What I did on my Christmas Vacation...

Fun! (No, really, I LOVE putting things together!)

I Got It!

Today I received my OFFICIAL invitation to join the AG Mission team in Mozambique! I don't know how, or when, or where, but at least I know I'm going! Thank You Jesus!

One hurdle behind me...

Yesterday I received a recommendation from my district.... Yes, I've actually been approved to represent North Texas as a Missionary Associate to Mozambique! I was really worried about being interviewed by six pastors, but it all went very well, and they even told me they were quite impressed with me! Who'd a thunk? I still don't think I'm all that special, but then I know myself better than anybody else.... (hehe!) OK, maybe I am a bit above average in some areas, but I consider myself well below average in others, so doesn't that make me just about average? (Unlike Mary Poppins, who was, "Practically perfect in every way!") Although, no one really knows anything about her past, either..... doing OK at this moment is all I can ask....

Some of the reasons....

I thought I would share a few of the reasons I want to go back to Mozambique...

These boys were living on the streets, suffering

from malnutrition... they are now happy, healthy boys

who can play and have fun instead of begging or stealing to survive...

Teaching girls a marketable skill keeps them off the streets, and gives them

hope for a job when they finish school...

Rosina is wearing the first pair of new shoes she

has ever had... I bought them for 50 cents at the dollar store...

I love to hold babies! These guys were just visiting...

they are the nephews of one of the workers...

This home currently houses 40 children... for every child rescued from a life on the streets, there are still hundreds more who need the simplest things we take for granted...

a safe place to sleep, something to wear, something to eat, someone to trust...

It takes so little to do so much....

Change of Heart?

I just received an interesting phone call, perhaps my dream is not gone after all... It appears my application was routed to the wrong department, and has now been re-routed to the proper place. I knew I was not qualified for a position requiring ministry credentials, and that is not what I thought I was applying for, but that's where my application ended up. It's OK, I'm not in a hurry, and God knows the proper time for all things. I'm getting better at waiting.... (not liking it any more, just getting better at it...)

"Thanks, but No Thanks...."

...they said. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, after all, I have "a past..." So, I'll go on with my life, and look to the future. There will be other opportunities, other avenues if God truly wants me to minister to children in Mozambique... I'll be keeping my eyes open...

OK, so there's this guy....

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my life and asking "What now?" I guess turning 50 had something to do with this sudden bent toward introspection, that and losing my dog.... Both have served to remind me of the fleeting nature of this 'mortal coil' (whatever that means....) Sometimes I think I've done OK, I have raised three children to adulthood; they are all now self-sufficient, reasonably happy and not in jail. :0 I am living 'the American dream,' I have a college degree, I'm paying a mortgage on nice little house, and a car payment on an almost new SUV (it was new when I got it), and not falling behind on any of my other bills. I may even manage to get my credit cards paid off this year! Woohoo! I have no major health issues (with the exception of the twenty or so pounds I need to lose), my hair is gray, but not falling out and I still have all my teeth. ;)So, what's my deal? I'M INCREDIBLY LONELY! Is it really so wrong for me to long for someone to share my life? Shouldn't I be happy with things the way they are? Don't get me wrong, I have 'friends,' but they are not the kind of friends I would call in the middle of the night if I'm sick, or scared, or just lonely... they are those 'friends' you have for the 'occasion'... friends at church, friends at work, friends at the gym, etc. Just not friends for the daily grind - the joyous and difficult situations of life, someone to laugh with, cry with, or just sit with... someone who 'gets' you, understands you on the deepest level and loves and accepts you anyway...

OK, so there's this guy... I met him 18 months ago in a very unlikely place, doing some very unusual work. We hit it off right away; we laughed, cried, laughed some more, and we talked and talked; I mean, we REALLY talked; about everything and nothing at all, and it was GREAT! And then I had to come home... We continued to communicate via email and text messages. I went back for a visit 10 months later, to do some more work in the area, but partly to be sure I wasn't being a silly, romantic little ninnie. The second time we laughed, cried, laughed, talked and talked and talked some more, and it was STILL GREAT! (In fact, even better!) And then I had to come home again, but this time he kissed me good bye.... (and a right proper kiss it was, too.....)

So now you say, that sounds nice, what's the problem? Once again, I'm home, and he is 10,000 miles away. No really, I mean it, he lives ten-freakin-thousand miles from here! Seriously! It's the middle of summer where I am, and he's in the middle of winter! It's the middle of the day here, and he's in the middle of the night! Talk about poetic justice, or penance for my past wrongs, or something... just when I find someone I can really connect with, he's literally on the opposite side of the world! Maybe I'm really not meant to be that happy, or God knows I can only take true happiness in very small doses...

The memories are nice, though... and there's always hope...

Keep smiling!!!!