Eight States Later

From Tuesday night to tonight we have gone through EIGHT states!  We are finally in Idaho!  Tomorrow will be another 5-6 hours in the car and we will arrive at Mission Aviation Fellowship and will settle in there for five weeks.

Today was one of the most incredible days of my life.  We took the whole day to drive through Yellowstone National Park.  It has always been a dream of mine to see the waterfalls and the colorful hot springs and today that dream became a reality.  There are really no words to describe what I saw today.  The best thing I can say is that God is an incredible artist and I was moved to tears several times at the infinite beauty that He has given us to enjoy.  Pictures posted below :)  I will also give you my overwhelming theme that I felt God telling me throughout this whole trip….

There were several times throughout this trip that we decided to turn off at the last minute to explore something that looked interesting.  The first time was to go through the Bad Lands National Park on the way to Mount Rushmore.  The car activity schedule did not have that included…. if you know me, you know we STAY ON SCHEDULE.  You don’t start movie time until the clock turns that next half hour and I get overly excited when the movie ends right on the minute the schedule said it would.  Yes, I have a problem…… :)  So anyway, Jack remembered that one of my dad’s friends had said that it would only take us a little longer to take this scenic route.  I’m SOOO glad he did.  The Bad Lands was so incredible and if I had been strict to stick to my schedule and my plan I would have missed out on so much beauty.  I found that many times as we went through Yellowstone today as well.  The drive is wonderful and beautiful but for some of the most amazing parts, you have to take a side road back into an area that you couldn’t otherwise see.  So much going on just behind a tree line that we would’ve just missed.  This made me think of our new adventure with MAF.

We could choose to say no to this new calling out of our comfort zone….. way out of our comfort zone!  But for one thing, God has made His will so clear in this that it would be very hard not to obey Him.  And for another, I do not want to miss out on the beauty waiting on the other side.  I have this huge foundation of God creating beauty out of the fearful situations and I don’t doubt this will be another one.  Moving to another country, not being financially “stable,” wondering how our kids will adjust…. these are all things that could send us running away from this but we are trusting God that He has another surprise waiting just around the corner and we don’t want to miss it!

Are you hesitating in something you know you should step out into?  There might be adventure and blessing waiting for you to just take that side road and find it!  Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afriad; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

We love you guys!  We are so grateful for all of you that are cheering us on, even those who are doing so reluctantly ;)  Please, please keep praying for us.  Monday starts candidacy and learning and praying about all that programs MAF offers and asking the Holy Spirit to speak to us and the committee on where we should be placed.  We find out in less than two weeks where that will be!

We’ll keep you updated!