We are 75% monthly funded!! Praise God:) We also received the offering form April 26th....we are so humbled that God continues to speak to peoples hearts on our behalf and that they have been moved to give so generously.  We are waiting on the kids passports to be processed and our visas to be finalized.  Today we are getting our carpets cleaned so we can put the house up for sale by the end of the week.  We are moving forward and doing whatever we can in the physical to be ready, which puts us in an interesting paradigm.  We know that we are to move forward as though we are going mid July and that in doing so we must step out in faith. We also know that we are to wait upon the Lord and His provision.  As the time draws near it becomes increasingly hard to wait on Him and not attempt to move things along on our own.  It has been a season of recalling the specific words and scriptures that we have received leading up to this moment.

• First Eric received 1Thessalonians 2:9 "Don't you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that our expenses would not be a burden to anyone there as we preached God's Good News among you."  This is when we decided that we did not want Each One Feed One to pay for our family going to Tharaka....we would rather see that money go towards the projects that will help the people in Tharaka directly.  With this we began raising support and partnership to cover all of the costs for our family.
• Next God reminded me that He is the God in control of it all...Creator, Provider, Protector, Savior, Redeemer, Healer....There are too many scriptures on this to put in the post:)  However God used the specific example of Jesus calming the storm Matt 8:23-27 to remind me of this.  If you lose sight of Him being any one of these you lose sight of it all.  If I do not have faith for God to provide all that we need how can I trust that He will protect us..or heal the sick..or save us form our sins...the God of one is the God of all.
• As I have been asking God about lessening our goal...do we go on tourist visas...without a car...if we are only 85% funded...the very strong response has been Hagar. You may ask what does that even mean...well Hagar was Sara's solution to getting older and knowing that her husband Abraham had a promise that he would be the father of many nations.  When it didn't seem as though God could do it Sara offered her maid Hagar to provide Abraham with a child. In the end Hagar and her son created nothing but heartache for Abraham and his decendents Genesis 16.  So I am waiting on the Lords promise that "He will liberally supply our every need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus". Philippians 4:19

All of these confirming words help us to patiently wait upon the Lord for His perfect timing. Our hearts are in Tharaka, Kenya and we are asking that God would move quickly to get us there.  We are waiting and resting in the confidence that He has a specific plan for our family and He is causing the plan to come to pass in His perfect time.

One more post that is back dated and then we will be all current :) I just want to share because it was such a tremendous blessing  to us!  So back to April 26 (big day for us).  That night we had our Awana's award night.  This is a ministry that I have been serving with since it was first introduced at our church three years ago.  Toward the end of the ceremony Pastor Michael brought me up to thank me for serving and to announce that they will be sponsoring our Awana club in Tharka! We are so excited to be partnered with them in bringing God's word to these kids! As if that wasn't enough My nine year old daughter Abigail sang this song right after. What blesses me the most is knowing that she has memorized this song in it's entirety and will carry it with her to Kenya.

Ok, I am new to the blog world, but I feel the prompting of God that it is and will be an important means for us to communicate while in Tharaka.  I also feel that I should invite you on this journey with us as we go deeper into the plans God has for us.  With that said please forgive me as I catch you up a little today.  I will be making every effort to update at least weekly form here on out.

This first excerpt I wrote on 4/8/2015 less than a week after the Garrissa school attack in Kenya.  It was a week full of fear for our extended family.  Interestingly for Eric and I it was a moment of confirmation once again that the safest place for our family was to be in God's will regardless of the circumstances around us..........I am sitting here talking to God listening to the words of one of my favorite songs “ I am Yours…. You are mine…and we’ll be together forever.  Outside of my window there is an incredible thunderstorm booming.   I hear Him saying “Julianna, don’t forget who is in the boat with you.  I am not only the lover of your soul, I am the one who calms the storm.”  In light of recent events unfolding in Kenya some may question why we would go into the storm.  Although I understand the concern I would point out that we are not alone in the boat. 

The next is April 26th.  This was an emotional and encouraging day for us.  Our pastor invited us on stage to take up an offering for us.  To hear his heart concerning our family and the ministry that God has called us to was incredibly humbling.  Knowing that both our Pastors and our church family are for us is tremendously comforting.