Life of Transitions

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Wisdom & Direction

Deeper Intimacy

Financial support

Hello everyone. I know I am about a month behind on writing this and I do apologize.

As I am sure most of you know by now, I am back home in good old Franklin Tennessee New haircut and all! 

After spending a month in California getting to rest, visit my sister, who I hadn't seen in a year, and spending time with Jesus, I am more than ecstatic to be back home. Also I very thankful to still have my bed and room at my moms house for when I do get to come home. 

The last month to be honest was hard, but filled with so much joy at the same time. I was able to meet many new people and, surprisingly, see some familiar faces while in California. towards the end of the month I had the amazing opportunity to fly out to Colorado to be a part of one of my closest friend's wedding celebrations in the Springs. At first I was a little unsure of whether or not it was okay to spend the last bits of my money to fly out there, but I felt God's peace on the situation and booked my flight. 

While there in Colorado Springs I was so blessed with a free hotel room and being able to see some of the amazing family I lived with for over a year during one of the most challenging seasons of my life, all while traveling throughout Central and South America as an Iris ministries team. Being able to see each of them was like being reunited with very close family or how men in war feel about the people they are fighting alongside. 

The weekend was amazing! And because God loves me so much and knows exactly what I need I had the opportunity to give up my seat for someone else and take a later flight. This gave me a $300 dollar voucher for united airlines $20 dollars in airport food vouchers, and bumped up to Economy plus seating! So I basically got all the money back for my flight and some! How Good is our God?! 

  Once I arrived back in Los Angeles I was picked up by my sister and we had one last In 'N' Out run before heading home backing up the car, catching a few hours sleep and heading out on our 33 hour drive back to Tennessee. Through the sunshine, snow, and rain

Since The last Harvest School an leading the Thailand outreach God has been doing so much in my Heart and stretching me. Which has become a pretty common feeling in my life, but never easy. 

One of the things I had always struggled with the most was true intimacy with God. During the Harvest School I came to a place where I couldn't take anymore of my brian shutting me down when I was about to reach a new place of intimacy with The Lord. As I cried out and fasted for days at a time nothing was changing. Until one day when I met someone and he opened up a new part of my heart that I had closed off for so long out of fear of it being taken from me, but instead of it being taken he was adding to it. Of course I was terrified and wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, but I told God I would trust Him and that was all He was asking of me.

Now I am sure most of you have seen or heard at this point that I am in a relationship. It is a huge deal and not something I would have ever been able to take lightly or casually. However, God as released so much freedom to my heart in a big way through this relationship. It is still really scary for me at times, but trusting God and taking things one step at a time is where I am at right now and I couldn't be more satisfyed.  

I am home in TN for another month to two months. Resting, being with Jesus, and listening for strategies of the next steps. I have some ideas, but with God, in my experience, things can change.  At the end of March I am planning on heading back to Brazil to an Iris base n Fortaleza for a short season before heading back to Pemba to staff another school. Like I have said before it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever been given the opportubity to do. 

I would love to visit with a lot of you while I am home so please just message me, email me, or text me and I would be so Happy to set up sometime to chat or pray/encourage one another!

Thank you all so much. You who have suported me in the past and been there for me through so much! Thank you for the continual prayers and spiritual coverings. Iwouldt be who I am or where I a today without you. And I do not say that Lightly. 

Blessings,

Rachael Michelle Singleton

Thailand.

Well I am finally state side and have been for just over a week now.

 I hope all of you had the most fantastic Christmas and New Years!

2013 was such an incredible year for me, I am sure a lot of you know. However, I am so excited to see what 2014 has to offer.

Right now I am In Los Angeles, California staying with my little sister who lives here and just graduated from the New York Film Academy at universal studios. I am taking the month to just rest and be still somewhere for a time. As well as visit with my sister whom I hadn't seen in a year. 

After the Harvest school I was headed to Thailand to co-lead a team of newly graduated Harvest Schoolers into one of the darkest places in the world! 

    We arrive in Bangkok, Thailand on the 12th of December. We head to our hostel and get settled into our new home for the next several weeks. In Bangkok there is an Iris base as well as a sister ministry called Nightlight. We had made plans to work with  both of these ministries in our time. Bangkok is a very dark place full of sexual perversion, consumerism, and religious strongholds. And that is exactly why we went. After all God doesn't call us to be a light that shines in a place that is already lit. He calls to be a light in the darkness! 

