Just 2 weeks left

"Faith never knows where it is being led, But it knows and loves the One who is leading." -Oswald Chambers

Tomorrow is the 2 week marker for me leaving on this incredible journey I have spent 2 years planning. My emotions are all over the place and my brain even more scattered as I feel torn in many directions at the moment. Most will be excited to know that my laundry list of things to do has been significantly scaled back, but many things still remain. My driver's license was with me all the time (despite 4 people searching on more than 2 different occasions, my car being vacuumed and detailed more than once) and I found it on my long drive back to Nashville a little too late to be helpful (if you didn't know it was missing....well, it caused me a lot of problems and grief while I was trying to figure out how to send off my passport to obtain my mozambican visa while still maintaining a form of identification for my usage of debit cards which all say "SEE ID" on them. thanks to the vendors that actually pay attention to that signature spot on the back.)

Prayer Requests/Updates:

• Fundraising has been completed! I have officially met my upfront and monthly goals as of last week. and all without begging :) I have truly trusted Him in this matter and have been assured since the start that everything would work out in His timing. He has proved faithful yet again. Of course, any donations and support you still feel led to send my way is much appreciated and accepted as I always believe the Lord is providing even when I don't know my own needs!


• I am waiting on my Mozambican visa/passport to arrive safely in my mailbox BEFORE may 26th. It should be sometime next week. I am attempting to not be anxious about this matter.


• my car has still not sold. i have a backup plan...but being just that..it's not as good as the first one. or at least it appears that way at the moment.


• there's still that list of things to do before I leave and the time is dwindling...


• My health in these last 2 wks as I'm preparing to leave


• good times of fellowship with friends and family as I'm saying goodbyes and meeting with the people who have supported me through all of this!

I'm going to end with a few quotes from a book I just finished reading...The Shack by William P. Young (thanks for the reccomendation Sarah):

"Jeez, Mack, if you think God is going to be up there, why all the supplies?"

"Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image."

"Mack, pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly...and if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place."

"...to absolutely trust my life within him,...to believe in my love and my goodness without regard for appearance or consequence."

"You have to take the time to prepare the soil if you want it to embrace the seed...Just keep giving me the little bit you have, and together we'll watch it grow."

"Mack, if anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again."

"In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:16

41 days and counting...

In 41 days I will have packed all my stuff here in Arizona, somehow loaded into all into my car (i was not that good at tetris ever), driven back cross country to Nashville, stopping along the way to visit friends and family, deposited my stuff back into storage, repacked everything i need for africa, hopefully sold my car, rented a car, drove back to SC, rested, said a lot of goodbyes, and left the country.....did i mention that's the short version? My to-do list multiplies while i'm not looking at it and I feel as though nothing on it is ever removed! Note: if anyone feels a spirit of volunteerism right now and would just love to be a magical fairy and make all my things disappear off the list while i'm sleeping....i would LOVE you!

So, how am I handling this? hmmm......well, i'm freaking out a little honestly...which is making me pretty unproductive. Yes, I know i've been working on this for two years, and am probably way beyond prepared.....i just keep thinking of tons of things i should do (most which aren't necessary, i'm sure). And if I wasn't stuck out here in the desert (literally) with a few supportive, encouraging friends....I'm pretty sure NONE of this would be getting done right now!

Since i've been making lots of lists lately, here's another one: Things I know I'm going to miss while I'm not in the states (in no particular order):

• good music (let's clarify: new, good music and artists....wrlt online is going to be my new best friend)


• sushi....someone needs to figure out how to ship that in a care package....


• coffee (yes, i know there is coffee in africa....but i like a barista, who knows what i want without me asking for it, to make it for me all while smiling and nice soothing music is being played in the background)


• yoga (my stress level is down about 10 notches from my tri-weekly dosages...perhaps i should find some toddler yoga videos and instate it as weekly exercise for my tots in the babyhouse-it would at least be entertaining)


• getting in touch with anyone whenever I want.....oh yeah, i haven't had this happen....ever, so it's prob. not as big of a deal, but i will miss long uninterrupted phone conversations with all my friends (get skype and we will be at least closer to eliminating this one)


• understanding what people are saying when words come out of their mouth i'm hoping that my two week crash course language study i'm planning on taking when i get there will help a little....but you try working and being around toddlers who speak broken language anyway combined with baby babble in a foreign language you don't even understand to begin with and try to communicate.....yes, now you see.....let's pray for instantaneous adoption of the portuguese language or at least of toddler portuguese :)


• (of course) all my friends and family!!! that's a given though.....and all the birthdays, special events, and weddings I won't be there for. lots of ehugs and video messages coming your way! I'm incredibly thankful for my amazing friends I have been blessed with and for the technology that will allow me some form of sanity.


