there are days, and then there are days.
we’ve had quite a few of the latter, all strung up in a row, and it’s been exhausting but so full of good.
-two sundays back, our home and sending church commissioned us. let me just say that being hemmed in by our people all praying and affirming God’s imperative to go has been one of the highlights of my life. i felt maybe a little like a certain mary once did, treasuring up all these things and still pondering them in my heart.
-also, we were flashmobbed. my life is now complete.
-we have all this family. blood-and-sinew family, and heart-and-spirit family, and all of them showing up at just the right time. some scrubbed our house clean, prepared meals for us, gave us kindles(!), hauled our stuff away, stored cedar chests, prayed us all the way down to peachtree city.
-speaking of peachtree city: people. i drove a ford f-150 (todd had the awesomer dodge ram 2500, but whatever) for a good ten hours south. now to some of y’all, that is everyday happenings, but this is a first both in bulk and duration for my driving career.
-so we were concerned about staying alert the entire drive. but mostly it was fun times–supposedly todd had sanity and satellite radio in his truck with the oldest and youngest progeny, but i had the middle three and i promise you it was the party truck. (well, if the party is nerdy and off-kilter and features things like 8am-9am is talk with a british accent hour.)
-sidenote: it turns out that my 12-year-old is a clandestine country music fan. which was great news for him, as once we hit tennessee the options were country, country, classic country, people talking, country.
-since showing up here at the africa inland mission office, it has been non-stop rearranging and repacking and filling out forms and taking notes on all the nitty gritties that they have promised to also email me because my hopes of retention are zero to none.
-and they gathered us in. the staff here, who have long prayed for us, looped a circle in the dining hall and sang us off and prayed. these are the things that make me cry 42 times per day.
-also, i could be starved for sleep.
so today. today we do the final meetings and turning in forms and sealing/tagging baggage and getting on that plane. and lucky for me, i am taking you all with me, so get ready folks. we have the middlest seat from atlanta to amsterdam, but they could stick me on the roof as long as we end up in africa.
y’all are something beautiful, with your encouragement and speaking life and truth and praying. we couldn’t be doing this without you.
see you in nairobi.
O w e n s t o A f r i c a 
Crying happy tears for you now…love you friend! Looking forward to sharing in all of this with you.
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Nic…you have been on my heart fourty THREE times a day and I am praying for you every time I think of you (which as I mentioned, is often). I SO wish I had the privilege of hugging you in person before your departure but a long distance hug will have to suffice. Maybe God is waiting to give me that chance in Africa someday 🙂 LOVE YOU my friend and eagerly waiting to see how God blows your mind in your new home!!!!!!
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oh, nic, oh. you’ve made me cry a little. and smile a lot. praying peace….
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yes, good tears here, too. praise jesus!
and i think country music in the south is ok 😉
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Praying for you guys on this journey!!! So excited to see what God is going to do in your lives over the next few years!!!!
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Carol and I are crying and rejoicing along with you. We are with you in the Spirit and love you all.
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Praying, and my church is praying, too. It’s your big day. You’re so, so ready.
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You are coming and we are leaving on Sunday! We will be back in Kijabe Aug. 24 and can’t wait to see you! Praying for you at ABO. Love Debbie
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I’ve dreamed a thousand schemes of how I could go with you, or at least see you off at the airport. Tuck me in your pocket, friend. I can’t wait to get there.
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So very excited for you and your family! Cannot wait to hear of your journeys in Africa, wonderful God ordained moments.
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You guys are just amazing! I think I’d prefer to spend my time in the truck you were driving – talk with a British accent hour is BRILLIANT! I can’t wait to hear more!
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Best of luck, my darling! Thinking of you all! xo xo L
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Thankful for you when I was a teenager, thankful for you today. I will pray for you daily and every single time you wander through my mind. Hug the kids and please tell Todd that I am thankful for him as well. You really are the people who make change for good in this world. Nairobi will be blessed. ❤
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so good hearing from you. love from colorado.
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