With both ministries we would be working with we were doing a lot of street an bar ministry by showing Christ's love to the woman and men working the streets and bars. Showing them they have value and beauty without it costing them something. Really just releasing God's presence and love wherever we went. Because it was Christmas time it opened up many more opportunities to show who Christ is. We got to carol in many brothels and hand out gifts to women and ladyboys that we would encounter, which was thousands. 

After nearly 2 weeks in Bangkok getting more and more wrecked everyday, we decided to head 6 hours north to a village called Khon Kean. 95% of all the bar girls, ladyboys, prostitutes, and trafficked girls in Bangkok come from this village. 

We were given contact info of an amazing Thai woman named Jub. She works with a ministry called The Well and runs a home for girls whose parents are either in jail or work in Bangkok as a prostitute. She also does a lot of village and local school ministry to try and raise awareness as well as keep kids in school so they have a better future. She fights everyday against the what the culture has taught these kids. That it is honorable to move to Bangkok and make money for your family and meet a western and fall in love. It has all been so highly romanticized the girls really have no clue what they are getting themselves into when it happens. 

We had so much fun working with Jub and her team while living with the girls she looks after. We got to carol (we learned about 4 songs in the Thai Langauage) at many of the homes in the village (about 60), visited many schools and did a skit on the story of Christmas, visit local police stations, and governmental offices, just releasing God's love. We got to pray and prophecy over all the girls and workers in the home and witness 3 of them coming to Christ and saying yes to a life with Him. 

     Our time in the north was so beautiful and all though it was Cold and we slept on the floor and we spent Christmas away from our family's God gave us this new and incredible family to spend that time with as well as new friends and people who taught us a lot about love. 

After a week we headed back to Bangkok. It was one of the hardest goodbyes of this year. 

Back in Bangkok we had just a few days left together before we all headed our separate ways. And the end of our outreach.  

Now the day before we left to go north I had decided that I would fly out of Thailand on December 30th to come to L.A. But at that point had no ticket out of the country. And to be honest no money for a ticket. So I decided to once again go for a Buddy pass. Despite my last experiences with them I trusted God and His promise to get me to L.A. 

My last few nights in Bangkok I hadn't gotten much sleep.. At all.. And my flight out of Thailand was at 5am meaning I had to be at the airport at 3am meaning I had to leave for the airport at 2am. Needless to say, I was tired. I checked in at the airport and I wait. At about 4:30am I started to get nervous. But they called my name and I headed to the plane! And God had blessed me with a first class seat! I was extatic! God really knows how to take care of me. 9 hours later I landed in Japan. With a 2 hour layover I had to wait for another stand by flight. As I looked at the crowd forming to get on the plane.... I was less hopeful of actually getting on this time.... I went to the desk and the lady said the flight was full. My heart sunk to my stomach so fast I am sure the person next to me heard it. With a worried look on my face I asked her "what do I do" and she just said "wait till the end" I nervously said "okay..." But as I watched the 6 other standby passengers walk up she told them all the same thing "there is no more room!" 

     However, I waited. Finally, most everyone had boarded and the remaining standby passengers were standing at the desk so I decided to join. God new exactly what He was doing. There was one seat left. The two standby passengers with a higher priority than me both had travel buddies who had a priority lower than mine. And neither of the higher priority passengers wanted to go without there companion. So they both gave up there seat which left me with the first seat in first class... To L.A. from Japan! How good is our God! He always takes care of His kids. Even when our faith is being stretched. He is good. So so good. 

Over all my experience in Thailand was fast and I didn't feel like I connected as much with the country itself has I have in the past with other countries. My heart did break, but not as much for the woman and ladyboys as it did for the tourists. The men and woman who come to this country looking for real love that they are willing to pay for it. It just reminded me of how broken and fatherless the world is right now. I didn't get angry at the men buying those women. My heart broke and shattered into pieces for them. To me they are the key to ending all of it. Without their business there is no business. And all they want is real love.... Which is what I carry inside of me. The person of Love lives within me. It's so simple. 

Thailand made me more frustrated and hungry for God. Thailand made me realize I am not as fearless as I want to be. Thailand showed me the places in my life that need refining because if it's that's simple why am I not doing anything about it. 

Sorry this one was a bit longer than I had planned. Thank you all for the support and love you show me all they time. Thank you for the prayers and financial blessings. 

