hopeful that we may connect with them in Odessa while we are there.
The afternoon was spent with phone calls and family. We finished packing at 2 am ready for today. Ready to go get the kids. We were especially blessed that Steven and Cameron, our dear friends, had made it home from Montana and over to see us before we left for the airport. God is so good.
View from our room: more pictures today...
