"Why Are You Going?"

It has been interesting to hear all the different responses when I tell people about my trip. Some people are excited for me, some are scared for me, while others seem confused as to why I would do this. After the discussion about if this a good time to go, where will you get the money, and isn't that dangerous, we finally get to the last stumbling block for a lot of people. My kids. How can I leave my kids for two weeks to go to Africa? The answer is simple, I'm going because of them. No, not because I want a break from them, but because my love for them made it possible for me to go and love other children.

Before I had kids, I had always wanted to do missions trips to Africa but didn't know how. I didn't know what I would do. I didn't feel I had anything to offer (which would not have been true). Like any new mom I didn't know what it would feel like to love my child, and when the next two came along I was nervous I didn't have enough room in my heart to love these children as much as I love Tristan. I could not have been further from the truth. They taught me that my heart was able to stretch and stretch and only feel stronger for it.

I know what I have to offer these motherless children now... my arms, my lap, my loving words, my heart. Thank you to my three crazy boys for giving me the confidence I needed to do the things I was meant to do. Most of all, thank you boys for sharing your mom with children who need some mom arms to hug them.