Dreaming of a prepared heart

I fight every day. I feel like I'm in a constant battle right now which has me hoping I'm doing something right, and that's why the Enemy is attacking me. I think it revolves around Ethiopia. The biggest question I get is why are you going?? In my previous post I said I didn't know why and that I thought it was so I could be broken. Then God came in the form of conversations, the form of late nights and in the form of dreams. The conversation started it all. I have two friends in Nashville that are dear to my heart. They are in fact, two of the biggest reasons why after I return from Ethiopia I'm moving to Nashville (that's my plan at least, but always remember Proverbs 19:21). I remember a conversation we had back in August, about their adoption. Here's a pop quiz readers... Where are my friends Amy and Mike adopting from???.......... If you guessed Ethiopia you win a... well... you get the joy of knowing that you were right, and if you weren't God knows you are lying (JESUS JUKE!) Over the weekend I spoke extensively with Amy about this trip... my thoughts about the fact that they were adopting from Ethiopia were what if I met someone that would know Eli's family in Ethiopia. She presented a whole new idea. The orphanage they are adopting through is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which is where I am going. What if I can find the exact orphanage? Eli will be anywhere from Newborn to 2 years old when he is brought home to the States... what if he is already born, what if I can hold him? What if I have a picture of him as a baby? I began to weep after hanging up the phone. I cried out to God and thanked Him for this opportunity, I thanked Him for even presenting the idea because it hit me. It's not just about me, it's about my friends and family here that are praying and will be anxiously awaiting the stories that I will undoubtedly bring home. This led to a dream...

I am already passionate about Eli and his future. And I know that if I love Eli this much, his future parents have to be just pouring with love for him. I had a dream that Eli was born this week, and I met him in Ethiopia, I held him, hushed his crying, and prayed over him while he rocked in my arms. I came home with thousands of pictures of our work there, including a picture of Eli and I... little did I know he was soon to be my "nephew", because I already call myself Uncle Brad. What did this dream mean to me?? It meant that this trip is bigger than anything I could ever have dreamed it would be, and that it's even bigger than it is now. As I thought about Eli, I thought about the other kids in those orphanages. I began to understand the purpose of our group going. I previously told you I would be helping build staff housing for CMF. CMF brings all kinds of missionaries into Ethiopia, and those missionaries will be staying in this housing that I am being given an opportunity to build, those missionaries are people that may touch the lives of Eli and many other children, and adults. Again God showed me that this trip is bigger than me. Again I weep. I am overcome with joy... joy in the fact that God is granting me the privilege of taking this trip. It's not my right to go, it's a gift from Him and it's one that will keep giving every day leading up to it and every day following it. I realized one other thing, I have to be prepared for anything, and I already am because I am trusting in God to prepare me.

Grace and Peace