Getting Ready

We're getting ready to go to Thailand with a 2 and 3 year-old. The trip itinerary includes 3 days in Phoenix, AZ for an employment workshop, then on to Bangkok, Thailand, a short trip to Phuket, and then back to Bangkok. The key word here is "flexibility." With all the travel we have done to and from Minnesota and West Virginia, we are hopeful that our kids will be okay with all this new activity and shifting around. I think this is might be a girl-thing, but my head is constantly thinking up things about the trip. Today's thoughts went to activities for the boys on the planes (we have a couple of really long flights). Regular crayons and markers are a little risky in-flight, so I found Blue's Clue's notebooks with one big wipe-off crayon for each. I also bought some plastic canvas and big plastic sewing needles. Tonight I'll cut the canvas into shapes and tie the needles to them with thin yarn for a fun reusable sewing crafty thing too. Drop a few cars, books, and dinosaurs into the diaper bag and we have home-grown bag o' entertainment. We thought about a portable DVD player, but that's too expensive for just this one trip.
The shopping is now complete aside from last minute things that always pop up. We now each have a complete wardrobe to last a week in HOT and MUGGY weather, and we will have a washing machine available when those clothes reach their limit. When I'm done with this Blog I'm going to grab a piece of paper and start a packing list, so I can stop thinking about it and just keep a running list. I've been escaping into novels and our required Bible study over the last couple of weeks to quiet my thoughts. Our support has been at a plateau since May, so it's hard not to feel the weight of that coupled with getting ready to be overseas with toddlers. The stress has lifted remarkably, though, as I have found quiet time in my morning walks with church friends, books, dates with Justin, playing with the boys, and other things that help me live in the here and now.
The week after we returned from Minnesota was probably the most stressful week we've had yet. We drove 1200 miles on Saturday, July 18, got home at 3am, went to church on Sunday (twice), and went right into Monday with unpacking from the trip and getting things organized for a church-wide yard sale the following Saturday. At the end of that week Justin's parents both came down with heart trouble, yet the sale went on.
Justin's parents are okay and going through more testing, and the sale was a success bringing in about $800 total, but we were exhausted after that marathon week. That's when I began to realize that I was relying on my own strength again, and it is not sufficient for the task at hand. These last couple of weeks Justin and I have been taking it easy getting back in line with where we need to be spiritually to keep running this race. I think we're getting there. As we wrote the newsletter Justin started sharing some things he's been convicted of lately, and as I listened I heard my own heart speaking from his lips. We were in the same place. So God is working on us, as always. He's given us endurance thus far, and remarkable grace for our shortcomings. We'll be out of touch with home life for a short time while we're in Thailand, so my prayer is that my mind can stay where God has placed my body so that I can absorb the training to its fullest and stay safe in a foreign land.
I stand in awe of God and the amazing places He is taking us. I count my blessings daily as I look at my husband, children, and pictures of family and friends, and as I ponder this calling that God has placed on our lives. Little me, Big God, and great things.

In His Hands,
Gillian