Reflections

The two weeks since Haley has been home have been full of joys and challenges for our family, and words will never adequately describe the thoughts and emotions that have overtaken me especially.  During worship on the first Sunday after she was home, tears were just spilling out all over my shirt before I even knew they were there.  Tears of gratitude and tears of thinking how great our God is.  A heart so full of thanksgiving to Him for bringing our baby back home to us and for all that He had done in her and through her.  Her stories are still coming out, and there is just no way I can even attempt to capture them into words to share with you.  I so wish I could because I know you would be so blessed. 

There have also been some tears of frustration lately over some recent circumstances, and I was really struggling to figure it all out.  When a friend of mine gave me some random verses to look up, she had no idea how one of them would end up standing out and being so pivotal in recognizing what was going on.  Then it made perfect sense.  The devil is really unhappy with us right now, and he's been taking every chance he can to just hurl arrows at us.  Just check out these verses:

"A final word:  Be strong with the Lord's mighty power.  Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.  Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.  For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for Christians everywhere."  Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT

I'm just so thankful that my focus has been turned back to God's truth and that the Word of God is alive and active in my heart!  The whole armor of God is so important to put on every day, and for me personally, that shield of faith is on and ready to dodge any more bullets!

Speaking of faith, check this out:   

After Haley arrived home, she received this in the mail from someone with these words written in a card:

"Welcome home!  I will be praying for you as you adjust!  And here is some seed $ for the next place God calls you -- for I am sure He will."  

Wow.  If that doesn't give us something to ponder and pray about, I'm not sure what does!  This didn't come from someone with piles of money.  This was joyously and sacrificially given in faith!!  May God bless this family!

Back to Haley . . . one of the main things I have noticed since her return is just how peaceful and joyful and full of the Spirit she is.  Yep, she's still human and far from perfect, but she's feeling something uniquely different on the inside.  She realizes that so many of the things in life that we get all stressed about just really don't matter in the long run.  She has a new appreciation for the awesome power of God, and the words "only my God could do such a thing" have come from her mouth multiple times.  She's still tired and still has things to put away and has many things on her mental to-do list, but last night she shared with me that normally that would stress her out and she'd have to get them on paper and get them done, but now that sense of urgency just isn't there like it used to be because all those "things" really don't matter.  She feels as though she should probably be a little more stressed than what she is, but yet she's feeling such immense peace and joy in her life right now, and she's not ready to give in to all those pressures that could so easily squelch her spirit. 

As we were sharing in this most delightful conversation, I kept wondering to myself what the world would be like if every American teenager at age 17 would have to spend two months in Africa or another poverty-stricken place.  They'd all gain a much different perspective of life and the world in which we live, and I have a hunch the world would be a lot different than what it is today.  Obviously Haley's been called to do this and the effect on her is much different than on someone who has been forced to do so.  God prepared her heart in such a way to be willing to sacrifice her comforts of home for the sake of helping others, and in turn He has blessed her with an amazing sense of peace and joy that can only come from Him. 

After thinking about that a lot last night, some pictures came to my attention on Facebook this morning, and they coincided perfectly with this topic.  Just think . . . if every teenager's daily routine looked like this for a couple months of their life, I think there would be at least a few positive changes amongst a lot of them. 

An hour every day -- praying and in the Word of God.

Especially fun in the dark!

Keep in mind that there is just a 10-foot hole dug underneath this little seat. 

Showers consist of baby wipes and cold water, and it was hard work just to get this water! 

PB&J -- lunch every day for two months.  

But wait!

What if all of us as adults would experience these kinds of things for a month or two?  How differently would we view life?  How would our lives change?  Would we get so wrapped up in some of the petty little details of life?  Would we value our relationships more?  Love more?  Serve more?  What would we do to make the world a better place?  Share the truth of God's word more? 

As I was driving this morning, a song came on that I don't remember ever hearing before, but the lyrics were so moving, and "only my God" could have brought it to my attention today of all days.  Check it out:

(If you click in the middle and then click on "Watch on YouTube," it should open up and start playing via YouTube.)

God's obviously doing some things to get my attention.  I'm curious what He's doing with you. 

