Responses...

I had several phone calls to make, but not sure I was emotionally ready to dial the phone numbers. I decided to call my sister first. She'd been the one person (other than my mom & dad) that had been with me longer on this earth...so thought I'd start there. She answered and we covered all the 'bring-me-up-to-date-with-everything' chat. I then told her I had something I needed prayer with....and just spilled the beans with the opportunity God might be leading us into. After a short pause, my sister responded in a way that will forever be burned so sweetly in my memory. She said, "Oh, 'K' (that's what my mom & sis call me)...my flesh is saying NO, NO..you CAN'T move so far away - that's just TOO FAR!!! But my spirit is crying for JOY!!!" Wow. Now that's a spirit-filled person if I've ever met one.
You might just miss that little tid-bit if you grew up with my sister, Mel. I'll give you a little smidgen example. She disappeared into the darkness of Houston for several months when I was a teenager. We (my parents & I) knew she was more than likely mixed in with drugs & alcohol abuse on the streets of Houston. We didn't know how to contact her or anyone that may know anything about her. When a family has to try going through daily routines while a missing link is nowhere to be found...we didn't know whether to expect her to be alive or dead. She did return home ~ and I might add GOD is doing a MIGHTY work in her life right now. She's a true prayer warrior & has a precious heart for women who've been lost & tossed out of the church. (Thank you, Mel, for being you & loving me. I am blessed to have such a beautiful big sis praying for me (all our family, actually) & on my side. I am SO proud of you!!!

So, now on to responses #2 & 3 - my son, Justin & daughter, Jordan (both in Tx). I dialed Justin's cell and said a little prayer. His response was one of caution. Just like the protector he's always been..he wanted to know details like, "Mom, have you checked out the crime rate, the living conditions, the transportation situation...and such." I just loved that response! As I've told him before he will make such a great daddy someday. Jordan was next. I dialed her number and prayed, again. She answered and we chatted a little. I then posed the possible opportunity for Hong Kong. She just laughed and said, "Mom...you & Mike should have your own reality TV show!" Who would've ever thought her response would be this light. Turns out she was here, in Dighton, for a week at the beginning of the summer - when Michael first got a call from Hong Kong. So it wasn't really a big surprise to Jordan. (note to self: God certainly puts the pieces of the B-I-G puzzle together...making sure each one is snug & where its supposed to be. So why do I worry?) Jordan went on to tell me she wished she weren't already enrolled for the fall semester...she'd sure as heck come with us & help unpack! Always the fun-loving, spirited child of mine. I'm hoping to get all of our kids to come to Hong Kong ~ ALL 6..no, wait 7..or was it 8 including our foster kids...lost count & love it!
(note to self: I have precious children who have such wonderful personalities...don't forget to Thank God on a regular basis for blessing me with them)

My mom & dad had responses that were equally special...but I'll save for the next posting...this one was a little longer than I expected.

A little history...

Where do I begin? If I go back about 4 years ago, when we were in Texas...and God was stirring something in our hearts, that's probably far enough. We knew we'd be moving at some point, but had not a clue where. We 'sorta' left that detail up to God. (note to self: never can tell what He might do or where you might end up if you do)
So Michael & I prayed earnestly for God's direction, and promised obedience no matter what. (note to self: Be careful what you pray for!)

We received a call from a pastoral selection committee in the small community known as Dighton, Kansas. Had no idea where that was, but we both were delighted to talk to those involved (and eventually became life-long friends to each member). The phone interview was quite entertaining - I enjoyed getting to know the members & found out conference calls can be quite fun!
Needless to say...I knew this was the direction God was leading us, which was both very sad & exciting all at the same time. Sad because we were making a choice/called by God and that meant leaving children behind (most were grown by this time...except our 'babies' from previous marriages...Jordan (17yrs - mine), and Nico (18yrs - mike's). Michael's other three were already gone from our nest (Jennifer, New Orleans; Ian, Lubbock; and Paige, New Orleans). My oldest, Justin (20yrs) was still in Austin, just not at home anymore.

So, what did we do? We jumped - head first - into fulltime ministry in a community that I was told was 10 blocks X 10 blocks..and the county (Lane) had 1000 people. (remember: we were moving from Austin (Dripping Springs) Texas! It was a l-o-n-g jump & leaving my kids & family...heart-wrenching; BUT God is faithful and He saw us through. It was the best decision I probably had ever made up to this point as an adult (of course I had heavenly help!).