Packing and saying TTFN

It's possible I've made my last trip to the store! More Christmas lights and other supplies are ready to hunker down, suck in their guts in each crate, and NOT weigh more than a collective 50 pounds.  

I could never share enough about how God has moved to make this trip possible. While some are avid travelers, most of us are not. In fact, I'd lost hope of ever getting it done. The money. The paperwork. The hassle. But from the moment Lydia and I spoke the words out loud more than a year ago that we would, indeed, for realsyreals, go to Rwanda for Christmas 2013, God has affirmed the journey.

He sent encouragement, unexpected (and shocking) checks in the mail from friends to cover expenses of passports and shots and other junk for just the right amount without prior knowledge! He sent more friends who opened their lives to host garage sales, others who dropped cash at the sale, parents who paid my daughter extravagantly to babysit, and a dear friend who had the resources to say GO, your ticket is covered. "Go and tell the stories for us." Thank you. 

Our congregation, Quail Springs Church of Christ, helped us so much. With resources and funding these precious members helped us.  But also, Q showed us that, YUP, a mother and daughter can take a mission trip at Christmastime. You GO girls! Nothing odd about it. 

One more day to pack, tie up semester ends with our homeschooling, fret about who will set the timer on the coffee pot for Stan each night and whether the fam is taken care of for Christmas gifts (boo consumerism). I'll also beg Giles and Grant to snuggle with me just for a minute while we read an advent story. Yes, I'm a dreamer!

And dreams come true.