Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I tell people we are packing and moving again. But our life in the past 2 years has truly been one transition after another. The biggest blessing of it all is seeing the faithfulness of our God in such a stretching time of our lives. He has been teaching us so much about dependence on him and about truly living in a way that reflects our understanding that He is in total control of everything that happens to us.
The two questions I was asked the most while home in the Minnesota were, "Are you nervous about having a baby in Paraguay?" and "Do you have good medical care close-by?" To be honest, I was very nervous about the whole process until we met the doctor we have chosen to deliver our baby. He speaks perfect English, and he has reassured me that all of my concerns are valid but should not be an issue so long as we communicate ahead of time with the nurses. The fact that we will be six hours (on a good day) from the hospital where I plan to deliver does concern me some, but again, the Lord has given me an incredible peace with the knowledge that He is in total control of the situation. We plan to come up two weeks before the baby is due in order to wait in Asuncion until the baby comes.
Right now we have packed up our home in Escobar, and we are working on paperwork in Asuncion while we wait for the floors to be redone at the home we will be moving into. These transition times are the hardest for me when I can't find anything and I feel like my life is so chaotic because I am unable to live in the order I so enjoy.
My mind is going in a variety of directions these days as we've said goodbye to many dear friends going on home assignment for the year as well as the Paraguayans we have come to love during our time in Escobar. With moving to our new home in Jataity, learning how to live in this more remote location, Micah beginning homeschooling for Kindergarten, and the baby coming, I have to daily come before the Lord and place my hopes and my fears before Him. Anxiousness has come and gone in the past few months, and it is definitely a struggle to continue laying it before the Lord, but he is so faithful and I am so grateful for his strength.
In all the traveling, busyness, and craziness of the past few months, I have seen the reality of His strength in my weakness. One clear example is in regards to my lack of sleep. Sleep has always been a huge priority for me because I know that I don't handle little sleep well at all. But as we traveled the past two and half weeks, I have been in every kind of bed from a water bed to thin foam mattresses where I could feel the floor with my hips. Not only did we have extremely long days on buses, late nights and uncomfortable beds, but the kids too had trouble sleeping in so many new places. But to my surprise, the Lord incredibly sustained me and gave me the energy I needed to get through it all. To me, it was a complete miracle for me to have as much energy as I did and to enjoy it all. It was so clear that the Lord comforted me and gave me a supernatural strength that I know I could not have had on my own.
What a blessing to be stretched beyond what I know I can do on my own, in order to be able to watch the Lord work miraculously in ways I never could have imagined!
