Why are we going??

Today was one of those days where the overwhelmed feeling of preparing for a big trip like this hits.  I had been working on Russian visa applications for more hours than I can count and was frustrated by all of the hassle.  I even jokingly said that I would rather prepare our taxes 5 times than apply for 5 visas....yes, it really was that bad folks!

As some of you know we have also been in the process of selling our home and moving for a little over a year now.  We finally sold our house in April and as timing would have it we will be closing on our new house 4 days before leaving for Russia and moving in the day we return.  We thought it would be great fun to combine two of our favorite activities....jet lag and moving!

So in the middle of all of this chaos and planning today I had a moment where my vision for our reason for going on this trip became cloudy.  I was really overwhelmed thinking that we had all of this on our plate in the next month.  I had a brief moment of wanting to retreat and just forget about the chaos.

Then a little eight year old voice reminded me why we are packing our bags and taking our kids halfway around the world:

Caleb had show and tell today at school and he wanted to take his passport to show all of his classmates.  He stood in front of his class and boldly told them all about his passport and when his teacher asked him why he was going on this trip he quickly said "I am going on this trip because I want to be like Paul...I am going to be a missionary"

My eyes teared up but my vision quickly focused back...our children are getting a chance of a lifetime to see the world from a different viewpoint.  They get a chance to see that there are places that are different from ours but that God's love shines just as bright there as it does in their part of the world.  

And my prayer is that my children will look at the Russian people and love them the way that I did the first time I set foot on their soil some 20 years ago.

ahhh....now I remember why we are going.  Thank you Caleb for opening your heart to your class today and letting me get a peak inside.