Home...

Last night I had a shower (IN CLEAN WATER!) and slept in my own bed. It was marvelous, to have a few hours to just enjoy things that are so simple. It was good to leave behind the weight of all that has occurred in the last few weeks and just enjoy the warmth and comfort of being home.

Today though the heartache comes rushing back. I left Sierra Leone without seeing those precious children again, knowing for the last 10+ days they have been without enough food and water, locked in rooms, beaten, neglected, and scared. I am still hoping that God will rescue them, bring them out of danger, and move them into a new home...it doesn't even matter if it's the home we prepared for them, just a place where they can sleep in peace, knowing that someone will feed them and shelter them and bring them hope in the morning.

What does that mean for me here, so far away from them? I don't know yet. I know that I have them in my heart and wear their pictures around my neck. I will continue to pray for them and hope that the chance will come to support them and see them again. And there is the knowledge that there are so many children in our world who suffer, some because the people that love them cannot care for them and others because no one shows them love, works to see them cared for, or offers them hope. I long to figure out where God is calling me to step into that and then go!

I also want to share the whole story with others. Much happened that we could not share because of security issues. Our team could write a book...and perhaps we will when God answers our prayers!

Thank you all for your prayers. I hope to keep updating this as the days and weeks go on.