Be strong and courageous

Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everthing written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8-9

I have not written for a while, mostly because I was ridiculously busy trying to leave Florida for the last time, but also because there was almost too much for me to digest to get down in "ink." The week was a blur of people, goodbyes, packing and cleaning the mission house, etc. Lest you think there was nothing but tears, picture this: Barb and Troy Johnson, Marc and I on the sidewalk of the mission house on San Jose Blvd., transferring things from one bag to another while Marc stood on the scales and held the bags so we could weigh them. If people didn't think we were absolutely nuts, they simply weren't paying attention. There were tears, of course. Thursday night/Friday morning, when we left my aunt and uncle and my parents, were nothing short of traumatic. John John did not fully comprehend leaving until the time was at hand, and he wailed as we left. He has never known a life without Gigi and Raleigh, Mimi and Poppy. He cannot conceive of not having them with us. He thought Mimi and Poppy were coming to Richmond with us. It was terrible. Many, many tears. But God is good and faithful, and as much as He has a plan for my little family as we leave for Russia, He has an equally remarkable plan for my aunt and uncle and parents. I cannot wait to see what that plan is.

We arrived in Baltimore pretty much on schedule. One of our new bags was completely destroyed. I have travelled on airlines for almost 40 years, and I have never seen anything remotely like it. Thankfully, nothing came out of it, even though the bottom was basically torn off. Marc's home church sent a mini-bus to pick us up, and we were off to Westminster. Marc's parents have built a beautiful enclosed porch onto the back of their house, and we have thoroughly enjoyed being out there every morning, listening to the birds sing. They have a large back yard, and the kids have run and played and looked at birds through the binoculars and just had a wonderful time. Yesterday, Phil (Marc's dad) took Han and John to a farm to see llamas and cows and buffalo. If you know John John at all, you know that he had a wonderful time. He has really enjoyed playing games and running around. It has been fun watching them decompress. I have certainly discovered that how I feel (even more than how Marc feels) is how the family feels. There is no way the chaos and anxiety of the last two weeks in Florida could not have affected them. And those effects came out in different ways, but they came out, nonetheless. I am thankful for some time to rest and relax.

This part of my blog is for Lauren Crews: I bought the New Inductive Study Bible, because I haven't done a Precepts Bible study in a long time, and I wanted to practice my Bible Study skills. Oh, my goodness!!! I am thoroughly enjoying the Bible. If you have not experienced the kind of Bible study that Kay Arthur teaches, it is amazing. I like it because I want to discover truth for myself. I don't necessarily want to be led by someone else. I want to dig and dissect and analyze the language, the tenses, the imperatives, etc. If that isn't for you, then Kay Arthur isn't for you. But if it is your thing, I cannot emphasize enough the joy of really studying the Bible text for what it says and is. I have always believed the Scripture to be God-breathed and inerrant truth. But I am finding great joy in this part of my life as I get to really know the Scripture for myself. It is one of my goals during this first term with the IMB to become more of a Bible scholar than I am.

Well, I have blogged, I have eaten my Cheerios, I have had two cups of coffee, and I've spent some solid time in God's Word this morning. I can't think of a better way to start my day, can you? I hope wherever you are and whatever your circumstances, you can find the time to spend daily time in God's Word. If you can, I promise that it will be time well-spent. Without my knowledge of Scripture, I know that I could not have made it through the last two weeks. However, I can be strong and courageous, for I know that the LORD my God goes with me wherever I go. Blessings!

His,
Kellye