assignment

Now is just as good a time as any to let you all in on a little announcement.  

A lot of you have been asking about my plans for when I return home in December.  Well, it will look a little something like this.

1. Be home for a few weeks.  Enjoy Christmas, New Year's, etc., with friends and family.

2. Return to the Africa Mercy in January.

Yes, you read correctly.  I will be returning to the ship in mid-January to reprise my role as the OR Admin Assistant!

I made the decision a few months ago, but I wanted to wait until the details were ironed out and the time was right to share it with everyone.  A lot of factors played a role in making this decision, but it ultimately came down to the fact that I really didn't have a good reason not to.  Do I have the financial support?  Yes.  Do I have the time?  Yes.  Do I have any other commitments?  No.  The Lord has done so much in the way of getting me to this point, and He has certainly provided in overwhelming ways.  Now it's my turn to take the kick in the butt and keep going.  I feel that ending my time in December would be like reading an incredibly engaging, 300-page novel, only to find that the rest of the pages are blank after page 200.  

Upon returning to the ship, we will be docked in Lome, the capital of Togo, another small, West African nation.  Read more about Togo here and about Lome here.  I am excited to experience a new country and to see how Mercy Ships will change more lives there.

As of now, I will stay until the end of April.  Who knows what will come next.

Isaiah 55:8-11 [The Message; emphasis added]

"I don't think the way you think.
   The way you work isn't the way I work."
         God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
   so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
   and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
   and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
   producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
   not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
   they'll complete the assignment I gave them.