Who KNEW!?

I just have to tell the truth. Going on a mission trip is NOT for the faint of heart.

People tell you that it is just such a blessing and that they are just blown away by what God has done… and yes those are all very true I am SURE! I am 4 days out from leaving so I can NOT wait to see how God shows up! But somehow I’ve missed the stories of the warfare that goes on before hand! How come no one really tells you THAT part?

For starters I’ve been sick. I am now convinced that I’ve had the flu. Even though I’ve had the shot, etc., etc. I’ve also had fever, aches, AWFUL and nasty congestion and a terrible cough and zero energy. So yeah. I’d say the flu.

I’ve also had this…

the pinkest eye ever! This was actually at the beginning of my suspicions that I potentially had pink eye. It got much worse! I have been at home for days trying to get well. It’s just lovely.

The next thing is that EVERYTHING under God’s sun has broken at our house! Oh, I wish I were kidding.

See these?

The bike broke, and though we tried, we could not fix it.

The lawn mower… well, it is ALL done. My sweet man tried everything in the book, but it’s the first mower ever made and came over on the Ark! Actually,  it’s a hand-me-down so who KNOWS how long it’s been alive? Not no more!

Ok. Next? Our bed broke. Yes, our bed.

One morning around 5a.m., while my husband and I were soundly sleeping, my side of the bed just gave way with a THUD. When we woke up I looked UP at my husband (because his side was still in tact and we were sideways!!) and he said, “Well, are you ok?” HAHAHAH! Oh! It kills me to even retell it! SO hilarious!! But yes, it broke. For days we slept in the guest bedroom and pretended we were at a bed and breakfast.

HOWEVER, Frick and Frack (that would be me and my man) were putting the bed back together and while doing so we hit a large globe candle holder and broke it into a million tiny pieces. Because we are good like that…

The other thing that broke is the front of a drawer on our daughter’s dresser just came off. She was pulling it and the front just came off in her hands. We’ve tried to fix it, but it keeps happening and it’s furniture that my dad made for me when I was a little girl so we are not just getting rid of it. We still have to work on it.

It’s now a shelf. HA!

You know the feeling you get when so many things are just going wrong? You just want to give up and decide that maybe your decisions weren’t good ones after all. Well, I am convinced that this is what the enemy wants!! He is throwing darts and trying his hardest to discourage me. SO here are the praises!!

1) my dad fixed both the bike and the bed for free!!

2) The candle holder was just that… a candle holder! I can get another one when I get back!

3) My daughter’s dresser can be fixed. It will be a cheap fix, too. Maybe my dad will even do it for us.

4) I am getting better. I live in the US where there are doctors and medicines that I can take to help me be well. It may take time and patience but it’s going to be ok.

5) That lawn mower is the 2nd hand-me-down that we’ve had! We’ve never had to buy a mower in 17 years of marriage!! I’d say that’s a pretty good record and we’ve been blessed to make it this long!

Even though the enemy might try… he does not win! He can not stand against an all powerful and ALMIGHTY God! God’s command was to “go into all nations…” and that is what I plan to do! Well, maybe not ALL nations on this trip, but I am not going to let the darts of the enemy stand in my way of going where I feel God has called me.

AND… if you are planning to go on a mission trip? Well, just know that God is IN CONTROL and that nothing formed against us can stand! No matter what..our obedience will bring Him glory and that’s why we were created!!