Flexibility

If there is one thing that Courtney and I have learned on our journey so far it is to be FLEXIBLE!  We started out our trip at the Birmingham airport at 10 AM yesterday morning thinking that we would be in Ohrid, Macedonia at this point.  Well, God had different plans in mind.  We are currently sitting in Rome, Italy (where we have been sitting since 9:00 AM here or 2:00 AM for you folks at home) awaiting our flight that will take off at 9:30 tonight.  From here, we will meet a colleague of the field partners in Thessaloniki which is where we will spend the night. From the moment that our plane got delayed in Chicago, Courtney and I began to prepare ourselves to miss the flight.  It is not easy for a person like me who is used to running a schedule that is non-stop to have no clue what will happen next and what the next step should be.  When we arrived in Rome, we attempted for 2 hours to contact our field partners to tell them what had happened, but somehow we had the wrong phone numbers.  In short, I talked to a man who only spoke Macedonian and could not understand a word I spoke and when I tried another number there was continuously no answer.  Finally, by the grace of God, a woman who spoke English answered the phone and was able to give me the new phone number to reach our field partners.  To say the least, God has shown me continuously throughout the day that when man makes plans we will continuously fail, but His plan is purposeful and will always carry through.  There was nothing I could do in these situations but to put my trust in God's hands because I know we are where God wants us to be.

~Amber

Oh my goodness, what a journey it has been so far!  Just to go along with what Amber said above, we have been traveling for an extremely long time as of now, and we're not really even close to our final destination.  There have obviously been a lot of bumps along the road, but I know that my God is faithful and that this was already a part of His plan.  I think for me the most challenging thing to grasp is the fact that hardly anyone speaks English.  This afternoon, ordering lunch was an interesting ordeal since we couldn't communicate with words, but somehow we managed.  In the end, I am simply reminded that language will never be a barrier against our God.  Even though we may not be able to share words with these Italians, we can still glorify God by being an example of Christ to them in our relationship with each other and just our general manner.  With this in mind, I am reminded of the verse in Revelations declaring that every nation, tribe, and tongue will glorify God and sing praises to Him.  And that's truly all that matters in the end-being flexible for Him!

Courtney


Ways you can pray for us today:
1. Our flight to Thessaloniki that leaves at 9:30 PM our time (2:30 your time)
2. Pray that our rest would be multiplied so that we have the energy needed for a full day of ministry tomorrow!


Verses to leave you with:
2 Corinthians 4:16-17~ So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner is being renewed day by day.  For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison