The Best Thing to Do

With only a week left, lots of people have been asking what they can do to help with my trip - the best answer is very simple - pray.

When the idea of going on this trip first came up I did the two things I always do when something like this comes up - I asked Joni about it and I talked to God about it.

When I first met with the other team leaders for the trip, our first meeting, we worked on a few things about the trip, but mostly, we just prayed.

Every meeting we have had since then has started and ended with prayer.

This Saturday our whole team, along with friends, family, prayer partners are getting together so that we can pray.

The team members that went last year shared a really cool story about when they first got to South Africa, and they left the airport and started driving and there was this giant billboard with John 3:16 on it, and it was such a good reminder for them that they weren't going to start something, they were joining God where He already was, and that has been a great reminder for me preparing for this trip, and is more and more needed the closer we get.  God is already there, working, I get to join Him in His work.

So pray for what God is already doing as He brings things together for our time in Pretoria.  He has already done so much of that - and I'm already amazed at the way He has brought our team together, provided things we needed, its been awesome to watch.

Pray for our travel - that's the one part of the trip itself that I am not looking forward to.  It's going to be a long couple of days getting there, and another long couple of days getting back.  Pray for safety and patience for our team.

But most of all - for me at least - pray for everything I am missing here at home while I'm gone.  Pray for Joni and the kids as they have a week and a half of school, homework, practices, and all those normal things without me.  God has brought such a peace, and brought so many things together for our trip that honestly I spend more time worrying that I don't have anything to worry about in regards to what I will be doing over there.  But the closer it gets, the more the reality of not being at home for 11 days sets in, and the more I think about things I will be missing while I am gone.  So pray for peace about those things for me.  I know God brought me this opportunity, and I know I am supposed to go - my head knows that, my head knows that they will be just fine without me for a little while - but my heart needs reminding as the reality gets closer and closer.  So pray for the same peace that I have about sports camp and all we will be doing in South Africa to cover all the things going on at home as well.