Unexpected Happenings

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of decisions and changes in plans. What I thought this year would look like is turning out to be completely different than reality. Not bad, but unexpected. I've gotten pretty used to a lot of unknown in my life, but I have times where I don't handle it as well. These last few weeks definitely fall into the category of not handling it as well, but I'm coming back around to a better perspective of everything. I know that God has a plan, that it's good, and His timing is perfect. One day at a time I remind myself to trust instead of worry. So here's what's been unfolding...

I had originally hoped to extend my contract at work through the end of May like I did last year, but found out a couple of weeks ago that they weren't offering extensions. It actually happened that by that time, I had already made the decision not to extend because I really feel like I need to go back to San Antonio and spend some time with my family. Within 24 hours of those decisions I received an invitation to be part of a surgical team to South Sudan in May, which I accepted. The team is through Samaritan's Purse (the same organization as Children's Heart Project), and we will be doing cleft lip repairs for a week. This trip will take place during my time in Texas, and then I plan to come back to Colorado Springs at the end of May. So in 48 hours, my vision of the next 2 months changed drastically.

I don't really know a lot after that. The trip to Honduras is in July, and Mongolia will be in September. Both of these trips are on the table right now. My budget is a lot different than I thought it was going to be since I'm not working the extra 2 months I thought I would. Those paychecks would have paid for both trips completely. God knows where I need to be and when, and He has always provided what's needed. It would break my heart to have to pick one trip or not go on either. Please pray that I would have wisdom and direction about where I need to be.

Recently we had a guest speaker at our church and she talked about gifts in unexpected packaging. It's certainly not the first time I've heard this preached, but it came at the right time for me. I needed a reminder that even though this wasn't what I had planned at all, God's plan is certainly better than mine. So although I won't be working the extra 2 months I was hoping too and I am unsure about my trips to Honduras and Mongolia, I do get priceless time with my family and the privilege of being on a surgical team to the South Sudan, along with whatever else God has planned that I don't know about.

I suppose that's it for now. I am really excited about spending several weeks with my family, and my sister and I are planning to get away for a few days while I'm there. I have actually never been on vacation so I am super excited about this :).

Whenever I find out more I will pass it along. Even though it's been a bit challenging to have lots of things change at once, I am looking forward to whatever God has in store for the coming months.

Honduras Recap

I love surprises. I love giving them more than getting them, although that is good too. It is even more exciting when you have no idea what a big deal it's going to turn out to be. My trip to Honduras earlier this month was one of those occasions.

I had the privilege of taking a little girl, Katherine, home to Honduras after her heart surgery. She’s 7 years old, and definitely one of the happiest kids I ever met. She had a grin plastered from ear to ear pretty much the whole way home. She was sooooo excited to see her daddy. On the way to Honduras we had to stop overnight in Miami. It had been decided that we would surprise them and get a hotel on the beach instead of by the airport. We knew we wouldn’t have a lot of time, but thought it would still be fun for them, and me :). All the way to Miami God took care of so many little things, even some we didn’t ask for. Free checked bags, seats together on the planes, pre-boarding on all the flights, a free upgrade in our rental car, an upgraded hotel room less than 2 blocks from the beach, discounts on meals, and the list goes on. When I told the interpreter that we were staying a night on the beach, she almost fell off of her chair right there in the airport. I cannot even begin to describe the look on her face. That was when I found out that none of them had ever seen the beach or the ocean. Katherine and her mom were equally excited. They live in the mountains of Honduras and it would be expensive to travel to the coast. I also found out that the interpreter, Karla, loves the show CSI Miami and was thrilled to get to see Miami in person, especially the beach :).

We arrived to our hotel late at night, so I proposed the plan of getting up to see sunrise on the beach. We got about 5 hours of sleep before getting up and heading out. Karla looked like a 5 year old on Christmas morning. It was so fun to get to experience this first with them, and God took this opportunity to remind me yet again that we are supposed to be like little children. Sometimes I just take myself and everyone else too seriously. God has helped me to grow so much in this area, but I still require frequent reminders that it is okay to be excited and maybe even fall off of a chair as a result of that excitement :). Check out the pics from the beach here.

After sunrise on the beach, we headed back to the airport for our last flight. Katherine changed into a skirt for her daddy and could not stop smiling. When they were reunited she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. The rest of us were...well...definitely crying.

Since I was in Honduras already, I hopped on a bus to La Ceiba so I could visit Jeff and Julie Hines (the missionaries I lived with the summer of 2010) and a few other friends. Bonus! It was so good to see them even though it was short. I had really been missing them and especially wanted to see Gabi. When we were there with the team last summer I didn’t get to see her very much. She is doing so well and was really smiley for me all weekend :). It was a huge blessing to me to have some time with the family without any kind of agenda or specific work to do. It was nice to just be. These are the pics from my visit.

So that’s my Honduras recap. I know there’s some extra details, but that surprise story is worth it. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for these families to be apart during a major surgery praying your child comes home healed.

Everyone keeps asking me where I’m going next. Nothing on the horizon at the moment, but you never know when that will change :).

Honduras Bound!

I have another opportunity to work with Children's Heart Project! In a couple of weeks I will get to take a little girl home to Honduras. She had her heart surgery here in Denver and is recovering well. I am excited to be involved with one of these children again, and it's a great bonus that I get to go to Honduras! I will get to visit the Hines family, the missionaries that I lived and worked with during the summer of 2010. I have really been missing them and am now counting down the days until I get to see them. It is such a huge blessing to be able to take a side visit to see them after I take the little girl back home to her family. I am looking forward to getting to see the return side of these trips. I imagine it's much different than being with the child and mom when they leave their families and have surgery waiting ahead of them. I can't imagine how excited they will be to have her home and healthy. I'm sure they are anxious to see her again.

Since I returned from Uganda I have been back at my job at the Children's Hospital in Pediatric ICU. It's nice to be back in a "routine", if you can call it that, but it's enough for me. I am mostly living up in Denver to be closer to work, but still coming back to the Springs every couple of weeks. I got to go home to TX for Thanksgiving which I was very grateful for. I was also able to visit my little guy from Uganda while I was there. It was so fun to play with him and see that he could be so active without getting tired. This was just a little added bonus in the midst of seeing my family.

As the end of the year approaches, I honestly don't know if I could recap it in a way that would do it justice. God has been doing so much in my heart and has taken me so many places. I am so grateful to have been able to return to both Honduras and Mongolia. These trips mean so much to me, not so much the places, but the people, and I hope to continue going on these trips each year and even more often when possible. Getting more involved with Children's Heart Project as a transporter has definitely been a high point of the year as well. My trip to Uganda was an amazing experience and I look forward to working with CHP more.

That's mostly the happenings around here. I will post pics when I get back from Honduras. I am excited to see what God has in store for 2012!

For now, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Whirlwind

Uganda was truly a whirlwind trip. 30+ hours of travel to get there, on the ground less than 48 hours, and then 30+ hours of travel back. I really wish I could have spent more time there. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to go back. Uganda is beautiful. I got to see Lake Victoria when we drove from Entebbe to Kampala. I loved just people watching as we drove or walked around. The general atmosphere is so much more laid back and I love it. It helps me to remember to slow down here in the US. I was there for about 24 hours before I actually met the little guy and his mom. This particular 3 year old is anything but shy. He just ran up to me and sat in my lap. He sang me his ABC's and proceeded to just run around showing off his dancing skills. It was awesome :). We packed everybody up and headed to the airport. After some difficulties with paperwork, we made our first flight by about 10 minutes. God was definitely at work opening doors for us. We had about 9 hours in the Amsterdam airport and I ran the little guy up and down hallways and played all sorts of games. I wanted to make sure he was all worn out for the next long flight. It worked. He slept the whole 9 hour flight. He was such a trooper. That is a lot of travel for anybody, but when you're 3 sitting still is not your greatest attribute. We made it to our final destination safely, and even a few minutes early. He has already had his surgery and is recovering. I will get to see him in a couple of weeks when I go back to SA for Thanksgiving. I am really excited. People don't usually get to see the kids after they transport them for surgery.

During the short time I was in Uganda, I had the opportunity to meet a mom who impacted me greatly. I felt so privileged to even spend time around her. It's hard to explain, but it was a situation where I walked away thinking that I would never be the same but I'm not really sure why. I just know that God did something and I don't get to see or understand it right now.

So now I'm back and it's time to start work. I go to night shift starting tonight. I am actually really excited. I am working at the same hospital I did last year so it will be great to go back and work with them again. I love the people there and am looking forward to catching up and getting back in the swing of things.

Here's the link to the pics!