Haley's Homecoming!!!

I hardly know where to begin!  The last few days have just been filled with a whole lot of excitement around here!

Our week started out with one major task on our list that we wanted to accomplish:  to paint Haley's bathroom before she got home.  When we moved here seven years ago, the very first room that we painted was our guest bedroom in our basement.  Why?  I don't really know other than I knew exactly what was going in there, and I knew the color I wanted.  There is an adjoining bathroom next to it, and painting that the same color with the leftover paint was always on my list of things to do, but other rooms around this house always crept up higher on the priority list, and eventually it just wasn't that important anymore. 

Well, a few months ago a guest of ours was taking a shower down there, and because of an injury he was dealing with, he somehow fell into the towel rod, and it creased it good and proper.  Replacing it seemed like an easy fix, but we found out that brass 30-inch rods are just not available anymore, so then we knew we had a little bigger dilemma on our hands.  Finally last week Friday night, I grabbed Harris by the hand and said, "Let's go find some new fixtures.  I want to have Haley's bathroom fixed up before she comes home."  (She sleeps in a different bedroom in the basement.)  Kelsey went along too, and it became a really fun night of also picking out some travel-related posters to hang in our basement family room, which we had painted shortly before Haley left.  Kelsey, my artsy girl who loves anything French, suggested a travel theme for our basement, and when Harris spotted a poster with this verse on it, it all started coming together for us:

That led to a whole grouping on our large wall, and we figured Haley might come home with a few pieces to add in somewhere!  We're planning on having a whole lot of fun with it!  Can you spot the verse in one of the pictures?

This week we were so excited to get the bathroom put together.  Nothing fancy or elaborate but we knew that Haley would appreciate having a freshly painted bathroom complete with towel rod when she came home.  Feel free to ask her about the kind of "bathrooms" she's been using for the last two months, and you'll understand why a shower, toilet, and hot running water have become so appreciated by her!

After we had put the last finishing touches on everything late Wednesday night, Harris and I were laying in bed and discussing the next few days.  His dad had asked him to go to a couple sales for him on Friday and Saturday, so that meant he was going to need to leave late Thursday night after he'd spent adequate time with Haley, and he wanted to know if I would ride along with him to Pella so I could drive a vehicle back home since he had sold his car earlier in the week.  The thought of being away from Haley so soon after she arrived home was horrible for both of us, and I was too tired to even think about making such a decision, so we drifted off to sleep rather quickly without finishing the discussion. 

Just a few short hours later, Haley called bright and early from the airport in Dallas with a few questions about her flight.  Despite my exhaustion, I could no longer sleep, and my excitement level all morning was completely out of control!  Words cannot describe how giddy I was!  I was so incredibly thankful that God had brought her thus far and was completely trusting in Him to deliver her into our arms by 6:06 p.m. that night!  I went to the office, but while she was having a 5-hour layover in Atlanta, she called and spoke with Harris and I on speakerphone for nearly an hour.  I had never been so thankful to hear the sound of her laughter! 

And then it happened.  Harris decided to break his weekend agenda to her.  As she was trying to grasp what he was doing and why, he kind of threw it in there that he was going to need someone to go to Pella with him, and she immediately jumped in with "I'll go!!!!!  Then I can see everyone!" 

What?????  It was bad enough for me to think about leaving her, even though she probably would have slept the whole time I was gone, but the thought of her leaving me and sharing her stories with everyone without me was way worse, so I sulked and pouted about that for the next few minutes . . . until it dawned on me that maybe we could just all go with Harris and enjoy the ride together and the day in Pella!!!  Crazy, I know, but you have to understand that that's how our family rolls -- sometimes totally crazy, random, and spontaneous!  Who would have thought that she would have been so willing to give up her bed her first night home?  But that's just how much she loves her family!

The rest of the afternoon was a mad rush of rearranging and making new plans.  How could we still get Kelsey's sports physical done by Monday morning, where would we sleep, would Heath want to take off work and go with us, and how could we maximize our time on such short notice with a whole lot of family in the Pella area who she would be very excited to see?  It was a little bit intense. 

