It happened.
Much
as we were trying to hold onto each day and each hour in our hearts, the moment
did arrive earlier today when we had to give our son that painful last embrace
before we left him to go to the airport.
From
the time our eyes opened earlier this morning, the tears have been close to the
surface and often spilling over: first from the pain of the looming goodbyes
with Jubab and now because the goodbyes are over and already we miss our
beautiful son so much.
Right
now we are sitting in the Chicago airport waiting for our midnight flight. It
is snowing outside, a very different sight to what we will see outside the
Manila airport when we arrive there Lord willing in another 24 or so hours.
The
two of us are wondering what lies ahead and God keeps reminding us that it’s a
walk of faith and that we can trust Him. But four little words are in our
hearts right now: MORE OF THE SAME! More miles traveled to spread the glorious
Gospel of our Lord Jesus, more churches planted, more spiritual leaders raised
up, more baptisms, more missionaries being sent out, more buildings to
build……more amazing works being done which only our God can do as He sends us
and uses us and gives us this privilege to serve!
So as
our feet once again have the joy of walking in the Philippines, these are some
of our immediate tasks and prayer points once we arrive:
·
Necessary paperwork – please pray that it will get processed smoothly and
quickly.
·
Setting up our home and office in the new area from which we will base –
this may take 1-2 months. Please pray that this work will be even quicker than
we anticipate so that we can soon get back to the translation work.
·
Meetings with all the church leadership – pray for all of us to know the
Lord’s mind as to how and where we can best bless the churches and the
leadership teams.
