Gearing up......

Monday we sent out our support letters at last! Hooray! That was a big relief for us. Jason wrote the letter, and I'm so blessed to have a husband so understanding, supportive, and down-right hot, who loves me so much and wants to be a part of everything God has for me. I'm really floored, constantly, by God, by Jason's love, by the emotional support from all my friends and family as we embark on this adventure. It really IS a 'we' who is going. One of my favourite passages in Romans (10:9-15) says:

For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed." Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all who ask for them. For "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

or as in the Message version:
Say the welcoming word to God--"Jesus is my Master"--embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this--heart and soul--will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, "Help, God!' gets help."
But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people
telling all the good things of God!

So, that's sort of my vision for Tanzania. People crying out for help, and God hears. God asked me, and I said yes. My church and friends and family standing behind me, sending me. And God working in the hearts of all the people I meet: Christians, Muslims, those of any religion or language, telling them that He loves them and desperately wants a relationship wtih them. I'm a small part. I'm delivering the babies and Jesus is delivering souls from bondage.

Anyway, last week I was able to study quite a bit of Swahili, and I'm getting more confident. It would be great if I had someone to practise with! I was mentioning to someone the other day that this is the first time I've learned a language (or at least started learning the language) BEFORE arriving in a country. I suppose there's a first for everything, even YWAMers. :)

Tuesday we received our first support--from my parents & grandma. Thank you so much! What a great blessing!