Caleb has been helping lead worship at a small house of prayer for over a year. They meet for several hours once a week for prayer and worship. Since Caleb was leaving here Friday morning, we took him out to the dinner of his choice Thursday evening. After we finished, he asked if we could run by the house of prayer for a few minutes because there were some people who wanted to pray over him. We told him that would be fine, we'd just walk in and wait until he was finished and then we'd go home and finish getting his bags packed.
We had NO idea what the Lord was about to do!
The worship time had already begun, so Kregg and I were going to grab a seat in the back so it wouldn't disturb anyone. Well, that didn't happen! This house of prayer is lead by a husband and wife team and then staffed by volunteers. As we came in, an adorable little lady scurried over to meet us. She wanted to know if we were his parents, and when she found we were she couldn't say enough about him. It was so precious. What a joy to a mother's heart.
Then her husband came. Oh my!
I had been FINE! I hadn't cried. I had been cheerful all day. But that bubble burst!
He ushered us up to the front where he seated us. Then, when the song ended, he got up to speak about our son. And the floodgates opened! I'm crying now just remembering those precious words!
Next, they brought us up and gathered around the three of us. They prayed blessings and Scripture over us and spoke such powerful words in the Spirit. My eyes were leaking. My nose was leaking. And there were no kleenex to be had. I was completely overwhelmed. They truly understood what was happening in his heart. They understood this is bigger than just a month spent helping a missionary. We were standing on holy ground as they prayed. I will never forget it.
As if that were not enough, Kregg led us in prayer as a family when we got home. He even had missing members on speaker phone. I was, once again, fine! Until Kregg prayed. Oh my!! The floodgates once again opened. What precious words. I was weeping for Joy!
But not the four little guys. It started with Elizabeth and Rebekah. They began weeping when Kregg and I did. Josh and Ben were still holding themselves together. But not for long. When we finished praying, we went back to finishing up Caleb's packing. I heard something odd from the boys' room. When I stuck my head in the door, there were Josh and Ben, folding Caleb's laundry and weeping, tears streaming down their faces. Well, of course, that got Kregg and I started again. Just seeing their sad little faces would have made Chuck Norris cry. The girls were in the study with Caleb, and they were weeping. Josh and Ben were in their room, weeping. Kregg and I looked at each other with our "bewildered parent" face and just hugged each other. As hard as it was on the four little guys to say goodbye to their beloved big brother, it was so precious to our parent hearts to know just how much they love him.
He has made it through security, both bags weighing in just under the maximum limit. (He is delivering lots of presents from people here to the missionary family there.) He will board the flight to Amsterdam in just a little while. After a layover of a few hours there, he will board the flight to Entebbe, Uganda, arriving late tomorrow. He will be met at the airport by a driver and a couple who will take him to a hotel in Entebbe tomorrow night. Monday they will make the 7 hour (I think) drive to Fort Portal where he will spend the next four weeks.
What an incredible opportunity! What an incredible adventure! We know the Lord will expand his heart and deepen his message through this time in Africa. As he was about to leave his hotel this morning, he asked me to send him this song:
0 comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear what you think!