• warm sunshine in a park with a good book, music and a blanket on GRASS however, i'm already going through withdrawals, cause i don't know a good place here either and it's the desert as well, so grass is hard to come by anyway....at least most of the year will be insanely warm sunshiney weather and downtime will be mandatory.


• driving yes, i will be going green and not having a car, or a license, and i don't know how to drive stick shift anyway...so i'm not even going to bother learning how to drive on the left side of the road filled with potholes and crazy other drivers without a real traffic organizational system, and handcarts, and pedestrians darting out in front of you. there will be a lot of begging for rides and carpooling which will be new for me since i tend to always be the driver. relinquishing control=good.

On a more serious note: I'm trying to just encourage myself and reaffirm that this is where I am supposed to be and He has every detail already worked out....I am just attempting to carry them out as He lays them before me.

2 Timothy 1:6-14 (the message translation)

"And the special gift of ministry you received when I laid hands on you and prayed - keep that ablaze! God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible....We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus....But I have no regrets. I couldn't be more sure of my ground - the One I've trusted in can take care of what he's trusted me to do right to the end. So keep at your work, this faith and love rooted in Christ, exactly as I set it out for you. It's as sound as the day you first heard it from me. Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us."

A quote to challenge:

"To love anyone is to hope in him always. From the moment at which we begin to judge anyone, to limit our confidence in him, from the moment at which we identify [pigeonhole] him, and so reduce him to that, we cease to love him, and he ceases to be able to become better. We must dare to love in a world that does not know how to love." -French Priest (quoted by Madeleine L'Engle in Walking on Water)

Hosanna (lyrics by Hillsong)

"I see a generation/rising up to take their place/with selfless faith/with selfless faith

I see a near revival/stirring as we pray and seek/we're on our knees/we're on our knees

Hosanna, Hosanna/Hosanna in the highest/Hosanna, Hosanna/Hosanna in the highest

Heal my heart and make it clean/open up my eyes/to the things unseen/show me how to love/like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours/everything I am/for your kingdom's cause/as I walk from earth into eternity

Hosanna, Hosanna/Hosanna in the highest/hosanna, Hosanna/Hosanna in the highest!"

Plane tickets purchased....

So finally my plane tickets have been purchased! Thanks to my great travel agent Lisa-War Eagle! My official leave date is May 26, 2008. I think reality's sinking in and I'm just figuring out that I'm about to leave in less than 2 months. I still have a lot to do but things are starting to come together.


Financial update: God has been so faithful these past weeks and I have had $415/month in new pledges come in as well as $1145 in one-time donations. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting much closer to my goals!


Communications update:

• While I'm over there I will have access to wi-fi internet as long as it's working. There's a free program for the web called Skype where you can talk over the internet for free. Go to http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/ to download for free, setup an acct and then find me by searching by my name or my skype name erin.welton I'm currently trying to make talking appts with friends so we can work out all the kinks while i'm still stateside and can use a cellphone to give you directions. I have had quite a few friends use this long-term with friends overseas and it has worked beautifully. All you need is a microphone, a computer, and a high-speed internet connection. Email/call me with questions if you need help setting this up.
  
• I'll also be able to recieve mail and care packages. As soon as I get over there I will set up a mailbox in South Africa. Most all the missionaries have one over there and whoever goes across the border that wk checks everyone's boxes. It's only an hr away and everyone has to leave and reenter the country every 30 days to keep their visa current so it works well. South Africa is alot more reliable in the mail department allowing us to actually recieve the mail/packages as well as in a more timely manner. Look foward to those updates after I arrive.


