friendships. encouragement. perseverance.

Finally! I feel myself coming out of the fog of homesickness and am finally putting down roots….it's only taken two months. I know that through this difficult transition time, and those to come, there is a need for encouragement and knowledge that people care and are lifting you up daily to the father. I have begun to invest in friendships here and am grateful for the opportunity to have meet so many new people over the past few months. I really love the staff I work with and even some others I've met. I have had the chance to become friends with a couple nationals, which is where my heart is, and it has been really amazing to see how our paths have woven together at such a time to pour into their lives, be poured into, and learn in the process about differing cultures, traditions, and languages. 

Something encouraging happened this past week. I was having a hard time with really bad allergies and being sick, so naturally I sent out a million texts/messages for people to be lifting me up and for healing. One girl texted me back and told me that I had been placed heavily on her heart the day before and she had been praying for me deeply for freedom though she wasn't sure what I was going through. Then, another girl, my sister's former roommate from nearly a decade ago, sent me a message saying she had a dream that I was miserable and homesick and wanted to see if that was true and if she could be praying for me. Wow! I haven't talked to her in over 8 years, if not 10! Then, this same girl mentioned it to her bible study group and one lady contacted me via facebook and sent a long letter about how God had told her to encourage me. She sent scriptures, is praying on my behalf daily, and she has never met me. 

My heart is so encouraged to know that the one I've sacrificed for has gone before me. He knows that the battle is heavy and that there is a darkness that at times I neglect to remember and that he has placed watchmen on the towers to fight when I can't. Wow, I serve such a magnificent God! 

I need to remember what the point of all of this is, why I left everything dear, sold/donated nearly all of my possessions, and flew to the other side of the world. I need to remember to prioritize my time and dedicate time to the one who calls me daughter, beloved, princess, and chosen.