I checked on our flights this morning.
78 days until departure.
Our family’s journey back to Kenya has taken so long – the ability to put a specific and set number of days until we take off is a bit surreal. In the fall of 2016, we were sure that we would have left for Kenya in February of the New Year. But, the day after we came home from a trip to Kenya – our lives were flipped upside down but a little stick and a few purple lines.
Trip delayed. Life altered forever.
While most people are surprised by bad things that happen to them… we were surprised by shocking yet amazing news about the miraculous arrival of our baby. That bundle of joy arrived in May 2017 – a few month past our intended departure date.
Almost eight months after our original, planned departure date – Brian and Gabe will leaving three weeks before baby girl and I. Sweet Charleigh Marie will be six months old when she boards a plane bound for Kenya. She will be my lap baby – and while it may seem inconvenient to some to hold a baby for two long flights and throughout a long layover… I am looking forward to the comfort and joy she brings wherever she is. While my mind has been swirling, pondering, puzzling and agonizing over details – she naps, eats, fills a diaper, cries, smiles, kicks, coos and giggles. She goes where I go with no commentary or opinions to share. She just hangs on for the ride.
Yes, she will be a joy to hold onto for the long, long day of travel. I hope to glean from her ability to put 100% trust in her parents. I would love to follow and trust the Lord as she follows and trusts her parents. I don’t even know if that is possible for me to lay aside my thoughts and agenda. After years and years of waiting, planning, learning and working toward the start of Kijani Farm – its here! Now is the time to be a joy-filled person. Now is the time to lay aside any thoughts other than those focused on each day and living it to the fullest in the USA. Now is the time to focus on what lies ahead and pray that we are as prepared as we always imagined ourselves to be. Now is the time to be excited… the building Kijani Farm has started and its time to dedicate ourselves to the calling God placed on our hearts years ago. Now is the time to simply follow and trust.
I Had a Farm in Africa 