28 days

I have 28 days left here in Zambia. In exactly four weeks from today,  I will be boarding a plane that will take me back to the other side of the world. The time has flown by (no pun intended) and I can't believe the two months I had so long anticipated are already halfway up. The five weeks that I've experienced so far have been nothing short of challenging, surprising, and fulfilling. There have been a number of bumps along the way, but those bumps have only increased the glory of our God in the end.

Cynthia, the wife to one of the FLMI staffers, has taken on the role of "summer mama" during my time here. Since January, her blog has consisted of the Joy Dare, or an ongoing list of different "joys" that she writes about. Although I don't regularly blog apart from my time here, and I can't commit to taking on the full Joy Dare, this post will consist of a few joys, people, and things that I am thankful for this far during my first 5 weeks here.

10. Viber
Viber is a free app for the iPhone, iPad, etc... that you can use to text or call family internationally for free. I have gotten to talk to my family and friends back home more than ever before because of this app! It really has allowed me to communicate with my loved ones so much more than in the past while I'm here!

9. Zambia's Winter Months
Although Texas is undergoing another 100 degree summer, Zambia is experiencing their winter months. This is one of the best perks of spending two months in Zambia - not only am I avoiding the hottest time of year in Texas, but the Zambian winter weather is a 70's and 80's during the day, 40's and 50's at night. Absolutely perfect.

8. Bekah Taylor
Bekah was on summer staff with me for the first half and she was an absolute God-send. She was one of the best roommates I could have asked for and the Lord used her so much in my life first half! Bekah helped keep me grounded when my stress was getting the best of me, and she always had an encouraging word for me! Thankful for her friendship and sorely missing her as she's back in the states!

7. Sugar Bush
I probably talked about Sugar Bush last year, but this is the absolute cutest little place in all of Lusaka. Sugar Bush is this open-air cafe complete with a playground, garden, horses and boutique. It has a super-relaxed vibe and the food is absolutely delicious. We got to go there on Sunday for brunch, and it was such a nice, relaxing way to start break week!

6. Lice Shampoo
Yes, I am so very thankful for lice shampoo. Lice in Africa is quite an experience.. not one that I want to relive. That's all.

5. My Camera
My camera has been such a blessing. I love love love photos and getting to relive memories, so being able to capture those memories through a good camera has made it all possible. Thank you Jesus for photography.

4. My First Half Summer Staff
I love these crazy people. My first half summer staff was made up of wonderful, hard-working, orphan-loving people, and they all helped make the first half of Camp LIFE 2013 a success. There are some incredibly generous, genuine hearts among these people, and it was a blessing to get to serve the orphan alongside them.

















3. Lifeway Christian Academies
Family Legacy began building schools in the compounds that we work with so that our sponsored kids could begin to receive a quality education. These schools are called Lifeway Christian Academies. The education team that lives over here full time is phenomenal and has done a great job choosing teachers that love Jesus and love these kids. These schools really have done an incredible job in educating our kiddos over here. It is amazing to see the difference at camp.. our LCA students have incredible English skills even after just one year of attending school there. Our students have some of the highest marks in the entire nation on national standardized tests. It is beautiful to watch an orphan's untapped potential become discovered and inspired. These kids are going to change Zambia one day, and I have been blessed to get to watch the beginning stages of this transformation.

2. My Dad
What a stinker. My dad has been coming to Zambia as long as I have. This was his fifth year to do Camp LIFE, and he is more passionate about these kids than ever. Experiencing Zambia with my dad has been one of the biggest blessings I could have ever asked for; it has brought us closer and this has always been something we've shared together. Furthermore, my dad is a different person here. There is something about sticking my dad in Zambia around thousands of orphans that changes who he is and how he acts. I am so thankful that God saw it fit to put Zambia in my relationship with my dad. It has truly bettered our relationship and it is something that we will share together forever.

