I pray this new year for you filled with blessing and much increase! 

Love,

Rachael Michelle 

Endings.

Hello all my dear friends and family, 

Well I had almost an entire blog on my last bush bush outreach typed, but all with a press of a button it was gone never to return. I have been so busy with finishing this school well I just haven't had the time or capacity to re-write it over. So much is going on. So I have decided to just give a quick testimony from bush then bring you all up to date with everything going on. 

This last time out in the bush was so great and easy compared to my previous teams I have lead into to bush bush. So many amazing things happened. The chief of the village came for breakfast after the first night. We blessed her, introduced ourselves, prayed and prophesied over her and the village, and gave her an audio Bible in her own language.  She wasn't a Christian, but an hour or so later she asked to receive Jesus into her heart. We saw many healings and got to bless a local church with manual labor by moving bricks from a field to where a new church was being built. 

One of the craziest things that happened for me though, was the morning we were leaving. Before breakfast we were all gathered around chatting and packing up while waiting for the water for our tea to boil. When all of a sudden we were disturbed by the sound of drums and chanting. We looked up to the area where breakfast was being prepared and a huge crowd had formed around the house. The drums and chanting got even louder. Once we had realized what was happening I had this righteous anger boiling up inside of me faster than the water for tea was boiling. The crowd was formed around these three witch doctors who didn't like the atmosphere we had brought with us and decided to try and counter act it, but it made me so angry that they even thought they had a chance against our God. I exclaimed "what do they think they are doing" out loud. One of my co-leaders, in an attempt to calm me down said, "Rachael, just ignore it and pray," I was not having that. So I marched right up to where the crowd had formed. I had no clue what I was doing, but all I wanted to do was to give them a good stare as if to say with my eyes "what do you think you are doing." The crowd saw me coming and began to disperse and laugh at my attempts to threaten them with my eyes. As the witch doctors began to leave to go to another house  I nearly bumped into one as he was turning the corner. I wanted to say so many things in that moment, but all my Portuguese left my thoughts and the only thing I could remember was "Jesus Te ama" (Jesus loves you), so I said it. As I shook his hand I heard God say "do not let them provoke you. Remember who carries more authority."   The man gave me a good long confused stare before saying something in Makuah (tribal Langauage) then moving on. I just told the team to continue to release the Kingdom of heaven and enjoy our breakfast with out any fear that they had any kind of power over our camp sight. That moment will stick with me forever. 

Graduation is in a few hours and that is a strange feeling. Harvest School 19 is nearly over just 3 more days until myself, my co-leader Natalie, and 8 students head to Thailand for a 21 day outreach! I am so excited, but also sad to be saying goodbye again! This school has sped by with no mercy. It seems like an age ago I was in Holland getting wrecked. As well as, God releasing my fist ever spiritual parents, Jason Lee Jones and His wife Regina, who have now been here in Pemba for the last few weeks pouring into me and the students.  I am so amazed by the family and community God has so blessed me with. Who he has been placing into my life to stand behind me and go before me. I am truly a blessed daughter! So thank you all so much as well for the prayers and financial support. It means so much to me in ways I am not sure I can express. 

Please keep me in your prayers. I need as much as I can get as the school is finishing and my team and I head into one of the darkest countries in the world. Pray for Wisdom, pray for Peace, pray for guidance and financial breakthrough. 

As of right now I have no ticket home for lack of finances, but I trust God and the direction He has given me thus far. Which is that when the outreach is finished I am to head to L.A. To visit my sister, who I have not seen in over a year! Spend 3 weeks to a month with her resting and being with Jesus while she is at work.  Then going to Colorado for a couple of days to go to my good friend Katherine's wedding. After that I will head to TN for just a month or so before heading to Brazil to live under some of my favorite people in the world, Herbert and Lorelie, to serve at an Iris Base there for about a month before heading  back to staff HS20 ( Harvest School 20) ( I am still praying about this step, but as of right now I am a yes until I am a no). That is the direction I feel like I have received from Jesus for the next 6 months of my life.  And I have no idea what it will look like or who will come into the midst of it, but God is in control and I will follow Him until the end. My life, not only my death belongs to the Him. 

I hope this update finds you all well. I really would like to know what I can be praying for you all about so respond if you have things you would like me to contend with you about!

May all the Glory and Praise be to Him who is worthy!

Much Love & Many Blessings. 

Love always,

Rachael Michelle Singleton

Holland. A Mission Possible Experience.

This has been a long time coming.  First, I wanted to update you all on my trip to Holland, but things are very busy here in Pemba and time has just been slipping further and further away!

Second, I wanted to update you on life in Pemba and the school, but I will get to that another time.

Being in Holland at the Mission Possible Conference was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever been apart of.  Really I wasn’t extremely sure why I was there, but God totally paid for everything, for me to be there, so I wasn’t going to complain.

The flights were long, but the team and I got to Holland with possessions in tacked. We headed to the conference site, about two hours from the airport. But, first we spent the afternoon in Amsterdam city exploring and eating amazing food. After living in Pemba for so long food becomes a big deal.

 Arriving to the hostel where we would be staying with 182 other Harvest school Alumni and guests.  We as Harvest School staff were in charge and put straight to work to help run the conference. And we didn’t stop.  It was 18-hour days from then on out. Organizing, making sure jobs were getting done, and people were where they were meant to be.

Despite all the hard work we were doing running the Iris side of the conference it was such an honor to be there and extremely humbling to be in the same room as some the amazing men and women of faith that were there.  80 plus nations represented at the conference as a whole and 50 of those nations considered closed nations. As in they are nations closed off to parts of the world particularly Christians and or Christianity. 

We had 50 plus Christian leaders from those closed countries come and risk there lives to be at the conference to share about the work they are doing in some of the most dangerous places in the world. Places where there are literally only 20 Believers in the entire country and if they are found out they would be shot.  How they sacrifice themselves daily for the gospel, how there people are being tortured and murdered for the sake of the name Jesus.

I cannot go into much more detail than that because if most of there governments found out they were there they would be killed.  That is the severity of the world we live in and it can be so easy sometimes to just look the other way or not think about the importance one little life can have.

Some of the big name people who spoke at the conference were; Heidi Baker, Philip Mantofa, Bill Johnson. Kris Vallaton, Lou Engle, Brother Andrew, Lauren Cunningham, Matteus Van Der Stein, and David Wagner.   The conference was a amazing and we had 24/7 prayer going months before and during the conference. 

It really made me think about my calling in life.  3 years ago when I was a student in the Harvest Mission school I told God “YES” my heart was screaming it. I said “to the darkest and Most dangerous places Lord and then Darker!”  However, since then I have been in process. God has literally been refining after refining me. Teaching me a servant heart. Showing me that laying down your life doesn’t just mean dying for someone, which I am willing and hungry to do! But sometimes it looks like dying to self first and obeying God No matter the cost. I want to be a Martyr, but I want to be a martyr that really lived out the gospel!  I want my life to have glorified My Savior in every aspect not just in my death!

God has given me a promise! “Ask and I will give the nations to you as your inheritance! “ And I know there is no Partiality in God (Romans 2:11, Deuteronomy 10:17-18). Therefore; I know I can trust Him to finish what He started. And I will glorify Him in everything even if it is not the glamorous and adventurous missionary story everyone wants.  

 I no longer want to sit around and play good little missionary when there are people out there who one have never heard the name Jesus and who are dying and sacrificing everything because they know the power in the that very name.  

 I know the power in that name and I want to start using it in more ways than just for myself. 

But Has put me in this season of planting and imparting that very seed of hunger and willingness into the lives of other Christians around me.

My life story my not be one of excitement or extreme trauma God saved me from, but He rescued me out of my own complacency and stagnancies. He saved me from myself. And Part of my destiny is calling people out of themselves.

 The conference stirred up a huge hunger inside of me to see God’s people come back to Him and know their Identities in Him.

God really started breaking my heart even more and confirming many things about my future to me. I had always felt called to war zones and to dark places, but never felt the okay to just run straight into any of it. As if I wasn’t qualified enough. However, God showed me its not about my qualification its about obedience. Which is something I always knew in my head, but fear gripped my heart.  I know now that obedience is so much greater than sacrifice.

I want to see a generation of soldiers, drug lords, pimps, and complacent Christians rise up and realize their real identity. Realize their Value. I want to see them worship God with there entire lives! I want to see these people Love the God of this creation!

I want to Challenge you. Go and Ask God for more hunger for Him. Then ask Him to use you. Then obey.  Sacrifice is the easy when we are in the midst of obedience.

I have more I need to update about, but this was more important to my heart. I just got back from my weekend bush-bush outreach and I will have a blog up about that soon.

