Prayer Requests 6-13-06

Wanted to update these prayer requests. Not sure how this will publish, but bear with me as I try this out. Updated in blue on July 1, 2006

1. We leave Charlotte, NC at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, June 19. We will have about an hour layover in Detroit and depart for Osaka at 3:40 p.m. That flight is about 14 hours. We arrive in Osaka at 6 p.m. June 20 (cross the international date line). That night we will stay in the airport hotel. The next day we will take a train to Kobe (about 90 minutes from the hotel) and meet my friend Kaori for lunch. Then we will go to Kurashiki (about 1 hour) and meet Rachel, see our apartment, etc.
2. I am praying that we will get at least 3 seats on the plane so we can have some room to spread out. Bonnie is not a good traveler so this will be a hard trip for her. Pray that I will find creative things to do with her (I'm bringing a bunch of stuff). I found out that we can't recharge the batteries on our computer or DVD player so we will only have, at most, 3 hours of time on those. :( Because of my size, this won't be a very comfortable trip for me either. Pray that we can both get some sleep and not get on each other's nerves.

The flight was full, but uneventful. Bonnie stayed up through most of it. I lived :) but it was extremely uncomfortable. There were no extra seats, but we had a nice person in our row. Bonnie was never bored, but I was!

1. Pray that I won't have problems at the airport with the extra luggage, the carry-ons and getting Bonnie out of the country. With so many family kidnappings, they require a notorized document from the spouse, but there is no father in our case so I have to bring her birth certificate, etc. It will be an extra hassle.

No problems anywhere!

1. My car. I will be dropping it off at the last minute and have no idea what will happen. God knows, though. I need to trust in HIm (I have no other choice).

Continue praying. Someone in my church is selling it for me.

1. My condo. Salvation Army is coming next Wed. to pick up some of the furniture, but they won't go up the stairs! And I will be in Japan so a friend is coming over, but she can't get it down herself. I really don't know how this will work out, so pray that someone will help us. Along those lines, I have several items of furniture that I'd like to take to a consignment store, but I have no one to help me get them there. Tomorrow (Thursday) is the last day they will take them.

They still haven't gotten me moved, but someone in my church is taking care of it, thank goodness. Pray they will get it done soon so I can get it rented (see below)

1. Leasing the condo. I have a property management company who will handle this, but they can't do an inspection until I get moved out (which will most likely be after I leave for Japan) so pray that I can get it in reasonable shape. They will charge me for any cleaning, painting or hauling of junk. :) Pray for good tenants to move in quickly.

Continue praying (see above)

1. Pray I will find time to get my international driver's license, all my meds and some other last-minute errands done on Friday (places won't be open over the weekend).

Somehow it all got done! Praise! Thanks Jean and Kelly!

1. Continue praying for Bonnie as she is not happy about all of this. Pray for some of her friends here who are having a hard time with her leaving.

She was in a honemoon phase with Japan for a while, but now she is more realistic. She really needs friends. Continue praying.

1. Pray for my relationships with people at Agape -- here and in Japan: students, colleagues, parents, etc.
2. Pray for childcare for Bonnie

Prayer still needed for these!

1. Jet lag (brutal, as I recall)

I survived. Thanks to Ambien. :)

1. I am so thankul that God has found me worthy of this opportunity. I can't believe I am finally seeing my dream of foreign missions come true.

Love you all,

Karyn

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

First, of course, the good!

1. I received a very generous, anonymous donation from someone in my church which gives me enough monthly support to get Bonnie high quality daycare and meet any unexpected expenses. This came out of nowhere and was NOT sought so it has been confirmation to me that I'm doing the right thing.
2. I have a couple of awesome friends who keep coming over to my porch and taking loads of stuff to Goodwill and bags of junk to the dumpster. One of these friends is about to leave for an arduous missions trip to Belize on Saturday and has given up her precious time to help us!
3. We are staying with some dear friends who have Bonnie's best friend for a daughter! Bonnie gets to spend time with her every day and this is a great memory for her to have before she leaves.
4. My best friend in Japan is going to meet us in Kobe our first full day in Japan and take us to lunch. I can't wait to see her. Her name is Kaori and I haven't seen her for five years!
5. I find myself turning to God daily and He ALWAYS somehow makes it do-able. Psalms 91 says we will rise up with the wings of eagles and that is what I pray for. I have read the Christian cliches so many times that the words could easily spill out: God is so faithful, God meets our every need, etc. Many times when I read those things I would get angry. I didn't feel God's faithfulness, my needs weren't being met. But now I am experiencing this. I don't know if it's because I am finally doing what He has planned for me or if it's because I am turning to Him (but I've done that before, so I doubt if it's that) or if it's something else (most likely it is not something I can control). But I am thankful to be exeriencing it. I am seeing God in a way that I never have before. I can finally understand some of the words of Paul that I felt were just words before. I finally "get" it -- that God loves even me, that He not only wants good things for me but is providing them. That His ways are higher and better than my ways.

Next up -- the (kind of) bad

1. Bonnie still doesn't want to go, which is normal. Please pray for her -- specifically to find a best friend and good childcare.
2. I've reached my limit as far as stress goes and am crying easily, very tired. On top of the packing (see below), I have to get prescriptions filled, take care of paperwork, get my house rented, blah, blah, blah.

And finally, the downright ugly!

1. I am sick of packing. Although we are living with friends, every day I come over here and pack. It is very discouraging, especially since I have other things to do and I feel like I'm not making enough progress. Please pray.