In a message to me partway through her trip, she had indicated that she wanted just our family at the airport so as to not be totally overwhelmed with a whole host of people, but when her uncle Vance gave her a hard time on the phone yesterday afternoon, she very quickly gave in and decided their family could be at the airport too!  We all made it to the airport just a few minutes before she arrived.  Here are a few pictures for you!

Keaton had informed me several times that he missed her more than anyone!  He was pretty quick to be the first in line to hug her. 

Alexa was right there with a big hug!

Haley realized while she was gone that she's even more of a daddy's girl than she already thought she was, and her daddy was just pretty tickled to have her back in his arms as well!

Three years ago when Haley went to Australia for three weeks, she came home and found out that in that time frame, Heath had some pretty life-changing experiences which caused him not to be at the airport, so she made him promise that he'd be there this time.  He was!

His girlfriend, Jenny, has been a part of our family for a few months.  Vance and Steph are in the background.  My other picture of them turned out way too blurry. 

Shanda was quietly observing, and all of a sudden, Haley realized that she hadn't given her a hug yet! 

It about killed Karson to not be there, but he was at football practice.

Keaton and Alexa just couldn't get enough of her!

Need I say anything more?

So happy to have my baby girl in my arms!!

Haley and Kelsey couldn't be any more opposite, but they are having a wonderful time reconnecting and are looking forward to swimming and being in high school together! 

A very happy girl!

At that moment in time, I think the whole world could have been there to greet her, and she would have been a very happy camper, but it made for a very special family reunion with it being a smaller group!

Once she realized that her swim team was having their annual family picnic, she decided that she wanted to make a brief appearance since she is one of the three captains this year.  If the coach hadn't been in the middle of his spiel, the whole place may have erupted with jubilation upon her arrival, but instead Caitlyn had to calmly keep Taylor from giving Haley the jump hug she had threatened to do if Haley showed up.  They just got to calmly introduce her instead. 

A plop on the couch was the first "Ah, I'm home!" moment, but then Harris quickly whisked her away to show her the pickup she'll now be driving.  That gave me a chance to get dinner ready, and the rest of the evening was filled with good food, lively conversation, Haley's first real shower in two months, and souvenir distribution. 

She even shared with us a few other "treasures" from her suitcase.  This was supposedly the cleaner pair of the two.  I have yet to fully dive in to discover the contents.  Is another day really going to matter?!?

At about 10:45 p.m., we left for Pella, and within the first 10 miles, Haley was sound asleep. We quietly entered Harris's parents' home at 1 a.m., quickly crashed, and ended up having the whole morning to ourselves to rest at their house because they had an appointment in town at 8 a.m.  Eventually we headed to our former chiropractor's office for Kelsey's sports physical and then splurged a little to get a treat for the ride home. 

We felt like such tourists, but who could resist a trip to the bakery?  We had to celebrate a little bit!

Neither of my brothers' families could come, but we sure enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon of fellowship at the park with my sister and her girls . . .

. . . Harris's parents and his brother's wife and three boys . . .

. . . and my parents.

On our way home, she found out that a few of her friends were gathered together watching a movie tonight, so she decided to surprise them with a little visit!  I would have loved to have seen the expressions on their faces when she walked in the room! 

I wish I could somehow share all the stories and details that we've been hearing, but there is just no way that I can do it justice. You just have to hear it from Haley! She had such a fabulous time, and I really hope that she will have ample opportunities to share with all those who want to know more. God proved Himself very faithful and did so many things in her and through her. We're so very proud of her and her willingness to sacrifice so much, all for the sake of following Christ's call on her life.

From here on, life will start returning back to "normal" for our family.  I'm not sure any of us really know what that is anymore because we've been so focused on Haley going to Africa for so long.  Huge kudos to Heath, Kelsey, and Keaton for their hearts and attitudes throughout all of this.  I would imagine at times they felt as though all attention was given to Haley, but they have been so supportive throughout the whole journey, and I'm so proud of them.

Harris has survived.  To be honest, it was not easy for him to send her.  Even though he gave her his blessing early on in the process, he struggled at times with whether or not we had made the right decision in letting her go.  He just wanted to know that she would come back physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy, but he knew that if God called her to it, He would bring her through it.  He really missed her, and last Sunday he commented, "I'm just really ready to love on my girl." 

