Answered Prayers

        We submitted our list in early December.  From that point on, we knew we had zero control of the outcome.  Our future was out of our hands.  It was both a relief to not have to agonize over the hard decisions of how to rank that list anymore, and nerve wracking, because we could no longer change our minds or take back our decisions.   So, every day since we submitted the list, we’ve been praying one of my favorite prayers as a family.  It’s called the Litany of Trust, and it is a beautiful reminder to surrender all control and TRUST that God’s plan is better than any we could possibly come up with ourselves.  Here it is, with a few of my favorite lines in italics:

From the belief that
I have to earn Your love
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that I am unlovable
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the false security
that I have what it takes
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that trusting You
will leave me more destitute
Deliver me, Jesus.
From all suspicion of
Your words and promises
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the rebellion against
childlike dependency on You
Deliver me, Jesus.
From refusals and reluctances
in accepting Your will
Deliver me, Jesus.
From anxiety about the future
Deliver me, Jesus.
From resentment or excessive
preoccupation with the past
Deliver me, Jesus.
From restless self-seeking
in the present moment
Deliver me, Jesus.
From disbelief in Your love and presence
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being asked
to give more than I have
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that my life
has no meaning or worth
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of what love demands
Deliver me, Jesus.
From discouragement
Deliver me, Jesus.
That You are continually holding me,
sustaining me, loving me
Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your love goes deeper than my
sins and failings and transforms me
Jesus, I trust in You.
That not knowing what tomorrow
brings is an invitation to lean on You
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are with me in my suffering
Jesus, I trust in You.
That my suffering, united to Your own,
will bear fruit in this life and the next
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will not leave me orphan,
that You are present in Your Church
Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your plan is better
than anything else
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You always hear me and in
Your goodness always respond to me
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me the grace to accept
forgiveness and to forgive others
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me all the strength
I need for what is asked
Jesus, I trust in You.
That my life is a gift
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will teach me to trust You
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are my Lord and my God
Jesus, I trust in You.
That I am Your beloved one
Jesus, I trust in You.

       They had told us they would email the decisions on Monday, December 18th.  We were counting down the days, and then in the last week, even counting down the hours.  On December 15th, the Friday before, I was working on household chores upstairs after dropping the 3 older kids off at school.  Hearing my phone ping, I glanced down, and saw a very unexpected message from the wife of one of Don’s coworkers. “Is it just us or did everybody just get their assignments?”  My heart leapt in my throat!  Wait, they’re sending them out TODAY???  I yelled down the stairs to Don, who was getting ready for work downstairs, scaring my 2 year old with the frantic tone in my voice.  He didn’t hear me.  Scooping up the 2 year old, I ran downstairs to our bedroom yelling “Check your email!!  Check your email RIGHT NOW!!!”  He looked at me like I had lost my mind until I stammered out that the spouses on our group chat were saying they had just received their assignments.  Ever the level headed one, he walked calmly to his phone, glanced at it for all of 3 seconds, then smiled and looked at me.  “What is it?  What is it?  What did we get?” After waiting for this moment for YEARS, I couldn’t take the suspense one second longer.  Not wanting to play with my emotions too much, he started with “Well, it’s not Israel.”  Jerusalem, Israel had been our number 1.  It was the post we had talked about and moved up and down the list more than any other.  An absolute dream post for us, and one we were shocked to see on the entry level bid list.  The chance to spend 2 whole years exploring the Holy Land with our kids, and teaching them the history of their faith in the very place in which it began.  In the end, war and all, we decided we had to try for it.  I felt a twinge of disappointment that the opportunity of a lifetime had passed us by, but quickly reminded myself, His plan is better.  It always is.

That your plan is better than anything else.

Jesus, I trust in you.

       I took a deep breath.  “Okay.  That’s okay.”  I said.  “BUT WHAT IS IT?”  Now, my husband is a big jokester/prankster/tease and he was not going to let this whole situation happen without a little fun.  With a big ol’ grin on his face, he said “Well, let’s play a little game!”  I moaned, groaned, protested, and eye rolled, but he was determined to build the suspense to a downright painful level.  My stomach churning, he led me over to a large map of the world that we have on the living room wall.  “Which continent do you think it is?”  I pointed a shaky finger at Africa.  If we couldn’t have Jerusalem, our next dream was to go to Africa.  “Yup” he said, and I gave a little shriek of happiness.  Africa!!!!  I had wanted to go to Africa for YEARS, and had even researched volunteering there as a nurse for awhile before I met Don.  I pointed at Eswatini, a tiny country in southern Africa.  It had been our number 2.  “No,” he said, “it’s not Eswatini.”  “Ghana?” I asked, feeling fairly certain I was right this time.  Ghana was our number 3, and most of our other African choices were quite a bit further down the list, for various reasons.  “Yes! Ghana!”

GHANA!

     It’s impossible to describe all the emotions of a moment like that.  I felt like we were balloons being slowly filled with air for the last couple years as we waited for this very moment, and in the last 4 weeks, the pressure had just been building and building to an agonizing level.  POP.  Finally, let all the air rush out.  Deflate, relax, breathe.  It’s over.  We made it.  We didn’t get banished to DC or NY, or Mongolia (yes, also on the list).  We got our #3 out of 37, which is HUGE.  We are beyond excited, and so incredibly thankful!

       We still have A LOT to learn about Ghana, but here’s the little bit we’ve learned so far.  Ghana is a country about the size of the state of Oregon, located in West Africa.  It is a very stable country politically, especially compared to many of the countries near it, such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.  Because of this, it’s a great country to start in if you have no Africa experience (like us).  I laughed as I was researching because Ghana was referred to as “Africa lite” or “Africa with training wheels.”  This is good.  Ya’ll, we need the training wheels!  It’s very close to the equator, so pretty hot and humid year round.  Which also means plenty of mosquitos…and malaria.  We will all be required to be on antimalarial medication for the duration of our time there.  The population is about 75% Christian, and very friendly according to all accounts I’ve seen!  Being a former British colony, they also speak English, which is quite helpful for us.  As of right now, we are supposed to arrive there in summer 2025, so we have plenty of time to prepare!  We will be there for 2 years, and then will be sent to a different country.

      Thank you to all who have prayed for us.  We are beyond excited for this next step in the journey!  AFRICA, here we come!!!