The countdown has begun, without really meaning to. Our girl is leaving in just a few days to start a new adventure. It’s been a long time coming; we have known for years that our oldest daughter would do something in the area of missions, and she is now putting details to those plans. Jessica is leaving for Florida in a little over a week to attend Missionary training at the Heart Institute. It’s a semester long, full-time learning experience that teaches students to live sustainably off the land and even simulates a third world village, with no electricity or running water. Her textbooks include titles like, “Where There Is No Doctor” and “Raising Healthy Poultry”. She will be able to send and receive mail one day a week. As we were making plans for packing, I flippantly said that she could let me know what she needs and I will send it within a matter of a couple of days, and then we realized it would be two weeks at minimum, and that’s assuming that our timing is right! So, in a way, the training has already begun. For all of us.
Please pray? Not for safety or for ease in this transition. We want it to be difficult, because in the difficult comes growth and change and obviously my girl isn’t terribly interested in living a safe life! Lord, please give her adventure and let her hear Your heart, set her heartbeat to the rhythm of Yours. Open her eyes to so many other ways of doing things, to other cultures and value systems. Please deliver her back to us an even stronger, more capable woman filled with compassion and grace for those You are calling her to. Strengthen me to completely trust You with my treasure. Again. And as always, thank you for letting me be her Mama.
howsyourlovelife 
So well written and so precious!! Praying you both are drawn closer to God and that you feel his presence!
Thank you!
Bless you and Jessica. Letting go feels hard but wait and see what delights it brings! My oldest daughter it’s training to be a midwife and I know it won’t be long before she takes herself off to some 3 rd world destination. She left home 5 years ago and never ceases to amaze me. I pray that you will both enjoy the wonder of Christ in this new season. Xx
I can’t tell you how much your words have meant to me in the past few days. Most of my friends have children who are younger than ours, so this seems a little crazy to them! Jess has plans for midwife school after this, beginning in September ’16 so I would love more information about what your daughter is doing!
Thanks. I will keep you posted. Also my younger daughter who has had many emotional issues came home from Church camp this year and announced she was back with the Lord big time and wants to do a year out with an amazing Christian organisation. Overwhelming or what ! We must stay in touch and hold ‘cyberhands’.