Final Travel

We are OVERJOYED to share that we have been given the go-ahead to book our second trip to India, and we leave next weekend!!! We will pick Kira up on Monday, May 13, and I might let Dave take a turn holding her by Wednesday. ;)

We will spend about 10 days in India, going to Kira’s city first and then traveling to Delhi to take care of appointments at the U.S. embassy. When we return we will spend a few weeks at our North St. Paul home, and then we are moving to Willmar, MN where David has accepted the position as lead pastor at Living Hope free church. (Surprise ending for those of you we haven’t had the chance to tell yet!)

One friend joked (admittedly out of context) that the Lord makes all things new.. all at once! I simultaneously have in my living room a car seat awaiting its installation and moving boxes waiting for their fill. While we stage our home to sell, we’re setting up a crib and high chair. We are interrupting packing suitcases to negotiate an offer on a home. Yes, it’s a little much, but God has kept pushing us past the boundaries we’ve set and shown himself to be enough.

When we’ve been jealous to spend time our own way, or wondered if the costs of adoption and ministry (and pursuing both simultaneously) are worth it, we’ve been encouraged by pastor John Piper when he said, “Heaven will come soon enough. We’re here to serve. Give yourself away to this world. Every cost will be worth it.”

This isn’t a variation on “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Rest is essential, but that’s a different topic. This is a reminder that this world is not our home. God has good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do, and he, through the Holy Spirit, is sufficient to sustain us as we give ourselves away to his service in this world, as pastor and parents.

Pray for us, as we wrap up our ministry at First Free this week, as we pick up Kira and figure out what life looks like as a family with a toddler, and then as we transition with Kira to another new home.

After our nerve-wracking day in court, I feel like how hard could this trip be?? But I suppose we should pray for this trip too, so that we can see God at work again. If I can ask to hog a little more of your prayer time, pray for accurate documents, for timely preparation of those documents, for bonding with Kira, and for tolerable travel home (anything less than the 40 hours it took last time would be great) :), and for whatever else the Spirit leads you to pray for!