Chicagoland!

Si
nce last Wednesday, I have been visiting my family in Chicago.
  For several months previous, I had wrestled with whether or not to come home for Easter.
  My birthday is April 3^rd and Easter is the 8^th so I thought it would be a great time to visit.
  In fact, I haven’t been home for Easter in years so I got pretty excited about the possibility.

 

Then, I began to realize how busy everything is during March and April at the office.
  I started to reconsider.
  Did the Lord really want me to come home?
  I looked at my support account and saw that extra money came in during March.
  Did that mean something?
  I talked with my coworkers.
  They agreed that I should go home.
 

 

Eventually, I bought plane tickets for $198.
  The next day, I received a letter from a supporter that included a check to AIM for $200.
  I already had the tickets, but that check served as a final affirmation that God wanted me to head home for a visit.

 

Since my arrival, God has blessed me over and over again.
  I have thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with my family, especially talking with my brothers, which isn’t always possible because of our busy schedules.
  Also, on Thursday night, I planned to attend a small group at my home church.
  It turned out that only three people showed up besides myself.
  They are some of my very best friends, and we went out for coffee and had a wonderful chance to talk and catch up.
  On Friday night, I spent time with my mom and aunt and Carol (a friend and supporter from church) at a “stamp camp,” making cards.
 

 

Saturday morning, I met an old friend from high school for coffee at 9am.
  Kate and I haven’t seen each other in a while, but we lost no time catching up!
  I enjoyed hearing about where she’s at in life and decisions she’s making and the path she’s walking.
  I was also privileged to share about all that Lord’s been doing in my life.
  She had lots of questions about my role as a missionary and what I actually do on the field.
  How exciting to be able to share in depth about my ministry and my desire to be Christ to people, even before explaining Christ to them.

 

On Sunday, I attended my home church, Harvest Bible Chapel of New Lenox (IL).
  It was awesome!
  It is amazing to me how much it has grown and developed since its beginning a few years ago.
  The Lord is doing great things there!!
 

 

Sunday afternoon, my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin came over for an early Easter/birthday celebration.
  We ate homemade hamburgers on the grill, potato salad, veggies and dip.
  And, of course, it wouldn’t be MY birthday without chocolate cake and banana filling.
  Yum!!
 

 

Overall, it has been an amazing visit, and I am so thankful for it.
  The Lord is good and faithfully brings times of refreshing.
  I praise Him for that!

 

In fact, this has been much needed, the last month of work has been really busy as we prepare for all of the summer teams to leave.
  Even during my time home, I’ve been working 6-8 hours most weekdays.
  I return to Georgia on Wednesday, and I will hit the ground running.
  50+ World Race participants fly in on Thursday, and they I will be helping to host a training camp for them until the 15^th.  Check out www.theworldrace.org!

 

At the same time, I am continuing to help 80 Real Life team participants prepare for their summer trips, which begin June 3^rd.
  They make up six teams, each going to a different country.
  The countries served will include Swaziland, South Africa, Kenya, New Zealand, India and Peru.

 

Please be in prayer for all of the activity that goes on at AIM headquarters between April and the end of June.
  Please pray also for me, that I will balance my schedule well.
  Pray especially that my times with the Lord will be deep so that I can serve our teams well and speak life and wisdom into them as they prepare to reach the nations.

 

As always, thank you very much for your love and support.
  God bless you!