1. Random (not so random) Slum Kids
I love going out into the communities without a group to evangelize with. I get to meet the most precious kids on the streets that aren't a part of the week of Camp LIFE. On community day, we drop our Americans off at a central location, tell them to go and evangelize with their groups for a couple of hours, and meet back at the location for lunch. I stay behind for safety purposes and to get lunch ready. Without fail, there are ALWAYS random kids that have nothing to do that day (or any other day) and congregate around that location because there is a muzungu (white person) there. I get to love on these kids and hug them and play soccer with them while I wait on the Americans to return. I don't know anything about these kids or how much love they actually receive at home, I don't know their stories, but I know that God puts them there at arms length to be loved on for a reason. It is the purest joy I have ever felt when I get to love these kids freely and without inhibition. So thank you, God, for hand-picking the compound kiddos that I come into contact with.

changes and surprises

Camp LIFE 2013 has presented us with many surprises and changes from years past. It’s been challenging and exciting and crazy with all of the new adjustments! Here are a few:

A HUGE summer staff

So this year, we have 14 summer staffers. 14 in the FIRST HALF alone! It’s unreal! I think we had 12 total last summer. It has been such a blessing to have so many more hands on deck to do all that summer staff is responsible for!! It has definitely caused us to become MUCH more organized as a summer staff; we now have individualized roles and responsibilities that we are held accountable for and we have a few different rotations for making sure certain things get done. Summer staff has never been this detailed and organized, so it is definitely a change.. but a change for the better, I think! 

A new location: Chamba Valley Exotic Hotel

Oh, Chamba. This place is something. This year is a transition year, so we are moving from Mulungushi Villas, which is where we’ve stayed ever since I started coming to Zambia, to the Legacy Lodge, which is in the process of being built by the ministry. This place is basically a godsend because there is no other hotel or lodging that would house this many people. The man who owns this place signed a contract with us and is actually turning away business to honor that contract. It is actually a really nice hotel, but it brings its own challenges.

As expected, hot water is still a luxury here at Chamba. The chosen few have hot water in their rooms, while the rest of us do the “shower dance” (similar to the hokey pokey but with a greater sense of urgency) in our ice cold water. One limb at a time, folks. That is, if you can get your water to cooperate with gravity instead of shooting straight up at the ceiling like Old Faithful. 

However, when they say that Chamba Valley is an “exotic” hotel, they are absolutely telling the truth. It is QUITE off the beaten path; in order to reach the hotel entrance, you must first drive about 5 minutes down a very bumpy dirt road. During my stay of about three weeks here, I have encountered many African wall spiders (google it), a colony of ants that lives in the walls and makes daily appearances in our room, cats, wasps, caterpillars, and other strange bugs that I can’t even name. It’s always an adventure when you walk into your room at Chamba Valley.. you never know what creature is waiting inside to greet you. 

Anyway, like I said, we are grateful that we even have a place to stay. The wifi works in the lobby on most days (if you’re lucky), and the staff is so friendly and willing to serve. It is definitely different than Mulungushi, but it is functional and serves its purpose well. 

RAIN

For the first time in my five summers spent in Zambia, it RAINED today. Rain during this time of the year in Zambia is so rare that, when you ask a Zambian, “is it going to rain today?”, they will respond by saying, “No, no. It can’t.” Oh, but it can, and it did. It is the Zambian winter right now, so it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for the clouds to roll in and the temperature drop to about 50 degrees (or less). However, as we’re bringing kids into the Legacy Center to put in groups on Monday morning, it starts to SHOWER. Not just a mist or sprinkle, but a shower that actually made the pavement darker. 

This year has been so weird, and I haven’t quite made sense out of what God meant by this random rain shower yet, but I do know that He is working. The enemy has taken some roundabout ways to attack our staff and our Americans this year, but God has come right behind him every time and fought back and won. I guess, maybe the rain shower goes to prove (again) that nothing is impossible for our God. And that He is willing to do WHATEVER to move in power for these children. When we say, “it can’t rain,” God says, “let it pour.” So now, I anticipate what other limitations God will destroy during the rest of camp. Nothing is impossible for our God, not even rain in the Zambian winter.  

There are more, that’s just all I had time to write! Until next time, here are a few of my favorite snaps so far! 

james 1:27

We are two days into week 2 of camp... time has FLOWN by. Time flies when you’re SUUUUPER busy, I guess!

