It has been accomplished, the anticipated chat with my daughter and her husband. She messaged me early last Sunday morning, asked if Lisa and I would be available sometime during the day. It was 7:30 AM our time, 1:30 PM their time. We had a few minutes before needing to get ready for church, so I responded ‘How about NOW?’. And…they were ready.

We chat using FB Messenger, always reliable and good quality. Gone are the days, long gone, of expensive phone calls. Alyssa and Mason popped up on my phone screen, in the middle of a nice picnic shelter at the campground they were staying at in Turkey. There were tall bluffs in the background, and they informed us they had just climbed the face of one of them (Mason is a rock climber). We caught up a bit, talked about how things were going, then my daughter prepped us for the big announcement. It was one of the possibilities I had suspected.

They are considering leaving their teaching jobs in Ankara, will likely be accepting teaching positions at a Christian school in Bolivia. The excitement was written all over the both of them, bubbling out of each of them, and we were immediately thrilled for them. I like the way they communicate with each other, are obviously a team, and the decision was not a singular one. Not only have they consulted with each other, but they have participated in interviews together, have prayed together about it. Mason shared with us how, two weeks ago during his quiet time (a time of prayer), he felt God leading him and telling him it was time to make a change. Their time in Turkey was complete, and there was more waiting for them somewhere else. Alyssa had the same experience that day during her own quiet time, before Mason had shared with her. Both are feeling God’s prompting, are willing to be obedient to His leading. It may strange to be basing a major life decision on what you feel God is telling you to do, but it’s real, and unless you have experienced God’s leading, it’s difficult to understand. I am glad I have experienced it and can understand why Mason and Alyssa are able to trust the way that they do.

My thoughts go back just 5 or 6 years ago, when my daughter called me from college with an announcement. She was going to take a job teaching at a school in Ankara, Turkey. Don’t try to discourage me from doing it, she told me, because I am going to do it. In the same way, she approached the decision prayerfully. God has honored her for it. Turkey has been a beautiful time of her life, the place where she not only met a man so perfect for her that I say I couldn’t have picked anyone better (after all, God picked him for her), but a place where she has succeeded as a music teacher. When she came to the school, the band program was just a tiny handful of students, an afterthought in the school curriculum. Now students are clamoring to be part of the music program, a flourishing band program at all levels. Not only has she done well with her teaching, but the student ministry at the church she attends with Mason has grown by leaps and bounds with their leadership. They can move on to Bolivia knowing that they have started a ministry that will continue to prosper after they leave.

They also have a wonderful, supportive, deep group of friends there. I was so encouraged when Lisa and I met their friends this past summer.

When Alyssa called me from college with the news of Turkey, I was skeptical. I wanted to trust God, wanted to believe it would be all right for her, but I was scared. Now, I see what a valuable and unique richness her time in Turkey has given her. The woman I spent time with last June had matured so much, better because of what she has learned simply by believing God would bless her. It’s incredible. So, with the announcement of a new adventure to Bolivia, I can’t help but believe that she and Mason will be enriched so much more. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen in their lives, to hear how they have touched the lives of the people they will meet there. Their lives, already expanded beyond imagination, will be filled with so much more. Just think, they are just 27 years old, have experienced so much more than most simply because they have been willing to step out into the unknown!

The next announcement had BETTER be baby related. I’m just saying.

They finish out the school year, then come back to the States next June, their belongings packed into suitcases. The belongings they pack in those suitcases will be what they take with them to Bolivia at the end of July. Lisa and I are hosting them in our small condo during June and July, something we are really looking forward to. My tears are coming at the thought — there has been a lot of healing in my relationship with my daughter since the divorce six years ago. The fact that she wants to stay with us says a lot, and I am humbled by God’s grace, at the opportunity for more healing. We are also going to Disney with them, so it’s going to be a COOL summer!

All announced. All is well. All is calm. All is satisfied.