Lindsay, Where are you?!?

I truly appreciate that many of you have experienced with me the constant uncertainty of my plans. It began shortly after I left home in July. I explained that my plans were to commit my time to Bangladesh, but then God told me to be the leader of a team going to India and Andaman Islands. Ten days before our team left, we learned the door to the Andaman Islands was closed. That's when God said, "Sri Lanka." We went with plans to stay 2-3 weeks, which slowly turned into two months. I finally left Sri Lanka on the 12th with plans to be in Bangladesh on the 15th. Oh shucks.... I did it again, didn't I? I made PLANS. And wouldn't you know that today is the 15th and i am NOT in Bangladesh. In fact, I am now in Kolkata, India waiting for the nation-wide strike in Bangladesh to end so a bus can take me back. It seems as if I will be here until Fridsay...but I am not planning on anything anymore, including Christmas at home. Instead of planning, I am praying and letting God be my travel agent.

I know some of you have found it just as difficult as I have to not know what's next, to not have set dates, to not have answers. As I reflect on my journey these past four months, it is clear to me that something important is going on. In fact, it must be so important that one of two things is happening.

1 of 2: Satan hates so much the plans that I am making, that he is working overtime to keep me from them. If that is the case, I still celebrate in the VICTORIES as I see God's redemptive hand every step of the way. (Just read some of my blog entries.)

2 of 2: God is teaching me an very important lesson and preparing me to react instinctively or naturally. He's bringing me through this learning experience over and over again. It's the idea of repition, and I learned that concept very well in my sports years. "Practice doesn't make perfect; it makes permanent." I didn't just practice shooting a 3-pointer one time to know how to do it with out thinking in a game. Just like a child doesn't learn how to write his/her name only once to do it so naturally like you and I. It takes repition. In four months, God has been teaching me the same lesson over and over. At first, it was so hard, but each time gets easier--easier to hear God's voice when I am feeling lost; easier to give God control; easier to trust that God's ways are better than mine.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

So where am I? I am in God's hands....the safest, most wonderful place to be.

Imaginary Hugs with Real Passports

coming soon.... the whole, INCREDIBLE story of how God is so faithful. The good news I can't wait to share, though, is that the stolen passport was returned to the righteous owner. ALMAS HAS HIS PASSPORT!!! And let me just add, when I saw him with it, it was hard to respect his culture and not grab him by the shoulders and shake him in joy. I wanted to make sure he really understood that he had his passport. And next I wanted to jump up and down and hug him. And then I wanted to hug the strangers that passed us. I contained myself, somehow....

ALMAS HAS HIS PASSPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sri Lanka's Mysteries

A main attraction in Sri Lanka is the majestic elephant. They say that elephants roam freely in this country and can be found frequently in the wild like Minnesotan's see deer. Any Sri Lankan will proudly add that these elephants are the most beautiful in the world. Although elephants are printed on every piece of tourist merchandise available, I have yet to see a real one. I guess I am not hanging out in the wild enough. Almas and I have a new committed friend who refuses to let us leave without seeing an elephant. We'll see what comes of that.

Another mystery from this week.... Almas' passport. Wednesday we met a man who claimed to have found his passport in the wild (or in a gutter). Strangly, his nephew held onto it and brought it with him to a far away, remote city. The Sri Lankan man we met was confident we'd see this passport again. He seemed so committed to helping us, but since that meeting the man is about as visible as the elephants.

Elephants and Almas' passport are surely on this island somewhere, and we are hoping to see them both before we leave.

PRAYER NEEDS: Almas' passport situation. #1. The return of his original passport. #2. A speedy (or speedier) response from the Bangladesh Embassy regarding the issue of a new passport or travel document. After that is worked out, we need an approval/visa from the India Embassy for him to travel through India to get home.

We are still believing in the miraculous return of his original passport! Praise God.