Change Of Plans to Cameroon, Africa

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster for us regarding our trip to Tenwek.  A couple of weeks ago we received a message from the university that Kenya is on the U.S. State Department's "do not travel" list, therefore, our trip would have to be cancelled.  The "do not travel" advisory is a list of countries that the state department feels is unsafe for U.S. citizens to travel to and in.  Since we are under the discretion of the school and pediatric department, we knew that Tenwek would now be out of the question for our mission work.  Our second choice, when we started looking into this trip, was Papua New Guinea.  So, we decided that we would go to the Kudjip Nazarene Hospital near Mt. Hagen, PNG.  After more paperwork and coordination, we received word that PNG was not an option due to lack of housing space for us.  At this point, we came to a crossroads of "What are you trying to tell us, God?" We thought, "Maybe it isn't His will for us to go anywhere?" or "Maybe this is a test to see if we are willing to be faithful?".  Sometimes it is hard for the willing Christian worker to hear clearly what the Lord specifically is saying when crossroads appear.  I remember a phone conversation Melissa and I were having one afternoon.  We were talking about the heart break of not being able to go to Kenya, and I told her, "God doesn't require us to know all the details, then after that, show up for assignment, but He does require us to show up and report to duty first and then we get the assignment".  In other words, when we say "YES" to God and His will, we are giving Him the "blank piece of paper" of our lives, and by faith, we are asking Him to fill in the blank.  So, we are giving it another try! The great coordinators at World Medical Mission are giving us another assignment in Cameroon, Africa at the Mbingo Baptist Hospital.  We are very excited about this, and covet your prayers that the process and paperwork will confirm God's will on our hearts.  We will be giving you updates as June approaches. I went to the health department this morning to get the rest of my vaccinations, and I told the nurse, "I don't want to just live this life and merely "exsist", I really want to make a difference in someone else's life". May this be the cry of our hearts during these uncertain days! Don't settle for anything less! We love you all! - Jeff