That leaves me.  An African excursion from a mom's perspective.  You've heard everything from me that you could possibly hear.  Communicating through this blog has been such an awesome outlet for me, and now that her experience is over, I'm not sure where to go from here.  I have loved the writing process and sharing pictures with you.  There may be future entries on here, and there may not be.  All I know is that if God prompts me with something to write about like He has been doing, I will keep writing and trusting that someone needs to read it.  There were times in this process that I have felt as though my heart was probably a little more exposed than I was comfortable with, and I would wonder why I was setting myself up for potential public scrutiny.  My whole goal was that somehow my vulnerability would help someone else in some way, shape, or form and also bring God tremendous glory.  He has been so faithful! 

As I potentially close this down, I can't help but wonder what God has taught YOU throughout this whole experience.  Maybe God's placed a nudging on your heart to do something missions-related.  Maybe God's taught you a lesson in faithfulness or trust or whatever.  Maybe you supported Haley financially and He blessed you for your obedience.  Whatever it is, would you be willing to be vulnerable and share it so as to give HIM the glory??? 

If so, feel free to publicly make a comment here or else email me at thewesterkamps@msn.com.  If you give me your permission in that email, I would love to post it here for others to read either with your name or anonymously. 

To GOD be ALL the glory, forever and ever!!  Amen

Think About It

Haley has been traveling for the last three days, and we are praising the Lord tonight that she has arrived safely back in the United States of America!!  She texted and called a couple quick times throughout the day today, and interestingly enough, Kelsey and Keaton were there to answer the phone when it would ring instead of me, so it was fun for them to be able to talk with her a little bit.  Evidently the C-trippers' flights got a little mixed up, and they had to sprint through the Atlanta airport in an effort to catch their flight to Dallas, but all was well. 

Then the shuttle that was supposed to take them to Global's headquarters in Garden Valley, Texas, was broken down, so they got to ride in a really nice big bus instead along with a group of kids who were coming back from Australia.  Once she was situated for her two-hour ride, she called, and we got to talk for nearly an hour!!!  Nothing else mattered around here at that moment, and it was so incredibly good to connect. 

I wish I could say that everything was perfectly fine, but to be honest, she was exhausted and feeling very overwhelmed.  First of all, her body was telling her it was 4 a.m., and she'd had very little sleep in the last couple of days.  Her last shower had been on Saturday, and it wasn't exactly the type of shower that she will enjoy once she gets back home.  Her wavering voice told me that she could burst into tears at any given moment, and basically she was just ready to be back home. 

Don't get me wrong.  She had an amazing time and cannot wait to tell us all about her experiences and adventures.  We saved those stories for when she can share them with all of us.  Instead, I did my best to catch her up on what's been going on around here.  Not knowing how long we would be able to talk, we talked about some of the big stuff first:  her role as a swim captain and the events that are already occurring, swim season officially starting next week, back to school the next, whether or not to graduate early, her two jobs that she held before she went, the vehicle swaps that have been occurring around here, Heath going back to school this fall, and Grandpa's health.  I had been attempting to keep her updated with daily messages, but evidently our messages did not get through to her when she was in Zambia.  We had a LOT to catch up on! 

As we worked our way through all those topics, I could hear some anxiety in her voice several times.  Slowly but surely, I was able to reassure her that life will fall back into place just as God intends it to, and it will all work out okay.  We just need to take one day at a time and trust that He will work out every single detail in His timing.  By the time we were finished talking, she was a lot calmer, was laughing, and even introduced me to a couple of her friends and let me talk to them.  Supposedly we're going to adopt her friend Ashlynn, a/k/a "Cho," from North Carolina into our family.  Combine her and the 18 African orphans, plus our French "daughter," Charlene, who Harris informed me he'd adopt in a heartbeat, and I'm thinking we could become quite the cultured bunch around here!  (Charlene called yesterday and talked with most of us, and it was so fun to hear from her!!)

But seriously, as I was working on painting Haley's bathroom tonight, I couldn't help but think about what it will be like for her to come back to her life here and would covet your prayers on her behalf.  Think about it!