• Of course there's alway email @ weltoem@msn.com I will have a cellphone once over there but it's primary use will be dedicated to communication between staff and missionaries on base. Also, we all know international calling is insanely expensive and I prefer the free option. They do have one landline, but again it is the only one for the entire base and isn't always reliable, so I have emergency numbers for those who need them and everyone else will have to schedule skype chats and write emails and snailmail. :)

Prayer Update: As a preview into what my life's about to look like, the poor baby house has had it rough this last few weeks. It has me thinking there is no way I can do this on my own. I know all lies from Satan, but that still doesn't mean it has me doubting it. They made 4 hospital runs in 1 week for baby house residents alone. 18month old, Neemias, was admitted twice, the second time to the ICU clinging to his life, he was coded once and slipped into a coma for over a week not expected to live, however the most recent update has him back on the floor, out of a coma and at least able to drink milk on his own; 2 month old, Dionicio spent a few days on the peds ward as well but is now finally back home and doing much better; and 10 month old Irene died in the arms of one of the missionaries on the way to the hospital after malaria overtook her body and she started seizing continuously. Little Tino (who some of you have been recieving updates on for the last 6 wks) is still hanging on there at Iris, constantly having seizures, being fed through a tube, and no longer responding to touch or sound. A GI bug hit all the kids in the baby house and they hadto shut the doors for 48hrs-noone in/noone out to contain whatever it is. After this did not work they decided to quarantine all infected babies in the clinic till it passed. Malaria season is in full swing and also affecting quite a few of them. 2 more were diagnosed with malaria on last monday. The combination is not a good one, especially for the youngest, the chronic, or the 25% living with HIV/AIDS. They could use all the prayers-for the missionaries serving in the baby house, the medical staff, and the babies.

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." -Revelation 21:4

I have a tshirt that has this verse translated into kid language: There will be no more bandaids in heaven, no beestings, no more ouchies, no broken bones, no more shots or tummy aches. There will be no tears in heaven. Just thought it was fitting today.

I'm going back in May!

I recieved an email on Jan 27th that my long-term application at Iris Ministries was accepted and I have been invited to return to Mozambique in May for a one year term. I will primarily be working as a nurse in the baby house where there are around 30-40 birth-4 yr olds living. There will be a western nurse's aide and a mozambican nurse to assist me. Another western nurse is arriving on base in May as well and will be taking over the HIV/AIDS program. I will be assisting her with the 9 or so baby house children affected. I feel so blessed for this opportunity and want to thank each of you for all the support, guidance, prayer, and encouragement you have given me.

Until May, I will be on a travel nursing assignment in Phoenix, Arizona with a few friends, working in the Neonatal ICU at Phoenix Children's. Upon completion of my assignment May 3, I will return to Nashville, begin packing, and then spend a few weeks with family and friends before heading to Africa. I can't wait to update you more in a few days. I will begin sharing information on fundraising and details concerning support as soon as i get settled in Phoenix! Praise to the one who knows all things, plans our paths, and steadies our footsteps. His ways are wonderful and mighty. I am so thankful for each of you!

Merry Christmas-updates!

I hope everyone has had a very blessed Christmas! I wanted to update ya'll on the latest. Since I turned in my long-term application a month ago, my two references from employers and pastors have been submitted and everything has been signed off on as ready to hand over to the director @ Zimpeto. They have the final say. Currently the directors are in South Africa with family for the holidays and won't be back till right after the first. As soon as they are back, they will get my file and start praying over it. I'm hoping the decision will be quick and I will soon know when I can go over, but I'm told that they have a lot of applications to consider at the moment. This means the process may take a little longer than I would like.

For the time being, I quit my full-time and part-time job in Nashville and as of Jan. 4th, all of my belongings will be packed up and moved into a storage unit. I will then be going home to South Carolina to spend time with family and friends. I know I will be blessed by this time and I am welcoming the break from my currently hectic life. A friend and I are taking a travel nursing assignment together and hopefully in the next 2 wks we will know where we will be going. This has afforded me a month off to relax and spend quality time with everyone I never get to see, plus the holidays off!!! I will start the assignment at the end of Jan or beginning of Feb and will work for at least 13 wks depending on what/when I hear from Iris Ministries.

I pray all these transitions will go smoothly and that my patience will continue as I wait to hear from Iris. Keep checking back for the latest updates!! Thanks again to everyone who has been so amazing these past few months. I have been so blessed! I love each of you.