The Flip Side

This morning was bittersweet as I said good-bye to 29 of my church family. They are headed to Peru for 12 days to work with missionaries from our church, Oliver & Gloria Williams and Brent & Miriam Williams, in Lima and also in the mountains of Pichanaki.

Last week another friend left for NYC (her fifth or sixth trip??) to teach VBS around town for a week.

We also said farewell to my in-laws who are headed this week to the Phillipines to do work in clinics, and an orphanage among other things.

Tomorrow another group from church leaves to help with tornado relief in Joplin, MO.

And with all of these good-bye's my heart tugs...hard. I want to go with each of them. I want to experience the cultures, the people, the food, and yes, even the altitude in the Pichaniki mountains (16,000 +). I want to help clean up in Joplin, build houses in Pichanaki, see the kids faces in Lima, all the while sharing and showing Jesus' love.

But I can't go this time.

As my eyes welled with tears this morning, J said " Not this time. It's our turn to send, give and pray."

I know he's right. (I hate it when he's right!)

For the last year, our church, our friends, our family have supported us with their prayers, their gifts and helped us go and seek out the Lord's plan for our life. Now we have work to do here that will get us further down the road on this journey.

But now it's also our turn to give. It's our turn to hear of stories of how the Lord specifically answers the prayers of those who are praying back home. It's our turn to see loved ones come back with a renewed sense of God's presence...to see how they've forever been changed by the experiences they've had. It's our turn to wait for the days to pass until they come home safe and sound.

I also get a little taste of what they go through every time we've left this last year. I also have a renewed sense of gratitude for the power of their prayers and their love. And I can't wait till they get home.