With All Our Hearts?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 

and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

This is one of those times in life where the rubber meets the road. Do I really believe what I say? Am I able to completely surrender my heart to trusting the Lord fully and allow Him to provide for our team, or not - and still say He is good?

Twelve people have felt called to serve the community of Lesibovu in Swaziland this August. We have worked to earn money, sent support letters, hosted fundraisers, friends fundraised!, and we've shared our hopes for this mission with many friends and various church groups. We have prayed, asked others for prayer, and are committing to devoted times of prayer this weekend as we seek the will of the Lord regarding this trip.

We have seen the Lord move friends, family, and strangers to give over the last year. It has been a huge part of the learning process as we humbly share the need for money for plane tickets, which are just.so.expensive. Southeastern Africa is just REALLY far away. Tickets are each over $400 more expensive this year, which is another $4,000 for our team's total need. There has been a crazy amount of time put into phone calls and emails with airlines and travel agents to try to find the cheapest reasonable options, which still ends up including over 30 hours of traveling.

During our team meeting last week, our team member/worship pastor Robert reminded us how we needed to remember not to "strive" - which means to struggle or fight vigorously.  I have just repeated that to myself all week, mulling it over, praying, as we are trying so hard to balance our willingness to work with our desire to allow God to provide, without striving. I felt like I finally grasped that the opposite of striving would be "surrender" - to cease fighting and give control to another.

So that's where I am and where I believe the team is as a whole. We all deeply desire to go to Swaziland. We cannot imagine not going to Swaziland together. We want to be reunited with children we love, we want to encourage the missionaries and Pastor Welcome in person. We want to worship with them, to introduce them to our other friends and see how God works in each life through our time there.

We also want God's will above all else. Surrender. The verse above clearly states that we are not to lean on our own understanding, and in our understanding, honestly it is just hard to imagine not all of us going. But, we know that He may not answer our prayers for provision. It may be more important for us to learn a lesson in trusting when things don't go our way. That's hard to admit, and not at all what I want His will to be. If part of us are to stay home, then we need to know clearly who that is. That will be a painful and sad realization, but we are accepting that it is possible. We know the God loves Lesibovu more than even we do, and He loves us too, so His plan is not just acceptable - it is perfect.

Our prayer is that by Saturday, the money we still need to purchase plane tickets and pay for our land package expenses will have been given, and we can take care of paying for those things on Monday.

One month from today, August 3, is the day we are supposed to arrive in Swaziland. At this point without considerably more donations, there will not be 12 of us arriving, so please pray for our hearts, surrendered to what our Father has planned.

If you are moved to give, we would greatly appreciate donations of any amount. You may give through PayPal to donate@gracekleincommunity.com with 'Missions' in the memo or contact any team member: James, Jennifer, Isaac and Abigail Vines, Glennleigh Boyd, Denise and Brad Wheeler, Victoria Gosnell, Robert Hope, David Watts, Marlena Cantrell and Katherine Leipold.

Please pray that we keep this Scripture in mind and that we see the path straightened for us. Thank you!

In all your ways, acknowledge Him 

and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6