Week 1 was a huge success! We had 78 groups of kids at camp that week, so it wasn’t maxed out. It was so helpful to have a lower number of kids and Americans to work with since it was the first week! We got to see things that worked and things that didn’t throughout the week, so we were much more prepared and ready to go by week 2. Week 1 was also refreshing and very moving for me. My mind and heart were reintroduced to the purity of the love that comes from the heart of an orphan AND the purity in loving orphans. The Bible absolutely hits the nail on the head when it says that “pure and undefiled religion” is “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). Greer, the founder of Family Legacy, says that working with orphans is like putting your finger into a spiritual electrical socket, and that it is a catapult straight to the heart of God. I was just so humbled and blown away again this year by how eager these sweet, sweet kids are to love and be loved. They have these hard shells up around them for protection because they all have to be so tough and strong at home; but it doesn’t take long for love, love in the name of Christ, to penetrate and melt those tough exteriors. These kids come to camp on Monday so closed off and guarded, but I get to see the transformation throughout the week into kids who experience joy and love and fulfillment. They get to be kids again for one week. And none of this would happen for them if it weren’t for Christ. They would be stuck in their chains and defenses and be bound up forever if they never felt the freedom and overwhelming love of Christ. 

Tuesdays are “rotation” days. In the morning, all of our groups rotate between a snaps (photos) station, a blessing time station (one-on-ones with the kids), and a coloring station. Usually, I am working the snaps station because coloring is usually covered by one of our younger staff kids, but today I was in charge of coloring. Coloring takes place in the main room that we do our big group sessions in, so it’s a huge room. The size of the room gives way to lots of running and yelling and general chaos with the number of kids that we have in each rotation. So I’m passing out materials and getting frustrated at all of these kids running around, making noise, etc... Then God basically slaps me across the face and says “Mariah, these kids don’t get to be kids anywhere else. They are orphan children who carry the world and then some on their shoulders.” And then I look at their faces and see how much JOY they were having from just being kids again. They were playing and laughing and their eyes were lighting up because they were HAVING FUN. Being a summer staffer means that I don’t get to hear the details of these kids’ stories. I am not the one listening to these kids when they say that their parents both died years ago and now they live with an abusive aunt who makes them walk miles for water every day. I don’t physically get to hear them say that they have been raped by their uncle and prostituted out to his friends for money. Today was a reminder that I desperately needed. I was reminded that these kids live in a darker darkness than I could ever imagine and that they get these five days to experience joy. And joy is a bright light in the darkness of their lives. 

God is doing big things here. And when He does big things, the enemy attacks harder and harder. Shipping containers have been a huge struggle to get here on time because of random inspections and border issues, and these containers have time sensitive materials on them that we need for house openings and camp. This week though, he has especially been on the defensive. As our Week 2 Americans were about to board their flight from Dallas at the airport this past weekend, their flight was cancelled at the last minute because of a broken part. Commence shuffling of flights and a long, grueling weekend of traveling for them. Today, we had around 15 of our Americans stay home because they all got very sick overnight. And from camp, we sent home about 6 more throughout the day. A fourth of our Americans are currently sick with an awful stomach bug. Satan does NOT want this specific week of kids to be reached. Please be praying for restoration to health for our Americans and against the attacks of the enemy this week (and for the rest of the summer). Our mission here this summer is to build up the kingdom in big ways, and Satan is throwing curveball after curveball to try to stop us. Pray for the ministry and what God has called us to do this summer, because it is an ongoing battle against Satan. 

Until next time!

at it again!

Well, we made it back safe and sound last Saturday morning! Thank you Jesus! After two long flights and a 2-hour landing delay (thank you, flock of London birds), my tired crew and I arrived in Zambia. We are all so glad to be back, but we have definitely hit the ground running! Here is a quick run down of all that has been going on:

Saturday - arrival, resting, and seeing the Tree of Life kiddos again for the first time! 

Sunday - church with the AmZam staff (the American staff that live here in Zambia), lunch at Levy Junction, and choreographing the moves to the theme song for camp this year

Monday - mini-camp with the Tree of Life kids! Mini-camp is basically a week of camp squished into two days to serve as a trial run for real camp. The TOL kids are our guinea pigs! :)

Tuesday - mini camp (day 2)

Wednesday - shopping in Kamwala market with Erin Hughey (the wife of one of our AmZam staff members.. their whole family has lived out here for 2.5 years), moving to our temporary (hopefully) hotel as we wait for our Plan A hotel to be finished

Thursday - pick up the summer staff for first half at the airport, lunch at Mint Cafe, preparation at the hotel for Week 1 of our American counselors 

Some more details!

-Our theme song for the year is Rise and Sing by Fee. The Camp LIFE theme this year is Glory, Hallelujah and we are teaching the kids how to prepare the way of the Lord by worshipping Him. Rise and Sing is a really upbeat song about urging everyone to sing about our risen King.. the kids LOVE the song and the fun motions to it! 

