Here we go...

In a few hours I will be on the airplane headed for Amsterdam, Nairobi and finally Rwanda. I did not get a chance to email everyone to say goodby, but I think I have pretty much said goodbye to everyone in my last two weeks. I pray that God will bring you all to my blogiste to read this. God bless you all. You are in my prayers.

Please pray for my 3 day travel and my luggage in which I carry many valuable tools for teh Lord. Pray for health as I have a wee bit of (recovering from) brochitis/larengitis, which is common for me in the changing moist weather.

I will be out of communication for a while as I settle in, but I look forward to my first newsletter report of God's bridge to Rwanda. God has already given me several rescue missions which I will tell you about in my newsletter.

Truly, truly, from the depths of my heart I thank God for every body, mind and spirit that follows me along the way. Peace be with you.

Plans to prosper...

The time has come. I leave for Rwanda tomorrow and this will be my last blog before I reach "the land of honey and milk." God has taken such good care of me and all is pretty much taken care of. I don't know exactly how much has been raise up to date, but I will report more when I get ot Rwanda. There are still some things I have to finish, but I will lose internet contact until I reach Rwanda. I want to thank all my donors, friends, and family who have supported me the entire way and who go on this journey with me in thought and spirit. Words cannot express what you mean to me. And God is so pleased. I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to express thanks and just share a few words from God. Three times in three different situations from three messengers God presented this verse to me in the past few months...

"For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

This was God's assurance to the Jews in their exile in Babylon. At a time of hopelessness and weatheredness, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to assure the of the hope of a Christ they had not met yet. I walk by faith with the same assurance. God's people are precious to Him. I have no fear for I know He has "plans" for me.

I look forward to reporting back to you through my blogs on God's movements in Africa. It may be a while as I will need to have time to settle down and assimilate to the culture and life change, but I will not forget you. So many of you have asked me to email you, which I shall do, but it would be best for you to email me when you wish and I will respond because there are so many of you that it will be difficult for me to email each of you regularly. But I am pretty good at replying to emails. I will also be sending out an email about receiving monthly blog newsletters when I get a chance. Please do not think I will forget you.

Thank you all from the depths of my heart for believing in me and believing in God - that He has a mission for me. You are all in my prayers and thoughts. God bless you!

Linda

Looking Straight ahead at Jesus

I have reached the 3 week mark until May 30th when I depart for Rwanda for a long time. I am so very excited, as the Lord has had me wait a year to leave. At the same time, I must say farewell to life as I know it. I sit here in my tiny apartment with everything pulled out of the closets waiting to be sorted through and put in a box to be dispersed between the Good Will and friends. I mean everything must go. Its like my own closeout sale. Just as my things, I see that God has also done the same with my life. He has taken everything out of the closet and set it before me to sort through and take to the Good Will. I am allowed only what fits into 2 suitcases of limited weight. I no longer have a salary, but must depend on the charity and faith of others to sustain my living and service. Its an entirely different muscle than I am used to - depending on others for sustanance. Don't get me wrong. I joyfully surrender every breath of life and every painful endurace to the Lord. So, entirely...my life belongs to Him, not myself. If I focus on each piece of "stuff" I get bogged down with emotion and confused logic "should I keep or take this." So, I focus straight ahead at Jesus who illuminates the pupils of my eyes and steers the logic of my thoughts. For only through Him may I have the sight that I cannot see with my eyes or make decisions toward the unknown. I count on Him to lead the path.

My journey is locked into a country of people who have faced repeated civil wars. Finding the key to sustainable peace is the mission of my journey. I know that education with biblical foundations is one key. Love and modeling love is the second key. The third key sits somewhere in Africa waiting for me to find it. When I have the three keys, I will be able to unlock the door that keeps Africa in a boiling room. I know that God is with me all the way. He leads because I cannot.

Please join me in praying in the next few weeks for the final preparation for His Grand Plan.
Peace be with you,
L