2 Cups of Coffee

For those of you who happen to look at the time that I am writing this post, yes, it is 1:31 am.

I was at a friends house for a party earlier tonight and had two cups of coffee, knowing full well that it would keep me up for a good part of the night. (I made my husband have one too so we would be up together...but alas, he has fallen asleep and my second cup is still working on me, so I thought I would make good use of the time and post a blog entry.)

I am heading off to Mozambique, Africa, this October for two weeks on a mission trip to visit and help out in the orphanages established there. It seems to be the next best step for me on this journey of knowing God better.

My only other mission experience was a two month short term trip to Mexico when I was 22 years old - a year before I was married.

Interestingly enough, I just now recalled it being a time when I wrote long letters to family and friends back home and journaled alot about my spiritual experiences there.

I expect God will stretch me in many ways while I am there. The physical journey to even set foot on African soil, will be exhausting and trying to say the least. Let alone the living and eating conditions when we arrive.

The comforts and luxuries of home that I have become so accustomed to and enjoy, will be absent from me for two weeks.

I will miss my warm showers, the idea of being clean and the daily routine of making myself presentable.

Instead, I may find myself appalled at the stench of body odour, food cooking over an open fire and probably other new smells that I didn't even know existed.

But there is so much I'm looking forward to with great expectation.

I know I will be moved by the intensity of worship among people who are wholeheartedly submitted to him, sincerely loving and praising His name.

I know I will see beauty and dispair in the faces of the children who are orphaned and living with so many others in impoverished conditions.

I wonder if I will be able to contain the overwhelming emotions when I come to terms with how much I have, how thankful I should be and how little they have and how thankful and grateful they are for even that.

I know I will be humbled. I know my heart will break many times. I know this experience will have a long lasting effect on the rest of my life.

I know I will be challenged to trust the One in whom I believe more than I've ever trusted Him before.