-Our hotel is called Chamba Valley, and it is a newly renovated property. It is a collection of little individual rooms that stand alone, like a neighborhood of hotel rooms, if you can imagine that. Well, the summer staff girls’ rooms are in the back left corner of the property; and since nobody has been staying here during the renovation, the rooms have been unoccupied... by humans. So as I am getting settled into my room last night, not one, not two, but THREE huge African wall spiders greet me in my new room. Within one hour of each other. Needless to say, I flipped out and slept with one of the other girls in her room last night. The good news is, though, that I killed one (the other two were killed for me) and we had one of the maintenance men plug up the hole in the wall that we thought was their passage to my room. Haven’t seen one in about 24 hours! 

I'll try to post again later! 

fifth time's the charm

My single-digit countdown to trip number 5 starts TODAY! I am returning to Zambia for the fifth time in a week and a half, and y'all, I am more pumped than ever! I have a lot of preparation ahead of me, but before I know it, I'll be reunited with my babies!! CAN'T WAIT!!

A little bit about my trip this year... 

Where am I even going? I am going to Lusaka, Zambia, Africa. Lusaka is the capitol of  Zambia and is where we will be working all summer! The time difference between Texas and Zambia is 8 hours! (I will be 8 hours ahead!)

Dates: I leave May 23 and return home on July 28. Yes, that's right, I will spend 2+ months overseas this summer. SO PUMPED.

What am I doing: My job has not changed from last year - I am returning as a summer staff member for Family Legacy Missions International. Every summer, we put on Camp LIFE, which is a week long camp for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children that live in the areas surrounding the capitol of Zambia. During our time with the kids, we feed them, love on them, and get the beautiful opportunity to show and tell them about the love of Jesus. For many of these kids, this is the first time in their lives that they have heard the name of Jesus. God is doing amazing things and expanding His Kingdom by the thousands each year through Camp LIFE! Summer staff is basically the behind-the-scene crew that facilitates camp things!

Communication: Each year is different in regards to communication, but email is usually the best way to get in touch with me! Also, I LOVE EMAILS! Please, please, please, keep me updated on your lives over the summer! I will also be blogging here about once a week (hopefully more) so check here! I will try to update my Facebook each time I have a new blog post! My email is mariahglasener@gmail.com.


If you have any questions for me about my trip, I would love to answer them! So many sweet friends and family have been so supportive of me over the years as I have made trips to Zambia, so thank you to y'all! Thank you in advance for the thoughts and prayers sent my way while I'm in Zambia! Can't wait to get over there!

nine little lives.

Here are my boys! Their pictures and their stories are here for you to look through, so please do so with a prayerful heart. I have held these boys, laughed with these boys, cried with these boys, visited their homes, and listened to their stories first hand. These kids are real, and so are their stories. And you have a chance to change lives. Please consider giving one of my boys an opportunity for education, food provision, and discipleship. These three things can give them a chance at a full, happy life. It's $40/month, that's just a couple of nice meals out or a pair of jeans to give these kids SO much! To sponsor one of my boys or to find out more information, please look at Family Legacy's website: http://familylegacy.com/fathers-heart/. Feel free to ask me any questions as well!

Jonathan- The Baby

Because Jonathan was the youngest and smallest in the group, he always stood at the front of the line and closest to me. He is 6 years old and is the only one of his siblings that lives at home (his other siblings live in the village). He says his parents care for him, but his father and mother fight often because his mother misuses the food money and spends it on other things. His mother works as a maid and he doesn’t know what his father does; he just knows that his father is the one who brings the food home. However they don’t make enough money to pay for school fees so that Jonathan can attend school. He is forced to spend many nights at his grandmother’s house for reasons that he doesn’t know. He heard about Jesus for the first time at Camp LIFE and asked Jesus into his heart! He has the most adorable personality and laugh, and he truly has a joyful spirit despite living in one of the poorest parts of the nation.


Simon- The Rowdy One

Simon was the charming, yet mischievous one in the group. He was always causing trouble, but still being as cute as ever in doing so. Simon is 8 years old and lives with his five siblings and both parents. His parents don’t have jobs, so they are making no money at the moment, which also means that they have no money to pay for food or school fees. Simon doesn’t attend school and only eats one meal a day. This was his first week at camp, and he asked Jesus into his heart after hearing about the Gospel for the first time! Please be praying that God would provide his parents with jobs so they can provide for his family, and that he would be able to attend school.

