Back to Zambia...Where feet may fail

It's been almost a full year since my last blog post on here...It's really hard to take the time to sit down and write about my little ol' life but here goes nothing.

I'm going back to Zambia. Yep. Back to Zambia. By myself (unless something changes). In less than five months. It's going to be scary. It's going to be emotional. It's going to be great!

God is working on this trip. He has been since the beginning. I just reread the post I wrote after I got back from Zambia the last time. You can read that post here. My prayer at that time was that I could get back there again, and now it's happening. 

There have been several answered prayers surrounding this trip. My first prayer was for God to start showing my signs that HE wanted me to go and not that I just wanted to go. I prayed for two things 1) Luther would be supportive and want me to go (you can't exactly leave your husband for a couple of weeks without him being on board), and 2) for a clear sign that God wants me to go. One day when Ellie was here, Luther agreed that I should go back. I thought, "Okay God, that's one...but you have to do more than that!" A few weeks later, we got some junk mail with a penny on it. I took the penny off, put it on the counter, and threw the mail away. A few weeks after that, I found the penny again and realized it said ZAMBIA on it. I've never even seen a Zambian penny. That's when God really got my attention. Maybe it was a coincidence but I'm choosing to believe that God was involved in that random junk mailing to be sent to my house with a Zambian penny on it instead of an American penny.

So then the planning started. My first idea was to have a yard sale. I didn't think it would be that hard and I didn't think I would raise a ton of money but it would be a good start. The first mistake was thinking it wouldn't be that hard. Oh. My. Word. So many people from work, church, and family donated items (like over 3,500 items) that I (for whatever reason) itemized and put on a spreadsheet. It was such a huge blessing that all of those items were donated because I could not have been as successful without them. Our guestroom and my parents basement were COMPLETELY packed for over a month. The more items I saw come in, the more I started praying that the weather would be nice and that people would come. What good is a yard sale if people don't come? I was hoping for around $300 from the sale. I jokingly started praying that I would raise at least half of the plane ticket. God wasn't joking- and I raised more than half:) The morning of, some good friends came over and stayed most of the day to help which was a good thing because it took nine adults two hours to get all of the items out (I told you it was a lot)! By lunch time, I had raised over $900. People steadily came to the sale from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. I didn't raise the full cost of my plane ticket but I think the yard sale should go down as the most successful yard sale in history!

So here's the plan:
I'm leaving in June after I get out for summer break. I am going to be updating the pictures of all of the school children that my dad and I took three years ago for their sponsors. I'm also going to be working with the youth group some and helping the main contact we have. I'm probably going to be using my counseling skills with some of the youth and the women from the village. That's the plan we have made. Who knows what more God's plan will include but I'm excited to find out! I get a little nervous about going at times (mostly being on the plane for that long by myself) but I know that God is going to do something big. He hasn't brought me this far for nothing. I'm excited to see all that He has in store. I've raised about two thirds of the money so far and I'm trusting God that the rest will come in.

Oceans by Hillsong United is my new theme song for this trip. I have heard it a few times in the car and then we sang it in church on Sunday.  Here are some excerpts from the song:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Check out the whole song here