leaving behind the corn stalks.

here i sit beside one of my dearest dordt colleagues, michelle smith, in cedar rapids, iowa on night one in the travels to grand rapids, michigan for training before i am able to serve with christian reformed world missions (CRWM) in jos, nigeria.

before i arrived at the home of michelle, i met with talisha (wiens) zell with whom i discussed how my travels came about and the irony of God.  originally the plan was to fly but soon that was changed as a couple of friends had planned to join me for the road trip, one for training alongside me and the other to visit a mutual friend in michigan.  different obstacles arose and soon i began the travels alone, which i would have never originally chosen and yet this was exactly what i needed.

thursday evening as i was eating Mexican with darcie van voorst the question came up "what do you do for 'me' time?" and i mentioned how i longed to just drive and drive with the window down & the music blaring.  we mentioned the road trip to michigan but i said how i wasn't certain that would happen cause i hadn't expected to be riding alone.

then when a text came in later this week about the uncertainty of a friend's joining me for really no apparent reason other than feeling that through prayer, it was a no go.  our mutual friend spoke with me of her disappointment but then i shared my conversation earlier in the week with darcie and she knew then that this was indeed somehow what God intended & a reminder of how His plans prevail and are so much better than our own.

as you will begin to receive more information on my service with CRWM, you will see that my chosen verse is Proverbs 16:9 "in his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps."

how crazy is that that from the very start of this journey that very same verse came into play?!:)