Ernest- The Bold Boy

My Ernest had no inhibitions! He was always bold, unafraid to speak up, and definitely a little rowdy at times! But all the while, he was my sweet little boy that just wanted to be loved on. Ernest is 8 years old and lives with his aunt, uncle, and three siblings. His parents have passed away, from what I understood from him, it was about two years ago. He is afraid of the dark and of witch doctors in his community, which probably live very close to him. Ernest has bad dreams very often, so pray for those to stop for him. This was his first time to ever come to Camp LIFE, and his first time to hear about Jesus. He put his trust in Jesus during his week at camp and asked Him into his heart! Please be praying that he would be able to go to school and receive food through a sponsorship.

Edwin- The Sweetheart

Edwin has a smile that will melt your heart, as you can see in his picture! He was shy, sweet, and gentle-spirited, never once harsh or mean to the other boys. Edwin is 7 years old and in first grade. He lives with both parents, his older sister, and his younger brother. His mother makes money to send him to school by doing “piece jobs”, or various pick-up jobs that she can find. However it’s not enough money to pay for enough food for their family- Edwin eats only two times a day: tea in the morning (yes, they consider tea a meal) and shima in the afternoon. His family is surrounded by dark neighbors, and Edwin is afraid of the witch doctors. This was his first week at camp, and when asked if he wanted to accept Jesus into his heart and life, he said yes! Pray that God would provide more steady income for his family and that there would be enough money for food and schooling.



Martin- The Chill One

While the other kids were off running around (sometimes going berserk!), Martin would just sit right next to me and relax. He never let the other boys really get to him, he was always so laid back and chill. Martin is 10 years old, one of my oldest boys, and he currently lives with his brothers and sister while his parents are away trying to find work in the village. (His oldest brother is in grade 11). Martin does not go to school even though the oldest brother does; the parents have enough money to pay for the eldest to attend, but not enough to send Martin to school as well. In his one- or two-room house, he sleeps on the floor of the sitting room every night. Martin came to camp with one of the worst ear infections the camp nurse had ever seen, so please be in prayer for his health. He came to know Jesus at Camp LIFE and gave his life to Christ during the week I spent with him!

 
Patrick- The Quirky One

Patrick was my quirky little jokester! All of the boys would laugh when I tried to speak Nyanja, but Patrick would impersonate me all throughout the day. He loved having my attention! Patrick is 10 years old, lives with his uncle and his father, and has one younger brother. His mother passed away last year from malaria, so Patrick and his brother are single orphans. He is in grade two at school, his father pays for his school fees (but Patrick doesn’t know where he works). His grandmother was a witch doctor and influenced his family a lot before she moved to the village, so Patrick is no stranger to darkness. However, Patrick is now walking in the light since he put his trust in Jesus at Camp LIFE this year! Be praying for sponsorship for Patrick so he can receive food and education, and have a chance at breaking free of his dark community.



Teddy- The Leader

Teddy is 8 years old, and he was definitely one of the leaders of the group! The younger boys looked up to him and followed him as their example. He lives with his four older brothers and sisters; and they are all single orphans. Their mother is still alive, but their father died when Teddy was very little. Supporting five kids on her own, she sells water to try to provide for her family. Teddy only eats one meal a day, and his mother doesn’t make enough to feed him any more or to send him to school. He heard about Jesus for the first time at Camp LIFE this year, and he put his trust in Him during his week there! Please be praying for my sweet Teddy, that someone would sponsor him so he can receive food and a great education.

 
 

Michael- The Cool Kid

My Michael was definitely putting off the “too cool for school” vibe the whole week! He’s 11 years old, so he was one of my oldest kids, and he really took his time letting his guard down. By the end of his week of camp, it was obvious that Michael was really loving his time at camp! He lives with both parents and his six siblings. He sleeps on the floor of the sitting room every night and eats tea and shima for his meals each day. He’s in grade 3, his schooling is paid for by his dad who is a painter. It was his first time at Camp LIFE this year, and he heard about Jesus for the first time in his life! He put his trust in Jesus and asked him into his heart! Be praying for my Michael, that he would be sponsored and be provided with food and education!




