Trip of a Lifetime

After 10 long days, 19 1/2 hours in an airplane, 6 hours in airports, and an hour drive home, we can finally say our girls are home!

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for keeping my precious girls safe while they traveled to the other side of the world. I can’t say Thank You enough to our good good Father.

We definitely heard fears from people around us as the girls were preparing for this trip…

“Aren’t you afraid to let them go that far away?”

“What if something happens?”

“I’d never let my daughter do that!”

But God.

God placed Ethiopia on my girls’ hearts and gave us all peace. He confirmed His will when He provided their funds in two months time. God said it’s my will when we met the amazing leaders who were going to watch over our girls. He confirmed it again when we were dropping the girls off at the airport.

Erin (the leader) asked me to pray over the group. After I had prayed a lady, who worked for United, came up and asked, “did I hear you say Ethiopia?” She was from Ethiopia, from the city they were going to, and knew the leader who would lead them around Addis Ababa! She was so sweet and took them all under her wing and got them all settled.

Andrew and I never felt fear over this trip. That’s not because fear couldn’t have been present, it certainly could have. We get to choose if we’re going to sit in fear and let it have our hearts and minds OR combat it with God’s truths and promises.

These reminders from the Lord were the weapons we needed to fight. God is good to give us just what we need.

As we drove home and listened to the amazing stories from Evie and Maddie, we just looked at each other and smiled. Our girls got one of the most amazing experiences of their lives just because we were willing to say yes to God.

It isn’t easy to release our kidd into God’s hands. It takes a lot of trust in Him. It takes knowing Him well. It involves a deep belief that He loves our kids more than we do and He knows exactly what they need to grow their faith.

What if we just sat in fear and never allowed our kids to pursue God’s calling? What would we be hindering in their walk of faith? How would we ever teach them to overcome fear with God’s truth? How could they ever make their faith their own?

Don’t let the hard stop you. Don’t let fear win! Encourage your kids to pray over where God is calling them. Encourage them to pursue God’s dreams for them, even if it means flying to the ends of the earth!

I’m sure there will be many more stories and faith-building experiences in the days to come as my girls process this trip. For now, I  just so thankful they got to go and I’m so thankful they are home! God is good.