Second Chance

With the deployment behind us  (WOW, if only the really went by that fast!!) We moved to a new house, on a new base, and were settling in nicely again as a whole family.  That is something you can actually go back on the blog to read about :)

I can't remember exactly when it was brought up, but our youth was invited to participate on a mission trip over the summer.  Sara mentioned it briefly. Once she found out some of her friends were planning to go, she brought it up again and again saying that she wanted to go, too.
Sara has never really been my child who loved being away from home. Sleep overs took a couple of tries before they lasted all night long, and this one was going to be for 10 days! Wade and I decided one of us would go, and the closer it got, it was obvious that would be me!

I had given it all to God, after all, he had been faithful during Wade's deployment, and I saw this as a way to pay him back.  Spreading his Love, and loving on His children.

We paid our deposits. We went to the meetings, and had such a great time bonding with the other people who would be on our team.  It was a youth trip so I completely believed that I was going as a chaperone, to protect the kids ( and mostly Sara) from what she would see and experience on the trip. We learned or mission verse, and got the t-shirt... literally.

 Things on the home front were falling into place too.
Wade was able to take a few days leave. Because it was during the summertime, Jackson was out of school, but since the babies were in Japanese pre-school, they had some where to be everyday.
On the days that Wade did have to go to work, he had permission to just bring Jackson along.
I know what a good dad he is, so it was all good!

Things were falling into place, and I had set my heart on going with the flow....take me and use me God, but there were a few stipulations....

I didn't want to work in the nursery, because I didn't think my heart could take seeing babies with no families. I also didn't want to work the school room, because I had just put everyone in school after homeschooling for a while, and I did not want God to convict me to bring them all back to homeschooling. It was fun while it lasted, but we were past that!  Also, I didn't want to get too emotionally touched by all of this. I remember my friend T asking what she could specifically pray for, and I said, "Well, I am really feeling good about life right now! I like having four kids... so pray that we wouldn't get there and want to bring any more kids home."
But other than that, I was ready.

Here I am Lord, Send me!

June 12th finally came, and my life would never be the same again!