For
six months Ryan and I were waiting and praying for news. Any news. News
that would tell us we would be going to a different country. News that
would allow us to pursue our dreams of playing basketball and share our
faith in Christ to those we came in contact with. But on January 18th
our prayers were answered. It was a morning I will never forget. Ryan
received a text from his dear friend Siona that morning and it read,
"Praying for you both this morning and praying that you are overwhelmed
with God's goodness today." That was it. Short and sweet, and I
literally broke down in tears. Little did he know that those short words
of encouragement were going to be the definition and theme for us that
day... that month... and all throughout that year. And little did he
know that we had received an email only TEN minutes before from a basketball team in Geraldton, WA, Australia.
The
email was from the general manager of the Geraldton Buccaneers. He
asked Ryan to be a part of their 2010 season starting that March. We
couldn't believe our eyes. We had been praying for an answer for so long
and now the answer is right in front of us at the click of a button.
God is Good. His Goodness to us is so overwhelming and so undeserving!
Clearly knowing this was God's answer to our long awaited prayers and a
wide open door of opportunity we decided to take the call and run
through the door. This meant we had to leave in two weeks; the 7th of
February. Not knowing what was in store for us, we were extremely
excited to see how the Lord would provide for us and how he would use us
in Australia.
The
week leading up to our flight, we were trying to get our packing under
way and focus on the last few days at our jobs as the excitement burst
from our bodies. WE were going to Australia! We had never imagined it in a million years. But God knew best. He knew that our time
in Australia would changed our lives forever. He knew we would face
challenges that would strengthen us as a couple and bring us closer to
Him. He protected us and provided for us. He allowed us to find a great
church and make unbelievable friends!!
The
experiences and memories we had in Australia we will never forget. We
don't always see the big picture of our lives and we don't always
understand God's timing in our lives, but only in hindsight can we really see how the Lord was preparing us even today for our time in England!
We
just wanted to thank you, family and friends, for your continued prayer
in all our journeys across the world. God has been extremely good to us
and has blessed us with more than we could ask for!