* Over the course of the next few days and months and probably longer, she'll be bombarded with the question of "How was your trip?" and she'll somehow need to find the words to sum up two months' worth of God-directed, life-changing moments into a nice little summary or else need to be willing to answer questions for hours.

* She will have seen extreme poverty and will come back to a nation of materialistic people who can never get enough.  As Harris said, much grace will be required. 

* She will be surrounded by people who do not know the Lord, and now she will need to figure out how to live amongst them and witness to them without being labeled some kind of Jesus freak. 

* She'll hit the pavement running when it comes to being thrown into her role as one of the swim team captains.  No rest for the weary. 

* Her body will need to adjust back into some sense of normalcy, and her stomach will hopefully welcome American food again. 

* She's been living in winter conditions, and her skin will be white compared to all her friends who probably have a beautiful tan from being at the pool all summer.  She'll come from 20-degree nights where she huddled together with her friends in a tent to keep warm to 100+ degrees Texas heat where they have no AC in the dorms.  Then she can come home to a nice comfortable, normal temp at home!

* She will have missed out on all kinds of social activities back home and will need to jump back into her friendships.  Instead of knowing their inside jokes, the horror stories and the miracles that she experienced instead will be flashing through her mind.  She'll need to find common ground with them again. 

* She'll be leaving a whole bunch of new friends who have become family to her for the past two months.  She's very thankful for Facebook! 

I think the hardest part is where does she go from here?  She's now had the trip to Africa that she's always dreamed of having!  Will she go back?  Will God ever call her there full-time?  She'll now need to face the next chapter of her life, whatever that may be.  It's a little daunting for her to think about.  Going to Africa has been her life for so long, and now it's over!  At least for now. 

Pray with me, would you?  Thank you so very much!

She's Getting Closer!!!

Sunday morning we woke up to a short little Facebook message from Haley: 

"ohhhh i am soo ready for a stair hug from papa and to see your smiling face!!!! i cannot wait... i've gots my phone all charged up and ready to call you when i step foot into the states! not that i don't trust you but a quick reminder: ppppplease set up for me a chiro! the african soil has been killin my back! life i...s good here on this side of the world and God is amazing! i can't wait to see all of you and tell you bout it!!!!! love love love love love love! tell mi papa and mi chico chiquito hello:)) see you soon dear!"

And another one posted as her status to everyone: 

"ahhh!!! i am so excited... i get to spend the next 3 days ish of my life in airports! but it means i'm going home so all is well! i do know however that the moment i step on american soil i will miss afrika! i can't wait to see everyone though!"

Between her and her friend Beth's posts, they gave a little bit of an itinerary, but it has differed greatly from what was posted on Global's website since before the trip, so that has caused much confusion for me all day.  I know it doesn't really matter which way she's coming home, but I'll be honest!  Not knowing whether she's on an 18-hour flight from South Africa all the way to the States OR flying home via Paris is just a little unnerving for some reason!  I have found myself trying to track what I thought might be her flights, but it was all so confusing.  I even called the parent hotline, and they told me to follow what's on the website. 

Well, right before I headed to bed tonight, I decided to make one quick stop at the computer just to see if any new information had been posted, and amazingly enough, Beth was online!!  It turns out that the girls knew exactly where they were going when they posted their itineraries on Sunday.  They are currently in the Paris airport as I type!!  Their C group is on a different itinerary than the B trippers, and that was the missing link that we knew nothing about.  Beth wasn't with Haley at the moment, but she said she'd try and tell Haley to get online so we could chat.  I'm still waiting . . .

According to Beth, they should be back in the States this afternoon, and then they will be taken to Global's headquarters again for a time of debriefing before they send them all back to their families.  Haley will be flying home on Thursday, and we cannot wait to see her!!!  She has specifically asked that just her family greet her at the airport, but friends are getting excited to see her too, so we're making plans for that as well.  It is going to be so awesome to have her back in our presence!!!  It just isn't the same around here without her. 

Please continue to pray for safe flights and for a smooth transition back into American culture.  She's going to have to hit the pavement running when it comes to getting back into the groove of things.  Thank you all so much for praying for her throughout her trip!!  God bless you all!

