Backyards, Birthdays, and Africa

So...just a quick update on our backyard oasis. We finally got the pump for the waterfall and David is still in the process of getting the deck finished. Being the smart woman I am, I reminded David that my birthday is next Wednesday and I would love nothing more than to have a finished backyard to celebrate and eat cake in. He caught on and realized what I was doing but he will still feel guilty if it is not finished! We women are so smart! :) So, I have complete faith that our backyard will be finished by next Wednesday.

On another note, both David and I have been reading this great book called "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day". It is an awesome book and I highly recommend it for everyone. The main purpose of the book is talking about how as Christians, we are called to "chase lions" and live a bold and daring life. Christ never called us to be boring believers whose faith is only lived out in a church service every now and then. We are called to go out and live like Christ, who definitely did not lead a boring life! I know most of my huge setbacks in life are my fears. I let fear and uncertainty hold me back from living the life God has called me to. Recently, I have a felt a huge desire for missions. I just want to go out and help the needy and bring them Christ. I get so comfortable here in our nice little house with our nice little jobs in our nice little town. I don't ever want to get "comfortable". I want to enjoy where God leads me and embrace uncertainty. With that being said, a dear friend of mine shared with me Family Legacies, a group that travels to Zambia each summer and works at a camp with orphans. After looking it over, I knew David and I had to do this. With summer right around the corner, we are planning on taking this trip summer 2010, but I do want to ask you to pray for us. Pray that we follow God's will in this. Also, we will need to raise a very large amount of money in order to go. I have full faith that God will provide, but pray that we don't get discouraged with finances. We have over a year to get there, but too often we let a number frighten us and hold us back.

Here are a few pictures of where we would be going. I know this will be an amazing trip that will bring us closer together as husband and wife and also closer to our Creator.