A Plane, A Plan, A Seed and A Young Man

I can hardly believe it, but my missions orientation training (MOT) is almost here. In a little more than 36 hours, I will board a plane and head southeast to Tupelo, Mississippi. The training is from Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. 9. I have the incredible blessing of being able to stay in lodging provided by Global Outreach International and will be sharing an apartment with a couple who is also bound for Africa.

I look forward to visiting a part of the country I have never before been to. I am excited about meeting the other missionaries at the training (there will be 10 of us) and hearing their stories. I am also anxious to meet the folks who have been so kind and helpful over the last couple of months - the staff at Global. I am not sure what all the training will entail, but am trusting God to help me soak in all that I need to. I would certainly appreciate your prayers in the days ahead.

I am kind of a mix of emotions right now - excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, some timidity, yet boldness, and a measure of inadequacy. Yet, I believe God knows what is ahead and am confident He will be with me each step of the journey.

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As I read a missions book yesterday, I was reminded of the tiny mustard seed. It is one of the smallest of all seeds, yet as Jesus said in Matthew 13:31-32, "it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree." This illustration shows me that God delights in using the insignificant, the obscure, the weak, the handicapped, because His power is all the more evident in these lives. So, I may find myself lacking in courage or skills or experience, but in the big scheme of things, that does not really matter, because the all-powerful, loving God overshadows all of those deficiences with His all-sufficiency.

If He can take a tiny seed and grow it into a tree, or use the cowardly to lead a nation or win a battle (the examples of Moses and Gideon), then He can certainly use you and I. May you rest in His all-sufficiency today.

Before I close this post, I thought I would share some photos of a cute young man I met today...

Meet David Andrew Smith!















For those of you who don't know, David is the three-and-a-half-month-old son of Andy and Karina Smith, whom I will be working with in Uganda. I was excited to finally meet this little guy after only seeing pictures for the last few months. I can attest that he is even cuter in person!

I am not sure if I will have Internet access during the training, but will try and update before I return home on Oct. 18. Oh, and after the training, I will be spending about a week with my sister, Leah, in Pennsylvania. Yay! I am so looking forward to seeing her.

Thank you for your prayers and support! : )