Update!!  Just as I was ready to sign off for the night, Haley popped online, and we were able to chat for a little bit!!  It was so good to "hear" from her.  We were able to discuss a few necessary items, and then we finished up with what she would like for her first meal back home.  She has opted for "steak or chicken and potatoes -- or even pancakes will suffice.  Anything American."  We can do that, baby!  We can do it! 

Another update!!  Evidently Global was avoiding posting their flight plan as an extra level of precaution, so this posting has been modified from its previous version.  If you read this prior to now and were wondering about the changes, that is why.

Love It!

I just love, love, love, love, love it when the Holy Spirit does something so amazing that proves His unmistakable presence in our lives!!  I live for those moments!

My alarm was set for 7 a.m. this morning, but after tossing and turning for probably 20 minutes, I decided to go ahead and get up at 6:50 a.m. instead.  Lately I've been feeling very convicted about my priorities because in my sleepy state in the mornings, the first thing I typically turn to is either the computer, the news on TV, or the laundry pile, and then depending on how my morning goes, my quiet time with God doesn't always happen as ideally as it should.  Distractions come, and either my time is cut short, is not as meaningful, or just doesn't end up happening.  He's been working on my conscience on that issue for a while, and it's been getting better, but life still happens, and I'm still far from perfect.

Well, this morning I just had a very strong feeling that I was SUPPOSED to check Facebook right away.  Knowing what God's been doing with me, I really tried hard to suppress what I figured was Satan's ploy with my head, but somehow it felt different, and the feeling just couldn't be shaken.

When I opened up Facebook, this status update from the Zambia page was staring me in the face:

"Prayers needed!!!  Our young people are doing something AMAZING at 2 p.m. here in Zambia (7 a.m. Central time).  We will be doing a MAJOR ministry site. We have been going hut to hut inviting the locals to come to a large soccer field. Just yesterday the local 'black doctor' gave his life to Christ.  Him and his son have said ...that they were going to use their tractor to 'bus' people in." 

Is God just so amazing or what???  I love hearing about what all He is doing in and through this team of people!  And if I hadn't followed the Holy Spirit's prompting, I may not have known to pray right at that moment!  I LOVE it!!

And then I must confess:  I went ahead and looked through the next batch of pictures that her leaders posted, and right towards the end was this one of my baby girl:

That's the closest thing I've seen of her in 6 and a half weeks, and it just makes this mama wanna cry and give her a hug and a big kiss on those cheeks!!  The comment below the picture explains that part of their core values is to be authentic, and they were making masks to demonstrate how important it is to be real instead of wearing masks.

So after that I went to my favorite "prayer chair" to pray and finished my devotions by reading a passage in Romans.  In light of many things going on in my life right now, it spoke to me in so many different ways.  I love it when God's word just jumps off the page at me!!  It's a little long, but it's just too good not to share with you!  

"And so, dear Christian friends, I (Paul) plead with you to give your bodies to God.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice -- the kind He will accept.  When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask?  Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. 

"As God's messenger, I give each of you this warning:  Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.  Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body.  We are all parts of His one body, and each of us has different work to do.  And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.

"God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.  So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you.  If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well.  If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.  If your gift is to encourage others, do it!  If you have have money, share it generously.  If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.  And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. 

"Don't just pretend that you love others.  Really love them.  Hate what is wrong.  Stand on the side of the good.  Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.

"Be glad for all God is planning for you.  Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.  When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out.  And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 

"If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.  When others are happy, be happy with them.  If they are sad, share their sorrow.  Live in harmony with each other.  Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people.  And don't think you know it all! 

"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.  Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 

"Dear friends, never avenge yourselves.  Leave that to God.  For it is written, 'I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,' says the Lord.  Instead do what the Scriptures say:  'If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.'  Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good."  Romans 12:1-21, NLT

Whew!  My mind is still whirling from all the thoughts in that passage!  Then God finished off my July 29 reading by showing me these verses:

"Future generations will also serve Him.  Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord.  His righteous acts will be told to those yet unborn.  They will hear about everything He has done."  Psalm 22:30-31, NLT

Haley's not only HEARING about the wonders of the Lord; she's seeing them firsthand!!  We've seen reports of healings, salvations, and miracles going on in Zambia.  I just can't help but wonder what all Haley is experiencing at this very moment!  And just think about the stories she'll be able to tell her children someday!  Praise God!

