Maiden Voyage

Y'all, my passport's in the mail. It's supposed to be here by Monday, and I'm totally excited. For about two months, I've been praying about a mission trip to Russia. When Ransomed Grace first mentioned it to me, there was just no way I could see to go.

I kept getting these nagging things that felt like confirmations, but I hadn't gotten a clear word from the Lord. Some counsel I got from both RG and my spiritual mama said that, to go to a place as dark as Russia, I would need to KNOW that I knew I was supposed to go. Well, so I spent some time fasting and praying on my face, and I felt like He said that I'm supposed to take the trip.

November 20-30, I believe I'll be in Perm, Russia. It means raising $2,000 in support. It means 15 hours of flying each way. It means not seeing my kids for 10 days. It means missing Thanksgiving with my family. It means that the Music Man will have to take days off of school; Music-in-laws will miss work and care for the kids a bit, too. And if I dwell on those things, I'm completely sad.

However, when I think about being asked to be part of a retreat on sanctification, about bringing light to my sisters in a spiritually bleak place, I am overjoyed. Then I laugh at the Lord's foresight in having me start learning Russian a few months ago, and applying for a passport before RG ever told me about the possibility of the trip. You gotta appreciate God's sense of humor.