In a couple of weeks Carole and I will be going to East Africa to some work with a group that is doing humanitarian work in southern Sudan. A new dynamic for me is that my daughter is concerned for our safety because of our relationship to our grandson. In fact, we are going on this trip at the invitation of Elizabeth's mother-in-law, so three of Tyler's grandparents will be on the other side of the world in a part of the world with well-documented unrest. We accepted the invitation to go just prior to Tyler's birth, and it honestly didn't dawn on me that it might cause concern for Elizabeth. We have been going on mission trips nearly all of Elizabeth's life, but her relationship to us has changed since she became a mother.
Obviously we have returned from every trip we have made, but this is the first time to a country that is currently having the level of unrest that Kenya and Sudan are having. Please pray not only for success in the work we will be doing, and for our safe return, but also for peace for Elizabeth while we are away. I know that for me, personally, I am compelled to go to places that are in chaos, because it is during times of chaos that the message of the Gospel is heard most clearly. Carole and I have a new freedom to go to those places since we are empty nesters, but there is a new tug on our hearts to stay home because of our grandson. I can only imagine that this tug will become greater with additional grandchildren. I am sure that we will continue to go, but it is a factor that will need to be dealt with.
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