(And did I mention that Haley comes home ONE WEEK FROM TODAY?!?)

A Little Bit Homesick

When Harris and I got married 25 and a half years ago, we were blessed to have all eight of our Christian grandparents at our wedding, and over the years we've been blessed to be surrounded by many wonderful relatives and have enjoyed lots of great family memories.  All of our grandparents were very special people, and we very much miss those who have gone on to Heaven. 

Harris still has one grandma who has lived in the Alzheimer's unit longer than anyone else there, and then I have one set of grandparents who are still living in their own home.  My 93-year-old grandpa still spends much of his days working out in any one of his three gardens, and my grandma, who will be 90 in January, spends her days welcoming spontaneous visitors and somehow always has a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies ready to serve and never makes anyone feel as though she has more important things to do than visit.  I want to be just like them. 

Eighteen years ago when I was six months pregnant with Haley, someone in this particular family decided to have a family campout.  You see, my grandpa and grandma had 12 kids, and it was becoming harder and harder to find a time to get them all together, and setting aside four nights to camp together seemed like a really good idea to someone.  For some families that might not work, but little did we know then that that idea would become not only a tradition but the glue that would help this growing family stick together.

There are a lot of us.  I'm the oldest of 41 grandkids, and there are 64 great-grandkids with 3 more due to arrive this fall.  That doesn't even include a few stepkids or all of the spouses!  The tradition has become more and more special as the years go by, and many who live out of state use this opportunity every year to come and see Grandpa and Grandma.  Even second and third cousins actually know and love each other, and it has been awesome to see all those relationships develop over the years. 

Haley knew that her trip to Africa meant she would not be able to attend the 18th Annual De Boef Family Campout 2010, and it saddened her greatly.  The only salve for the wound was the fact that her second cousin Grant, who was born the weekend of our very first campout, was going to be at boot camp all summer, and he wouldn't be there either.  If they had to miss a campout, at least they were going to miss the same one.  Their silly and goofy presence was missed by many this year, and Haley's already been informed by one of her other cousins that she is allowed only one more absence in her lifetime, so she'd better use it wisely! 

While I was visiting with my mom and one of my aunts on Friday morning, my cell phone rang.  You'd think by now that when I look at my phone and see a strange number with more digits than normal, it would click that it's Haley, but it still didn't.  As usual, it took us a little bit of time to connect because there is lag time every time either of us says something, and it's just hard to be patient when your adrenaline is up and you know you're finally connecting.  Every other time that Haley has called, her spirits have been really good, but this time she was crying.  Just as she spilled out the fact that she was homesick, we lost the call as I moved closer to the door in an effort to get better reception.  Thankfully she called back relatively quickly, and we were able to talk for just a couple more minutes.  She shared through her tears that the last couple days had been really hard and that she was very homesick, and my heart just took a dive right there on the spot.  My natural instinct was just to cry right with her, but a strong confident approach towards the whole thing was much more important at that moment in time.  Evidently my messages hadn't been getting through to her lately, so when I mentioned the fact that I was sitting in Aunt Willene's camper, I'll never forget the agonizing words that came out of her mouth:

"You're at the De Boef Campout???" 

Oh, how I cringed when I knew that wouldn't help her situation.  All I could do was assure her that she was very missed and loved and that people were praying for her.  She shared with us that her team had won a contest which allowed them each an extra 6 minutes of phone time and that she would be able to call home again the next day for 7 minutes.  Since she shared that all she really wanted was a movie with her dad, I encouraged her to call his cell phone the next day instead of mine. 

"But what if it's in the middle of the night???"

Who cares!!!  We'll take her call whenever she wants to call! 

