As Easter approaches my heart longs to go to Mozambique to tell of the good news that He is Alive!

Our countdown until orientation chain says 119 days and sometimes I just want to rip four weeks off of the chain as if it will somehow advance the time.

Last week I hit a lot of big projects in our home during our Easter break from school. When you have four kids you’ve got tot take advantage of all the time you can get, which for me was our Easter break. During the week I sorted, organized, matched into outfits, inventoried, and space saver bagged over ten kid wardrobes that once consumed a whole closet and now occupy 3 totes. Thankfully my friend, Susan, helped me, cutting the workload down to two days instead of the whole week. I also bagged more than ten goodwill donation bags filled with winter clothing, random extras, wall décor, random storage bins, old craft supplies, and toys. I cleaned out and organized our keepsake bins that will stay in the States. I cleaned out the underside of beds and Eden moved out of the crib so we can clean and sell it. I gave away 3 wooden shelves (and most of their contents) and destashed toys the girls haven’t touched in months. I organized all the art/craft supplies we’re bringing to Mozambique. I also gave away our outdoor playhouse and power washed outdoor toys and the swing set. And then to top off the week, I inventoried the entire house, notating what we hope/plan to bring, what will be sold/donated, and what we’re still not certain about. The office wall now displays these lists so I have a further plan on simplifying.

You know, it may feel a little early to some to be at this phase of the cleaning out process. And sometimes it feels a little early when I look at the wall of paper chains still awaiting our countdown. And then I remember that we’ll be gone for 2.5 weeks of June and the last 2 weeks of June will be packing for Orientation/Quelimane and preparing to crate at the end of the month. And July we will be home about a total of 5 days distributed in 2 or 3 day segments in the month.

Beyond our busy schedule before we leave, once homeschool begins again next week there is so much of our life that I just want to experience and enjoy instead of constantly run decluttering and preparation lists. I just want to knock out the big stuff and then play outside with the girls, enjoying the weather and the local parks in the middle of the homeschool day because we have that blessed luxury to do math at the playground. I want to just fill our days with friend playdates and invest in the beautiful lives God has used to cultivate such sweet friendships.

So if our house looks bare a little early, know that it’s because our investment was never in these walls but in sharing in others’ hearts.

119 days can seem so far away some days and yet I know it will absolutely fly other days. But we’re fighting to be present these last 119 days. We’re fighting to spend more time doing life together and less time reorganizing our crate stuff. Oh sure, we need to have intentionality in our crate, but we also need to walk beside our friends and family, continuing to make memories, laugh and cry together. Because when the sun goes down and we load our van to drive to Orientation we don’t want to look back with regrets that we had moved on in our hearts before God had moved our family.

Mozambique is  crazy exciting. The adventure. The bittersweet whittling down of ourselves to rely more fully on God’s provision. The unknowns. The “no plan B” abandonment into God’s Call to run to the nations. Yes, it’s an endurance run, not a sprint, and our hearts still yearn to quicken the pace in moments. There’s a bend up there and we desperately want to see what horizon view lies up ahead.

And our hearts also long to be here with you all. Right here. Right now. Delighting. Laughing. Hoping. Praying. Remembering. Investing..

You go with us because we can’t bare to leave you. And we also stay with you because we can’t bare to leave you.

So today we’re here, celebrating the Lord’s glorious resurrection from the grave and our prayers are there, praying that others would soon learn of the Lord’s glorious resurrection from the grave.

And in both places, He is more than enough! He is. Praise the Lord, He is

RISEN!