My First Post

Welcome to our journey.  We have been out at our ranch over this Thanksgiving holiday.  Earlier this morning, we drove the seven miles into town to what may be one of the only Wal-Marts left in Oklahoma, if not the US, that is not a supercenter. The aisles are only single buggy width. I decided to buy some flour sack dishtowels to take with us to Uganda for dishwashing.  These towels absorb quickly, and are large. You see, the 3 bedroom apartment in which we will be living has many things of comfort and luxury which I was not expecting or intending, as we came to realize our call to spend six months in Uganda.  We leave February 2, 2012.  I honestly was just hoping for a western toilet. (Only 1% of the population in Uganda has one.)  Well, our apartment has three toilets, 3 bedrooms, and even air conditioning.  It looks to be very clean, modern, and comfortable for our family of 5 as we joyfully obey our call to Go! (See Matthew 28: 19-20).  All of these things plus the fact that it is furnished at a cost below what we had budgeted for rent alone has blown us away. The one thing it does not have is a dishwasher. Therefore, in all actuality, it has 5 ;) , all whose name begin with the letter "J". Well, until May when we are blessed to add one more dishwasher to the mix whose name begins with the letter "M".  (More about her in a later post).   We know the Lord directed us to this home, because the best part about it is our new neighbors who will be living above us during this 6 month stay, the Gash family (aka: our twin family).  You may read all about them at http://www.throwingstarfish.com/.  Hopefully, you will come back to read our blog, after reading theirs.  Jim is quite a writer/blogger.  At this point, we have not met the Gash family in person.  We have talked via email, skype, and phone.  We know the Lord has brought our two families together and we are grateful!  More about our similarities soon..Jim explains it best with his post, "Our Twin Family" at the throwing starfish website mentioned above.   Oh, the point about the dishtowels...my mind has been racing since November 2nd with the realization of not having much time left before we depart with holidays and 3 birthdays sprinkled in the mix.  I haven't been the funnest person to be around, just ask my family. I awakened the morning after Thanksgiving at 4am with the first of two dreams.  By 5am I was awake from the second dream, feeling the Lord's grace and presence to the strongest degree since I'd taken on the worry of the details of not only getting ready for Uganda but what our time over there will look like as we follow the Lord at times very blindly.  We are walking by faith step by step as we watch the Lord reveal each step in His perfect timing.  As I sat quietly last night reading God's Word, journaling, praying, and LISTENING to the Lord, my mind caught up to my heart. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God, and the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) and Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)  I have been intimidated to start blogging and overwhelmed by prioritizing what to get accomplished as we prepare to "GO".  So today is my first blog and at Wal-Mart, I knew we needed to get flour sack towels.  Item one is ready to go into a suitcase. We will continue to journey along our path trusting Him from bread crumb to bread crumb, with the occasional slice and loaf as He chooses to reveal knowing by faith we are right where we are supposed to be.
Jill