We went to bed that night with Harris's phone fully charged and in bed with us, but her phone call didn't come till 1 p.m. the next day.  Harris was at his folks' house at the time, so I wasn't able to be a part of it, but he said she sounded much better.  When I asked him what she said, he said, "I knew you would ask me that."  He finally understood what I've been trying to articulate all along.  The few phone calls that we've had come so unexpectedly, and when you finally get through the first moments of actually connecting, your head and heart are working so hard at trying to figure out what is most important to talk about that before you know it, her time is up, you hang up, and you realize that nothing of real significance is talked about, you can hardly even remember what was said, and all you can do is breathe a sigh of relief that she's okay and be thankful to have heard her voice.  It's just one of the oddest things, and now he's able to understand that feeling as well. 

The rest of the campout was just not quite the same for me.  It was just as awesome as usual to connect with everyone, but my heart was with her, and it was just weird to not have her there with us.  Normally I'm one of the ones who can't get enough of the campfire setting late into the night, but Saturday night I just wanted to crawl into bed early.  It didn't help that I was supposed to be giving a message on Sunday morning at our family church service and still had no clear idea of what I was going to say.  Two weeks prior, God laid it on my heart that I was to do some of the speaking this year, but He sure wasn't giving me any clear indication of what He wanted me to say.  All I could do was crawl into bed and just pray that He would reveal it to me by 9:30 in the morning. 

When I woke up and grabbed my Bible, He finally gave me some verses that triggered my message, and all I could do was pray that He would speak through me and that all the things on my heart would come out in such a way that would be meaningful to someone and glorifying to God.  This De Boef family had done such a great job of supporting Haley in so many ways, and my heart was so full of thanksgiving towards them.  I wanted them to know that but also to encourage them to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit in this season of their lives.  Some of them may be called to go and be used of God in missions work.  Some of them may be called to send just like they had done with Haley.  Some of them may not even be aware that God is calling them into a deeper relationship with Him.  Some of them may be called to receive others around them into their lives and be given the opportunity to minister to them. 

"When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Now glory be to God!  By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen."  Ephesians 3:14-21

My grandma also shared a message with the little kids, and I just have to share this picture with you.  She captured their attention so well, and it was such a special moment for all of us, young and old alike!  Just envision a whole lot more attendees off to the side!

Then when it was our family's time to share, my brother encouraged all the young men to get up and sing "Faith of Our Fathers" with him.  What a wonderful thing to see and hear!

When we got home on Monday, there were a few pictures from Zambia on Facebook, and it was so good to see Haley in some of them, so I'll close by sharing them with you! 

Sugar cane maybe?  We don't know for sure!  We just know that we'll be really glad to feed her some American food when she arrives home ...

NEXT WEEK!!!!!

(We're all just a little bit excited around here to be able to say that!)

Mail from South Africa!

Now this is something I don't normally see in my mailbox!!!

I came home on Monday and found this sweet little envelope on the counter, already opened, with five colorful little sheets of paper with Haley's handwriting all over them!  Fun mail!!!  Evidently they found out two days before they were going to leave South Africa that they could send a letter for 8 rand, which is a little more than a dollar, so someone must have shared their paper and envelopes with her.  Each of us now has a special handwritten note from Haley full of little tidbits of info and sprinkled with lots of love.  We were so encouraged by how her spirit is overflowing with joy.  She is truly where God wants her to be this summer.  She's not sure yet that this is her calling in life, but for this season right now, God is using her and working in her and growing her spiritually. 

Here are a few snippets:

"It's crazy to think that so many here have never heard the name even of Jesus."

"As for Zambia, I'm excited!  I'm super pumped to see how God is going to use me!  I'm so glad I stayed because I know that if I would have gone home with the A-trippers, I wouldn't have been satisfied at all!"

"When I think about everything and look under the African stars, I know I'm where I'm supposed to be, and it is amazing to finally be used as God's hands and feet!"

"I've had so many different experiences with different people, and you'll be happy to know that I only have about 18 children to adopt so far!  These kids, snotty as their faces may be, are stinkin' (literally) adorable!"  

"I did see some rhinos the other morning across the road which was kinda crazy and scary because there was only a very, very small fence and a road between us!"  

Two weeks from today she'll be home, and we'll be able to hear all these stories from her in person! 

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for her!  We do serve an amazing God!