More Fun Than Human Beings Deserve

Whoa!!! Three days till I leave! Here's how the packing is coming, in case you wanted to know:

This is not "everything," of course...but it's most of it besides clothes, laptop, and sewing machine. There is a method to the madness, although I'm not always clear on what that is :) The packing seems to be going smoothly, though. I separated the "stuff" by category in tubs and boxes and then listed it and then checked some things off the list...I don't know if this is being organized or being deranged, but I'm having fun and I can't think of any other way to do it. One moment I'm feeling like Super-Organiza-Woman, and the next I'm thinking, "Oh gosh, who am I kidding?"

In the midst of the madness, my parents have bought a new car. A "new" car...a cute, vibrant looking '03 Hyundai Santa Fe. Or Santa Fe Hyundai. However that goes. Here...see for yourself:

Mom and Dad have been praying and searching for a vehicle, because the van was getting pretty unreliable, and they wanted something with better gas milage. So they traded the van in this morning and bought this. So, bam!!! All of a sudden, there's a new car and no debt! Kind of miraculous :)

I do get this feeling though, that I'm being nudged out the door...the car only has five seats, and it's a standard, which I can't drive...(yet). When I'm home for Chirstmas, I'll have to learn. eek. It was sort of wierd realizing that this morning was the last time I'll drive until then. Unless, of course I end up driving in Ukraine...wouldn't that be a blast...

This morning Mom woke me up for coffeetime while it was still grayish outside. She came in and kissed my cheek, and then sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed my back very softly for a while. I cracked my eyes open and tried making some grateful noises. Sometimes I'm just overwhelmed at the mercy God gives me through her.

I know how a bear feels when it's coming out of hibernation. The backrub got my blood circulating a little, which is always a nice advantage in the morning. What a lovely way to wake up. It just makes me sigh with happiness to think about it :)

Leaving is crazy. Prayer time last night was great. SO MANY PEOPLE CAME! It was a great time for everyone to visit. I loved just getting to come before the Lord and be free from worrying about the million prayer requests that could have been offered. God reminded me that He already knows what we need before we ask...so we were able to just have a sweet worship time, and I enjoyed hearing Connor play the guitar. I live with him, but I never seem to get to hear him play!

Yesterday I met the Murzins, Andrei and Olga, and their daughter Nadia, and two young boys. They're visiting from Kiev, and they've known Bruce and Deb for a while, so I'll be seeing them while I'm over there. Nadia is close to my age, and I like her already. It's exciting to already have that connection, and I was really glad I got to talk to them about some details for flying over and what not. I already have friends!

Meeting the Murzins made the fact that I'm going to a foreign country much more real, or surreal, I should say! It added a gravity to my giddiness, but was really good at the same time. Just as Mrs. Olga told me over and over "Don't worry, don't worry!" (I wonder why she said that? :), my worries really do fade when I look at the safety of being in God's hand. When I see all that He has done, the things that are so far beyond what I "deserve," I just have to love Him even more. And love turns into trust, and trust melts into peace.

This is "more fun than human beings deserve..."

I think somebody at World Mandate said that...