We're leaving Soon!!!

We're leaving soon!
We're leaving soon!

We leave in LESS than a week for Mozambique. We had our official packing party last night! Everything, plus a few extras got squeezed in! (Chief Command"er" - Those weighing devices are AWESOME! Just don't jerk or it adds a few extra pounds.) We had to pack some stuff we'll need this week so we can weigh them as accurately as possible. So, Cory has been making a list of every item he removes from a bag and what needs to be replaced. I love my uber-organized husband. Before the packing party yesterday, I made him review everything I planned to pack to make usre I was thinking logically... he rolled his eyes a few times, but we made it through! :)

I always get a little nervous when we travel. Not that I'll die - but if everything is in order if I do die. Does everyone have the right paperwork? Is my toilet clean enough? Are my old journals from high school hidden so only my sister will find them? You know - the important stuff. :) This week is going to be really crazy... work, leadership summit, mariska, cleaning, last minute errands (library, bank, groceries, mariska stuff,...) Thankfully, the busyness will make the week fly by and we'll be on our way before we know it!

At one of our team meetings, we discussed what made us the most apprehensive about being in mozambique... I think my fears/worries/whatever-you-want-to-call-them have been like a revolving door. They just keep changing. At first it was the food and using a "bathroom" like Patti described to me... then, it became spiritual warfare... then seeing orphans and my selfish heart breaking... now... well, its kinda all there - swirling around in the back of my head. Not quite real yet - just vague little naggings where I've been practicing trust and letting them go. Its been pretty cool for me. We'll see how it goes when I'm "happily" eating a UFO (unidentified food object) OR staring into the eyes of a mother dying from aids, knowing she has children who need her...

Overall though - as I think about the trip - it doesn't feel extraordinary. We're going to see our friends - the Bushes and Val and others we've heard about, but have yet to meet. I'm so excited to visit with our friends and to play with the kids. At the same time, I KNOW we'll be experiencing some amazing stuff. (Hello! We're going to A*F*R*I*C*A!) That God will be changing me and tugging my heart more deeply in love with Him. I've been praying that God will break me - that my intimacy with him will reach depths I haven't known before. I don't know how it will happen, most likely, how I least expect it... And I'm so excited!