Here I am!

I had wonderful plans to have this blog started before I ever left the United States…I even sat down to create my blog before I left…but every title that I tried was taken.  Naming a thing means a lot to me so I couldn’t just choose any name.  I prayed about it and tried the day after my first failed attempts; still no winner.  Then I had to board that first flight and I figured “I will do it when I get there”, never knowing that it would be almost two weeks before I had internet!  

So here I am, two weeks in to this wonderful adventure…and I still haven’t created a blog!  I just sat down to get the blog going and the internet has crashed again; so I am just creating my first post so that when I have access again I can get going.  

I wish I could detail every day of my first two weeks here.  Well, technically I haven’t yet been in Moshi for an entire two weeks…but it’s close.  When I was first flying into Tanzania…I looked out the window over Dar Es Salaam and my thought was “I’m home!”  It was an amazing feeling.  After all the hours (days) flying; I was only a few more hours from Moshi!  

Not perfect...but it's my first picture of Moshi!

On every flight, and even during the time spent waiting to make connecting flights, God brought a new friend into my life.  I had 13 hours in Doha, Qatar and as I was landing there I had the thought that this would be a lonely 13 hours and I prayed that I wouldn’t be too sad or too lonely.  After a couple of hours at the airport courtesy desk and immigration; I was on my way to a hotel.  A woman sat next to me on the shuttle and asked where I was from and where I was going…God brought me a friend!  Angeline was a Catholic sister, originally from Kenya, on her way back to Spain after a holiday in her home town.  We were being put up at the same hotel!  We shared dinner and talked for a couple of hours; before going to our rooms Angeline told me that she had prayed that she wouldn’t be too lonely on this stop over, and was thankful that God had brought me to her.  I had a moment of amazement, because since praying that same thing myself it had left my mind and I hadn’t had time to be lonely.  God answered both of our prayers with each other.  He is so good that way!  In that moment I was so humbled to see how God not only provided comfort through a friend during the stop over, but also provided comfort to my spirit to the point that I forgot that I had even been worried about feeling lonely!!!  

 Ok…internet is up for the moment and God has given me the perfect address for this blog.  This morning I went to make coffee and I saw this mug in the cabinet for the first time.

Yes!  :)

I'm sitting here typing, drinking out of this cup and reading the verse on the back "For I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine"  Isaiah 43:1 and thinking how appropriate this is for my life...and suddenly it hits me...that's my blog name!!!  That's why none of the other ones worked!  God is so wonderful  :)  

Thank you for reading and for joining me on this life changing adventure!!!