Moving Forward

High time for an update, wouldn't you say? Well, as much as I thought this time would never come, it has. We are preparing to leave Minnesota. I can't believe that in less than a week, I'll be boarding a plane and heading off to the next chapter of our lives. I have absolutely LOVED living in Minnesota for the past 3 1/2 years. My life has literally completely changed here. I came here as a single girl headed off to college with a couple suitcases and some big dreams. I wanted to travel the world with only my Bible and a backpack. I was determined to fight all odds to carry the Gospel to the darkest corners of this earth! And then I fell in love. With Bryan Flores. And God blessed that love in my heart. We married here in Minnesota... we worked here, we built our life together here. And now, nearly 2 years after our wedding day, we have brought a daughter into the world and built even more dreams here.

And now, it is time to move on.

On Tuesday, I'll be flying to Vermont. Bryan will follow by car a week later. And the next phase of our lives will commence.

We plan to be in Vermont for about 2 months, and after that? Cape Town, South Africa. I'm sure that's not a shock to any of my readers. I've blogged about it before. But somehow, it feels shocking to write it in the same paragraph as "2 months". Lord willing, of course. If support comes in, then bam. We'll be on another continent by our anniversary.

As I think about what all these changes mean for my life, I realize that the core things about me and my life are never going to change. I am called to be a wife and a mother. That will remain whether I am here in the U.S. or whether I am there in Cape Town. I am called to love God and to serve him with my whole heart. I will pursue that wherever I am. I will still have Bryan. I will still have Peyton. But I will be walking forward in a newness.

Sometimes I can't believe we're really doing this. But then I think... it's what I've dreamt of my whole life. It's what I knew I was called to do since age 11. So why am I so shocked to actually be doing it?

I'm ready. Well, sort of. My heart feels ready. My mind feels unprepared. But God is in control. And He will have His glory. And I pray that I can bring it to Him... in Cape Town, South Africa. And yes, even in Vermont. And even here in Minnesota in my last 5 days. If I am truly a missionary, I will be one in all places. To all people. Whew. That's a challenge. But a ripe call on my heart.

More to come... this blogging hiatus has got me pondering so expect a whirlwind of updates! Hope I haven't lost all my readers in the meantime!

Seriously, if you read my blog, leave a comment! I'd love to know who's reading my rants or if I'm just spewing them out into internet oblivion... ;)

Be blessed tonight.