Always Ready

So I’ve been home from Mongolia exactly 4 weeks and am currently on a plane to Uganda. I would just like to take this opportunity to say that I LOVE my life. It’s crazy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The Lord literally dropped this trip in my lap and I am so grateful. Despite the last couple of weeks being pretty busy, the Lord has been preparing me and there are a couple of scriptures that have been in the forefront of my mind.

The first is Psalm 139:5 -You hem me in-behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.-

There is definitely still part of me that is really nervous about this trip, but I read this scripture and find peace in it. I have never done a trip like this and it contains a lot of firsts for me, yet I know that God has it all under control. He coordinated some crazy logistics for this trip to even happen and I know He will continue to take care of every detail. I know that He has gone before me and is following me as I go.

The other is Exodus 33:14-16 - The Lord replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?-

I read this particular passage of scripture quite frequently while I was in Mongolia. It is certainly true in my everyday life, but it stands out to me when I go on a trip. There’s no point in going if God’s presence doesn’t go with me. It is Him in me that makes me different, and I depend on Him for everything; leaning on Him whether things go smoothly or not. This is easier said than done and I am most certainly in the learning process of trusting Him more and more. I keep finding myself in situations where I have to let go of a little more control and trust just a little more, or sometimes a lot more of both. I feel so privileged to be transporting this little boy. I am only one person on his journey who will be the hands and feet of Christ, but it only takes one bad example to leave a bad impression. In and of myself I am a messy example, so I pray for His presence to be with me. I have an advantage over Moses though, because God’s presence isn’t only with me, He’s IN me. I love that with His presence comes rest. Rest has been a focus for me lately and I find myself talking to my soul like David often did in the Psalms. Ps 116:7 says, “Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” If I am not at rest, I am always focused on the wrong thing. If I reorient my perspective on the goodness of God, then I find my rest again.

I have also been learning to be prepared in season and out. I really love my plans, and although God isn’t anti-planning, He needs me to be ready and willing to do things on short notice or without the preparation I might want to have, trusting Him to be and provide everything I need. Mongolia was a planned trip, but life happened and I didn’t feel as “prepared” as I would have liked going into it. Funny how that trip turned out awesome and stretched my faith and trust in new ways. This trip to Uganda happened very quickly. I had 10 days notice and I said yes knowing that those 10 days were going to be really busy. That’s just life. I have been spoiled in the past by having time off preceding most of my trips, but that’s not always how it will be. I want to be ready in season and out; always able to respond when God wants to interrupt my life to send me anywhere He wants. It might be my next door neighbor, my job, or halfway around the world to a little boy who needs heart surgery.

Sorry if this seems scattered. I am pretty tired, and I’m not really a good writer even when I’m not tired :). As I read over this prior to posting I thought, “wow, this is kinda deep”. Love me anyway :). Just wanted to share all of the things that have been running around in my head and heart the last few weeks. Thanks for listening.

P.S. I arrived to Uganda safely :)

God's Sleeves are Big

So as my day unfolded yesterday, I kept thinking to myself, " Wow, you just never know what God has up his sleeve".

I woke up yesterday to a voicemail from someone at Children's Heart Project asking me if I wanted to go on a transport. If you are interested in more info on CHP you can check out the link here on my blog, but I'll give you the basics. CHP helps to identify kids that have heart defects and require surgery, and then they find hospitals here in the US to donate their services. Once a hospital accepts a child from the waiting list, a physician or a nurse has to go and transport the child from their country to the hospital in the US. Soooo.....24 hours later....

I will be leaving for Uganda in 10 days!!! My brain hasn't quite been able to wrap itself around this news yet. I am super excited. This is where the "crazy" part of my life fits in. I just never know what opportunity God will drop in my lap. There were a lot of logistics that had to fall into place for me to be able to go on this transport, and none of them were within my control. I'm not sure how many times I had to remind myself yesterday that God set this up and He would take care of all the details. I leave in 10 days, gone for 5 days, and start work less than 2 days later. Yep, that's right. In the next 17 days I will go to Fall Retreat with my church, then Cori and Grayson are visiting, then I will go to Uganda and back, and then I will move up to Denver to start my contract at the Children's hospital. Oh, and the hospital that accepted this particular child for surgery happens to be in San Antonio, so I get to be home for about 12 hours :). So these are the latest events in my crazy life.

Worthwhile 5 Minutes

This is a compilation of pics from my 3 weeks in Mongolia. They are in order from my time at the orphanage, then our week screening children for heart defects, and finally surgery week.