Digging up the Past, a Beginning for the Future

Nearly 10 years ago, Erik and I were working for our church, planning activities for the youth and families.  One of our summer activities was making a time capsule with the youth. We had the kids answer some questions pertaining to personal goals for the next 10 years on a sheet of paper and we put all of them in the time capsule and hid it in the church.  A few months ago, some of the time capsule kids (who are now in college) found the capsule that they had participated in and opened it!  The preacher thoughtfully sent our pieces of paper to us.

I had not read Erik's paper before receiving it in the mail.  First, I read the front:

Then I read the back:

Floods of memories came back.  At this time, Erik and I were soon headed to Africa with the Peace Corps.  We had went through the application and interview process and we were in the middle of the extensive medical examinations.  It was just a few short weeks later, exactly one month before departure, when I had a bad pap smear that eventually closed the door on Africa at that time.  It was devastating and surprising, but comforting.  We had seen other doors closing, but assumed it was Satan getting in our way of going.  When this door shut, too, we knew God had something better.

Looking back, I can see how these past ten years have been God-directed.  There were times when we tried to do it all on our own, but there were also times where we gave every ounce of life over to Him and He sustained us.  

Almost a year ago, after a couple very stressful years of residency, I was able to accompany Erik to Africa.  It was a long time in the waiting, but so incredibly perfect.  In fact, it was so perfect and I was so changed and touched by our experience in Africa, that I haven't been able to share our story until now.  I have spent the last 11 months processing, praying, searching, and dreaming.

As our life unfolded in Africa, I wrote it all down in a journal that Samartian's Purse gave me before we went.  There, under my mosquito net in the softness of the African morning heat, with the sounds of the hospital just yards away, I wrote.  I wrote mostly for my children, but now I realize that I also wrote as a marker to the beginning of a journey I never knew our family would take, a journey into medical missions.  I plan to take the next month to record my journal and reflect the journey on the blog. I will slowly be recording our journal under the
"The Congo, February 2014" tab at the top of our blog.

Samaritan's Purse just published an article about our trip to Africa in one of their magazines.  It turned out great and I hope it is an inspiration to those who read it...

Follow this link: www.samaritanspurse.org/article/wake-up-fall/


God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before Him...God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to His eyes.
Psalm 18:20,24 (The Message)