We are going to ETHIOPIA!

Yes, it's time to talk about it.  We've been keeping it a semi-secret since July, whispering about it with just family and a few friends.  It seemed so far off and mostly surreal -- a fleeting thought.  But in those three months, our flights have been booked, I've gotten five (5!) shots, and we have lined up a translator and a place to stay.  So yes, this is real.  In November, less than six weeks away, Andy and I will board a plane and travel over 17 hours to Africa.  Just the two of us.

When we first started talking about doing this, it was a joke.  We had a good friend who had just moved there in June, and we started joking about going to visit her, instead of going to the Caribbean like we had been planning.  But then, through a series of many connected encounters, conversations, books, and prayers, God told us to go to Ethiopia.  It's so hard to explain that to people.  It's not like a roaring voice from heaven spoke to us.  It was a whisper in both of our hearts which grew stronger and bolder each day.  We discussed the possibility of doing some scouting work for medical missions, and our outreach pastor approved it.  We contacted our friend and asked if she had plans over Thanksgiving and she jumped at the chance to have us come stay with her in Ethiopia.  It started becoming a reality, and so we started making serious plans to go.

 

From the outset, we really didn't have any expectations.  We knew we wanted to experience the country, look for opportunities to bring a medical team there in the future, and accompany our friend during her mission work.  We hoped to visit some ministries and orphanages -- not that we thought we had anything to offer -- but so that we could put faces to our prayers, lock eyes, hold hands, and love.

But then our already tentative plans got turned upside down.  Our friend had to come back to the states unexpectedly.  We no longer had a place to stay or a contact on the ground.  Now what?

We kept praying.  People assumed our trip was cancelled.  Yet as we prayed we felt like the answer was not "No," but "Trust Me." 

There is fear.  There is doubt.  There is the constant question: "Are we hearing You right?"  Both of us keep going back to the assurance that God told us to do this and so far He hasn't told us no.  We have lots of questions and not a whole lot of concrete answers.  We do have a new place to stay.  We have an amazing translator to accompany us.  We have a few ideas of what we'll do while we're there.  But other than that, we're waiting and we're trusting.

This is new for me. I'm a planner by nature.  I like to know what I'm getting into and I love to prepare for everything.  I research things beforehand, I read books, and I plan details.  I like to know the outcomes and be ready for any and every possibility.  I've always wished I could be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants girl, but at this age, I've finally accepted that's just not me.  So as you can see, this doesn't fit into my neat little prepare-for-everything box.

I just have to laugh because Andy and I created this blog three months ago, with the purpose of writing about Ethiopia.  The name of the blog -- Trust With No Borders -- comes from a song that captured our hearts as we were  praying specifically about this trip.  From" Oceans" by Hillsong:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
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

Our desire and prayer was to embrace trust without borders, to not put God into our little box and dictate our future to Him.  To be open to whatever He had for us.  To listen for His call, take His hand, and trust Him even when our own faith faltered.

He took that prayer and made it real.  He removed the little sense of comfort and security we'd been clinging to and said, "Okay, now will you still trust Me?"

I read this in a study I was doing just days after finding out our plans had changed:

"We tend to want to see the big picture complete with all the details before stepping out in obedience to God.  We long for a cost analysis where we can weigh what we'd be gaining and then decide if the trade is worth it.  God wants to know if we're willing to give up what we love to Him who loves us more.  He desires for us to open our fists and trust Him with absolutely everything."  -- Lysa Terkheurst, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God

Trust without borders.  Trust that breaks free from my safe, little box and steps into the unknown.  Unsure of the future, but confident that my God is right there beside me. Trust that opens my fist to take the hand of the One who promises to be with us wherever we go.  It's what we prayed for when we first started this adventure.

"Do not be afraid, for I will be with you and will protect you!"  Jeremiah 1:8

"I am the LORD your God. I take hold of your right hand. I say to you, 'Do not be afraid. I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13