It's the Final Countdown

It’s the Final Countdown!!!

Welp, the time has arrived…finally!  We leave for Vanuatu the day after tomorrow (Sunday, July 22).  This week has been busy with finishing up doctor visits, getting some follow-up vaccinations, spending time with friends and family, and packing.  Lots and lots of packing… J 

The best part of this week, though, has been the relief and the peace that both Jason and I have about pursuing this trip.  Speaking for myself, for about a month I was really doubting and feeling extremely apprehensive about leaving.  And those feelings were only heightened early last week during our first two days at camp with our youth group.  I hated being there.  I hated thinking about leaving.  I hated (and I know hate is a “bad” word) that we were at camp.  I thought it was stupid that we planned it this way on purpose so that we could kind of have a “last hurrah” with our youth group kids during that week of camp.  It was too difficult.  What I couldn’t see was God’s hand in it all.  It ended up being the greatest week I’ve ever experienced! 

Part of the issue, for me, is handing over control of “my kids”.  I love those kids that attend our youth group like they’re my own, and leaving them with someone else was just ripping my heart out.  It ended up being a great learning experience for me, and helped me to designate leaders in our group to take care of things that I might not be as well equipped to take care of in the first place!  I don’t have to be the one who tries to hold every girl accountable for all of the decisions that take place at camp.  I don’t have to be the only person available to talk/counsel with a girl who’s having a rough time at school…she’s got peers in school feeling the same way and they can help each other through it!  I’m not the only adult leader who can take care of these kids. Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE doing all of those things!  But we’ve got a great adult staff who is also perfectly capable to handle any situation!  It’s a great feeling to know that we have people who will do just as well of a job as Jason and I, or even better.  If we weren’t leaving, I wouldn’t have HAD to hand over control…I would’ve continued to try to do everything on my own without leaning on the incredible support staff that surrounds us.  I can’t wait to see what they can do with those teens while we’re gone! 

All that to say this:  God worked in this adult’s heart during teen camp.  It’s a common joke around our house that Momma has control issues, and God brought that issue to the forefront for me at camp.  I had to hand over the reins of all that’s involved with being the “youth pastor’s wife” to God, and the adult and student leaders who will still be here from July-October, and I felt an overwhelming peace once I did.  That peace has carried over into the panic and anxiety that was setting in about our trip.  God’s got this.  This is His plan, not mine.  I don’t have to worry about how this is going to affect our kids, or where we’re going to live, or if we’re going to experience turbulence on our plane rides, or if Eli’s asthma is going to act up, or if Lainey has an allergic reaction to seafood, or if we’ll all be homesick…I’m prepared for all of those situations!  But I’m not worried about them.  Because God’s got this J