Commissioned

…

“….Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior”

 

I leave for Rwanda. Tomorrow. Holy moley.

On Sunday, the Rwanda team was commissioned in front of the church, sent off with their blessings to act as their representatives in a land far, far away.

As part of the commissioning, I knew that my family was going to have the opportunity to come up to the front of the church while I knelt at the railing and place a hand on my shoulder while the pastor prayed for us. Unfortunately for me, both Lee and John were off at Boy Scout camp and could not make it back for the service.

As I got ready for church that morning, I kept having to talk myself out of the sadness I felt over not having my family there for the commissioning. I told the younger boy that he would be attending both the 8:30 and 9:45 services with me. I explained what was going to happen and told him that he could come up when they called the family…or not…whatever he wanted to do was fine…no big deal.

When the time came for the commissioning, I walked to the front of the church with the rest of the team, turned to kneel at the railing…and waited.

And, sure enough, before long I felt the tentative touch of a little hand on my shoulder. Then it slowly moved to up to rest on the crown of my head. Then it slid over the top of my head and finally rested  somewhere between my eyes and forehead…with half of my hair smushed under it. Oh, how I wish I had picture of it.

But it wasn’t just Will praying for me, with his hand covering my eyes like a meaty little sleep mask. Other friends came up from the pews and hugged me, prayed for me, and whispered in my ear the exact times of the day they would be praying for me and our team.

And I realized, what do you know, my family was there after all. I have the best church family in whole world.

I am so grateful for every donation I’ve received and every prayer that has gone up for myself, the Rwanda team, and the women we will be serving.

I am so full of love and mercy and grace…and I cannot wait to pour it over the people of Rwanda.

The two amazing girls from church who raised over $200 for our trip by selling loom bracelets gave me one to wear while I’m away. It will not leave my arm and will serve as a daily reminder to me of the love and support I’m bringing with me to Africa.

We will be offline while we are in Rwanda…no Facebook updates or blogging. We won’t even be calling home.

If you are on Facebook and would like to receive updates about our progress, click here and like the True Vineyard Ministries Facebook page. They will be posting for us while we are gone.

I will be home July 16th. I can’t wait to share the experience with you, friends!

Ok…deep breath…it’s time to go.

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine