Who's with me?

I mentioned a few posts ago about my personality type. 

Along with that personality comes the difficulty with making friends.

Well, back up.  I think I can make friends OK.  It's just getting those really close friendships that I find hard.

I've had just a couple people in my life that I have felt that I could completely be myself around.  I feel awkward 95% of the time, but with those few people I have felt like I can just be me and can even let my guard down, and still be liked at the end of it all.

One of those such friendships has developed over the past 8+ years with a dear friend from church.  Our personalities have their differences.

She is SO laid back.

I'm, well, pretty up tight.  Anxious.  You know.

She's seen my ugly side, heard some of my confessions, and she is still willing to hang out with me. (thank you)

Even since I've known her, I've known she and her husband have had a heart for the fatherless and for missions.  (They were houseparents at Gateway a few years back).  So I guess I knew that this was coming down the pipes at some point.

But my little world was still a little rocked when I found out her, her husband, and their 4 kiddos were headed to Zambia for full-time missions.

And rocked a bit more when I found out they were going to be headed out in less than a year.

I cried.

I admit.  They were selfish tears.  Why would God give me this friendship when He knew they would be moving away.  Didn't he know how hard it is for me to make friends?!?

But, as the index card on my bulletin board says "If there is one lie I have ever contended with, it's this, "Life is a story about me." (thank you, Donald Miller)

Thankfully my self-pity was short lived because I know this isn't about me.  It's about Him.  Perhaps He gave us this friendship because He knew that she could need a close friend to be praying for her and her family as they head overseas.

Now they are in the throes of purging their material possessions, getting things ready to go, raising support.

Pretty heavy tasks.

Will you join with me in praying for Eric and Carrie and their kids as they prepare to head to Zambia?  Will you prayerfully considering supporting them, whether it's ongoing or a one time gift?

You can find out more about the area and the school that they are going to be helping with here.

You can read some more of their personal accounts on Carrie's blog.

Also, I am so excited to be a part of the Blogger Team for Lifesong for Orphans.  Monthly I will post a story coming from one of the many places that Lifesong is reaching with their missions.  Here is one posted yesterday, about a young boy that is living in Zambia, right where Eric and Carrie are headed.