So, I'm leaving for the Dominican in two days. I can't believe it's already here. I'm not quite ready to go and I think I'm not really aware of the fact that I'm going. That's how it always is with me though. Two days before something is going to happen - mission trip, vacation, holiday, I'm clueless. I don't have a feeling in the world towards what might happen or what we're going to be doing. I just trudge along in this world of mine living and breathing just like every other day. Shouldn't I be overflowing with some sort of emotion at the opportunity?

Please don't get me wrong. I'm excited that I get to go. I know that it will be a wonderful experience but right now all I can think about is how much I have to get done before 6:00 Saturday morning when we leave the house for the airport. Right now, all that will be wonderful is just a head knowledge. It's just a thought about what might be.

When I return home though? That will not just be a head knowledge but an experiential knowledge, a heart knowledge. There will be some part of me that has changed forever. God never fails me on that one. Every time I go I sort of don't want to go - I like being at home, with my husband, doing the daily grind but I always go because He has called me to go and I want to be obedient.

But God never fails me on this one. He goes above and beyond anything I could ever hope for or imagine (hmmm...sounds like scripture). I think that going because He's called me to go is something worth talking about - that's nothing! I do one silly little small thing and He responds with miracles that will never be forgotten, faces that seem to become a part of your being, a love for Him that seems to deepen. I don't know how to explain it, I just know that it's worth it.

And so, I turn my mind to Cotui - a little town of 25,000 people and a building that has yet to be built. I begin to realize the unbelievable opportunity he has put in front of me. I will be laying the foundation for a new school for the Army there and He will be laying His foundation in my heart. God is so good to me. I love him.

Maybe I'm a little bit more aware of leaving for the Dominican in two days than I thought. Go figure!

Please pray, I'm preaching on Sunday there. I'm a little scared but I know He'll come through.

Loving Him with all I've got,
Joy