In the sunflowers with Sunflower on my mind...as well as a couple of other blessings.

This is the first time I've gone on a mission trip as a mom.  I must say it is a very different experience compared to how it was b.c. (before children).  Whereas before the decision to go where there were people in desperate need of physical or spiritual care was as difficult as deciding whether or not to wear shoes that day, now I have hesitation.  Should I be home to see that my kids have healthy, three meals a day?  Should I be home in case one of them skins his knee?  Should I be home to make sure my kids learn their memory verse for the week?  Well, yes I should.  But the fact is that I am.  I'm home teaching them that Jesus says to give food to people who don't have any; clothe people who are naked; tell people about Jesus who don't know him...50 weeks a year.  It quickly became clear to me that actually going to DO these things for a week or two a year was just as valuable of a lesson to my boys as talking about it.

One of my new all-time favorite memories is sitting in my bedroom with J. this week while C. was taking a nap.  We had suitcases and aid supplies all over the floor, and J. helped me organize, sort and pack everything for Burma.  He'd say, "Mommy, you need more toothbrushes.  People in Burma don't have any; they'll have stinky mouth!  You need more toothbrushes!"  We're a little opposed to "stinky mouth" around here! ;)  He sorted VBS coloring pages and said, "Kids in Burma don't know Jesus.  They can color this picture of Jesus.  Jesus is praying in this picture.  Do kids in Burma pray?"  He helped me roll up 142 kids' tee-shirts and said, "Kids in Burma don't have any clothes.  You have to go give them clothes, Mommy.  They'll get cold."  I explained that I'd miss him so much when I was gone, and reminded him that I'd only be gone 10 days.  I asked him, "Why is Mommy going to Burma?"  He knew, at 4 yrs. old, that the answer was, "To help people.  Jesus says to help and love people.  You'll come back in TEN days!  I want to go help people, Mommy."

He wouldn't have learned any of that just talking about the Great Commission and going over memory verses.

So with that insight, I have great peace about going "home."  Have you ever been somewhere, away from your actual mortgage address, and was struck with the overwhelming feeling of, "This is where my soul was made to be"?  I get that feeling in much of southeast Asia, but nowhere as strongly as Burma.  The smell of Jasmine and Frangipani, the sounds of chanting monks in the morning, the lime juice, tanaka on little girls' faces, the sunflowers that grow too numerous to count in open fields, the most peaceful, yet strong and resilient people I've ever met, my Buddhist friends, my Burmese Christian family...all of it together feels like home to me in a way this English major just can't find words to describe, but I'm sure it's close to how a baby feels in the womb.

Please pray that God use us going on this trip for His purpose, that many see His light through us, that we're kept safe, that the aid makes it to Burma and to those who need it, and that those left behind-an amazingly supportive husband and two little boys in America and a baby girl in Ethiopia especially-are flooded with peace and easy living while I'm away. See you in ten days!