Joseph- The Shy One

It took me the longest to get to know Joseph. He was very reserved and shy, but by the end of the week at camp, he let his joy shine out and it was obvious that he was having the time of his life! Joseph showed up to camp with a deep cough, something that he’d been suffering from for a long time. However, after taking him to the nurse’s tent early in the week, we got him all fixed up by the time he left on Friday. He lives with both of his parents and his younger brother. He loves his family but lives in a very dark part of town. Pray for Joseph’s health, education, and safety; and pray that my sweet boy would be sponsored soon to receive food and education.

handled with care.

 I'm officially home now!! Here's what I wrote in London Heathrow before I caught my flight back home!


I’m sitting in the London Heathrow airport right now, Starbucks in hand, with almost THREE full hours before my flight to Dallas leaves. There’s no internet so this probably won’t be posted until I get home, but I wanted to share how faithful our God is, even in the small things.

I’m flying all the way home from Zambia alone, and that really terrified me before I left. The other summer staff girls know how anxious I was about the whole process.. the only time I’ve flown solo was from Dallas to College Station- suuuuper big deal, right? With that experience, flying halfway across the WORLD by myself had been kind of looming over my head. Not only that, but my halfway stop is London, and the Olympics still going strong here, so I realllly didn’t know what to expect.

Needless to say, this two-day solo trip of mine has been covered in prayer. And God has so faithfully and sweetly answered those prayers! In Lusaka, the usually mile-long security line was non-existent, leaving me plenty of time to get through the other checkpoints and onto my flight. Now I have this slightly irrational fear that security will find something wrong with my luggage or with my visa or something as I’m trying to leave the country, but praise the Lord, nothing like that happened! The flight to London was fine, got a little sleep, but it was so smooth and I was so at ease the whole time. Now arriving in London was much more scary to me. This airport is HUGE, and I had the challenge of switching terminals without finding myself in the middle of the city. So I arrived, walked right up to the immigration desk (another miles-long line avoided, thank you Jesus), and found the Heathrow Express. Here was the tricky part. My hotel, the cleverly named Yotel, was in Terminal 4 and my flight unloaded in Terminal 5. One quick tube ride between these terminals, right? Wrong. From Terminal 5, you can take the Heathrow Express to Heathrow Central, which is Terminals 1 & 3, and then transfer and hop on another train to take you to Terminal 4. Finding the right trains could have been tricky, but it wasn’t! God is so good! So I get to Terminal 4 and now have to locate the Yotel. Found it, got settled in, and had a lovely evening to myself.

This morning, the first challenge was waking up on time. If you know me at all, you probably know that I am a HEAVY sleeper and have had my fair share of oversleeping experiences. I set three alarms (my iPod, my alarm clock, AND my watch) just in case, and I woke up to the first one! YAY! Here was my plan: anticipating Olympics crowds, I had planned to leave my room at 8am for my 11:45 flight. I had no idea how long I would have to wait for the tubes back to Terminal 5, and I was expecting security to be a straight-up nightmare. Not the case for either of these. I literally hurdled myself and my carry-ons onto the first train as the doors were closing (miracle) and had to wait only ten minutes for the next one. In about 20 minutes I was already back in Departures in Terminal 5. (I was expecting that to take waaaay longer.) Since I had already been checked in for both flights back in Lusaka, I just had to go through security. The whole darn process took 5 minutes. No lines, no waiting, just walked right up and made it through. An hour after I left my hotel room in Terminal 4, I was standing in line for my first Starbucks in two months, essentially ready to board my flight. So I figured I’d blog about it all since I have SO much extra time.

Here’s what I love about all of this. God knew just how nervous I was to fly across the world all alone. He knew my fears and He looked through my eyes and saw how looming of a task I thought this was. The whole time I’ve been navigating the Lusaka and London airports, I’ve felt so held by Him. He literally has had his guiding arm around me, pointing me in the right direction each step of the way. My dad is always the one that I feel most comfortable traveling with- He knows how to navigate airports like it’s nobody’s business, and I never ever have to worry when he’s with me. If I trust my earthly father with such things, how could I have expected any less from my Heavenly Father this time? Like I said, my Daddy had His arm around me the whole time, just like my earthly Dad would have if He were with me. He showed me the way, and He went ahead and made the way EASY for me.

So here’s a thank you to the Lord for holding my hand through this whole trip! I realize that there are bigger things in this world than catching two flights alone, but even God took care of every detail of this task that seemed big to me, but small in relation to most of the other problems in the world. So, in all of this spare time that I have, I figured the best way to pass the time was to share about the faithfulness of my God and Father and thank Him for His provision and guidance! That’s all I’ve got for now!