I love and miss you all. I ask only that you keep me in your prayers. If you feel lead to intercede for me and if you are willing please email me personally. I need you.  (Rachaels7@gmail.com)

Much Love and Blessings,

Rachael Michelle

All is well here in Pemba. I am a little behind on updating you all and I am sorry about that. Staffing takes up lots of time and energy and I finally have the time to sit down and write a real update.

 School is already finished with its second week! Students are getting charged up and are very much ready for all God has for them in this season.

 Before the school started I was praying and asking God what He had in this season I heard Him say, “I am taking this school from “there is always enough” to there is more than enough!” I know the students feel it now and as they continue to grow and change they will see the “more than enough” so clear.

 The school has been divided into 21 one color groups and are being sent out weekly and daily into the bush, village, and to the one in front of them. The color group I am leading was just got back from something we call emersion. Which is where we send out students into the village with a “mama” or a Pastor to learn about the culture and live for 24 hours with a Mozambican Family. Recently the government has not been happy with the masses of people that come in from around the world to attend Harvest School and has set up many rules that the students are required to follow. Yesterday before my team was heading out on emersion the government called and permitted us from staying the night because they said it was a holiday and it was to dangerous. However, we had a blast made the best out of the situation. The Mama we went home with was named, Philomena, and she has 4 children. We walked about 20 minutes through the village to her house and then spent the day hanging out, chatting, painting nails, and playing many games. It was very disappointing for the students to not be able to stay the night and really experience daily life with the mama in the village, but we did our best bless their family as much as possible.

 Please be praying for rest for me… I am in a really unnecessarily difficult season with God right now. I am longing to just go away with Him and not do anything else, but am really feeling the wait of responsibility of running the school, being a house mom, and a color group leader. I could really use prayer in this area. I am still in process of learning how to Rest even in the work… One thing I die everyday to.

 Also God has handed me an amazing opportunity to go to Holland in about 8 days for the Mission Possible Conference. I wrote something about it a month or so ago. Within 42 hours of last school God had completely covered all of the expenses for the conference and flights there and back to Pemba! I was so blown away and I cannot wait to go and tell you all everything that happens!


 At the end of this school I will be headed to Thailand to lead outreach until the 30th of December. I am so extremely excited about this. I know and can feel God has so much in store for my time there. I am still waiting on the finances to come in to actually buy my plane tickets, which are going to cost roughly $900.00 dollars to get there one way. I am still praying about what will happen after that, but direction will come in the right time.

 My hope, after outreach, is to join a small team that will be heading to a closed Northern Asian country in mid January. I am really asking for your prayers in this time. North Korea has been a huge desire of my heart for the past three years. I believe I will see and be apart of a huge revival there. I was told about a few people planning a trip and was asked if I wanted to join. I said “of course!!” Since then I have not heard any plans, but I am still in contact with the other people and will see them in Holland in just 8 days!! I do believe I will still go. And I would really love your prayers and spiritual covering in this time. I have waited sometime to tell people about this part of my journey because of the heaviness this country has had on my heart for so long. I really hope you all will be partnering with me especially in prayer! I believe God has put that country on my heart for a reason and as I grow deeper into Him my heart gets bigger for them.

 My life has one direction and one plan and that is to run full force into my God’s arms everyday. Wherever He takes me from there is up to Him. I am willing and everyday becoming more and more able. I cannot wait to update you more! Right now I am just living the dream life in Pemba. Pouring into 300 students from 42 different nations of the world and watching as their lives are completely transformed! Everyday I am so thankful for the life God has given to me. With out Him I would never be where I am today. I miss you all and love you all… I think about you all everyday. I am always praying for the amazing community God blessed me with and the family I have been placed in. Love and Blessings, Rachael Michelle Singleton
 

Held Hostage In Jobeurg

9 days in Joberg and a few weeks in America. 

I am sorry I have not been better about writing this sooner. The time just escaped my grasp to quickly for me to keep up. 

After my 10 days in the bush I was really tired. Physically and mentally. I was ready to be home in America with friends and family and feeling very blessed that I even got the opportunity to do so. 

Finally out of Pemba I landed in Johannesburg. I had an over night layover until my next flight so I made plans to stay with another staff members family, who have a ministry in the city, over night.

