Double Surprise!

The girls had a "surprise" for me, but I also had a surprise for them!!!

After they gave me their "go away gift", I shared with them that I

actually wasn't going away!  I'll be traveling again this fall!

It's so special to me just how personal my God is in answering

prayer so specifically!  Although the Vans had offered for me

to travel again, I did not have a peace to accept, but rather had

been checking into other possibilities.  The Vans and I had met

a couple of times to discuss options for the fall, and every time

we met, they offered again for me to travel if I felt the Lord

leading that way.. well, I really didn't at the time, so we just

continued to pray as I continued to check out different options.

I'm not exactly sure when the Lord really worked in my heart to

burden me about traveling again.. I think it started around our time

in Canada.  There was still another possible option open, though,

so I just kept praying for the Lord to make His will very clear.

I just wanted HIS will for my life!

I'd been praying about traveling again for a few months, if that's

what the Lord wanted me to do I wanted to be open to it, although

I really doubted that that was what I was supposed to do at the time

when I started praying about it.  But I surrendered to it if that was the

Lord's will and was willing to travel again if that's what He wanted.

But when I was in Canada, just a few weeks away from being done,

I started praying even more specifically about traveling again.

As the Vans were looking into different options for a teacher for the

fall, I had been praying that the door would close for each one of those

teachers to travel if it was to stay open for me..  I prayed this, thinking,

"There's no way the door will close for all of them!  Surely this is safe

way to pray!"  Well.. the Lord has a sense of humor, I believe ;)

So, again and again I'd hear from Mrs. Van that it wouldn't work for

this person or that person.. people that I thought for sure would be

strong possibilities!  I thought that was interesting..

Well, then when I was sensing the Lord working in my heart again

about traveling, I started praying even more specifically.

Dr. Jim had told me that if I sensed the Lord working in my heart

to travel again then I should communicate that to them..

As I was praying more seriously about traveling again, though, I

did not at all feel liberty or peace to approach them again about traveling; 

rather, I prayed that they would come back to me about it if the Lord

wanted me to travel again.  So, I was praying specifically about it as

I believe the Lord led me to pray..

Well, you can probably guess what happened.. :)

The doors closed for all others to travel, leaving it wide open for me,

and Mrs. Van did approach me again about traveling on a Saturday evening..

actually, it was also the end of the week that I'd been praying that the 

Lord would lead them, if it was His will, to talk to me that very week.

Praise the Lord for how He specifically answers prayer!

We truly serve a magnificent, personal Heavenly Father!

And, yes, just in case you're wondering.. 

I'm VERY excited about traveling again!!! :)

So, after the girls gave me my "going away" surprise,

I had a little surprise of my own for them.. :)

Here's the video of when I told them.. we were in the plane

on the way back to Wisconsin, so maybe not the most ideal

place, so it's kinda hard to hear, but you can see facial expressions.. :)

Pardon the BuMpY beginning, too!!! :)