The family was amazing and so generous! They drove me back to the airport the next night. Because it is so much cheaper I typically get buddy pass tickets when flying home from places. A buddy pass is acquired from someone who works for or is retired from certain airlines and are given extremely discounted prices on flights, but they are standby tickets. Before now I had never had a problem getting onto a flight and have even been given a first class a couple of times. However, a fire had broken out a month or so earlier In the Nairobi airport causing all flights through that airlines terminal to be redirected in Johannesburg. As well it was school starting season so many people were flying back to America to go back to school. Causing the air traffic from Joberg to America, specifically to ATL, to be extremely over crowded. Making everyone on standby the absolute last priority.  

I arrive at the airport that night very expectant to get on, but that is not what happened. And that was not what for 9 more nights.... 

The first night I ran into one of the students from my 10 day bush team, Julian. He was also flying standby back to ATL and it looked like we were stuck together. We called some friends we new and they were so kind to pick us. Day after day... After day we were so hopeful of getting home. Our friends picked us up and drove us back to the airport every night. Never complaining or asking us to get a taxi. Always willing and when we didn't get on they would pray with us and thank God for another night together.... It totally wrecked me. I have never felt so taken care of in the midst of such emotional trauma. I have also never lived out that verse in proverbs that says "hope differed makes the heart sick." I learned all to well exactly what that verse meant. 

God was totally teaching me something... I just had no clue what it was, but I also felt the peace in not knowing and that one day I would.

  

I was going stir crazy and my soul was just longing to be back in America.  I felt totally useless emotionally.  I was spent and really the only thing I had to lean on was God.  Every morning I would wake up and say “thank you God for this day, thank you that you are in control, and thank you that I can trust you.”  It was the only thing that kept me from going completely mental.  And I am not exaggerating on that.

While there, I didn’t just waste my time away.  I was given many opportunities to pour what little I had left into the city of Johannesburg.  The place where Julian and I stayed the majority of the nights was at a rehab ministry for people who had been hardcore drug addicts and are now clean, but struggling and who want to give a year to God to receive more healing and understanding.

Living with those people made my life seem so ridiculous and the way they were so generous with their space and time was completely the heart of God. Papa Dennis the father of my bush co-leader and the owner of the ministry let us come with him to share with the homeless and feed the men on the streets looking for work.  He also gave everything he had to us whenever he could.  He is such a beautiful man and it was an incredible honor to be with him and his family.

We also got to go to a lion park and pet lions! 

On that same day Bob Johnson (Bill Johnson’s brother) was doing a conference in a neighboring city.  We decided to go and they were going to go “treasure hunting” after Bob spoke.  Dennis, Julian, and I were hungry so we decided to go find something to eat and then go to the lion park. We were asking God where we should go and we landed at this strange gated German restaurant called “Marco Polo”.  

We drove in the gate and the first person to walk up to us was a prostitute.  Quickly we realized we had just driven into this brothel, bar, and restaurant, where all of the workers were in prostitution.  I sat down with the woman who first approached us and she began to tell me about her life and kept asking if I was okay.  I think she was concerned I was mixed up with the wrong crowd.  I told her I was great and very safe.  She told me how she wanted to quit drinking and smoking.  I was able to pray with her for that and chat with her for a bit before she wandered off to where the guys were looking at the menu.  Papa Dennis was able to release the Father’s love to her and really just be a papa to her when no one else ever had.  We also met the owner who was a very old rich German man and he was very confused by us which was funny, but he told us to come back anytime!

After 10 days and 9 nights in Johannesburg trying to get home I told God that if I didn’t get on this flight I would assume I wasn’t meant to go home and I would just get a new visa for Pemba and head back there.  Even though I knew God had told me I was to go home, I began to really second guess what I thought I had heard.  My body physically broke down that night at the airport.  I could no longer hold myself up on my feet.  Tears were flooding my eyes against my own will and my breathing increased drastically. I couldn’t take the stress of it all anymore and I was at my breaking point.  I pleaded that God would have mercy and do something, anything, to put me and the 20 others who had been waiting, on that flight.  And He did.  Everyone but 5 people got on that last flight.  I had never been so happy in my entire life, for anything.  I had never wanted to leave a country so badly.

I think God was really showing me that my home was in Him and nowhere else.  That He was my safety and my place of rest—no one else and nothing else.  No person, not even my own strength could get me where I needed to go without His hand on me.

I got less time at home than I thought I wanted, but it was exactly what I need.