::The joy of new life::

My beautiful sister and her wonderful husband are expecting again.  I am so excited, and so thankful for the miracle of new life.  Isn't it amazing to see the creative, almighty hand of God at work as He knits together each precious little life?  If you want to see Hannah and Josh's super cute baby announcement (plus a bunch of adorable pictures of my niece, Marian) you can hop over to Hannah's blog: throughthelensofgrace.blogspot.com.  Enjoy!  :)

So Thankful!

The Ghana Journals

Part 7//So Thankful!

Last time I updated you all, our visa applications were on their way to be processed by the Embassy of Ghana, and I asked you to pray along with us that our visas would be processed efficiently, approved, and returned quickly.  It is with great joy that I'd like to tell you that God answered those prayers even beyond what we asked for.  We got our passports with approved and ready-to-go visas on Monday morning!  That means it was only ten days total between when we shipped our applications to when we received our visas, and that was over two weekends. (This was almost twice as fast as I expected, even if all went perfectly.)  What a great and faithful God we serve!!  Thank you so much for praying in faith with us.  To God be the glory!

So we're officially, really, truly going to Ghana in just under five weeks.  It still feels a bit surreal, but we're very excited!!  Soon I will be posting an update including a few ways you can share in this adventure with us.  For now, you can read any of The Ghana Journals that you've missed by clicking on the tag at the bottom of this post or on the sidebar of the blog, listen to some Chelsea Moon or Shane & Shane music, drink some hot tea, and bask in the incredible faithfulness of our God.  :)

Until next time,

~Leah

P.S. All the posts on this blog recently have been about my upcoming trip to Ghana, but in the next few days I'm going to be sharing a post about some other exciting news.  You're not going to want to miss it.  :)

Paperwork, Prayer and Praise

The Ghana Journals 

Part 6//Paperwork, Prayer and Praise

Good news!  We have our visa applications complete and they are on their way to be processed by the Embassy of Ghana.  If all goes well, we should be approved and finished with the paperwork side of preparing for our trip in about three weeks.  This is one of the last big things we need to have done, which is great since we are leaving in 46 days.  (We are definitely feeling excited!!)

We would greatly appreciate prayer as our visa applications are processed.  Some who have applied to The Embassy of Ghana have had paperwork and passports misplaced or lost, or have been denied visas for various reasons.  Ultimately we know that it's God's hands, not the hands of the Ghanaian officials, that hold our visas (which is such a sweet reality!), but we would love for you to pray together with us that our visa applications would be processed efficiently, that nothing would be lost or misplaced, and that we would be approved right away.

As a praise report, it looks like we have a date set to meet Rachael, my Compassion sponsor child.  :)  I am so seriously excited to meet this girl!!

And as a special bonus, I wanted to share with you a few of Miah's pictures.  Isn't it amazing that we are called to know, love, serve, and be loved by and satisfied in the God who paints these brilliant sunsets each night and handcrafts every detail of every flower?  He is so good!  (And aren't you excited to see the pictures Miah is going to come home from Africa with??  Me too!)

 

Photo credit: Miah Coen, Given Photography

Photo credit: Miah Coen, Given Photography

Photo credit: Miah Coen, Given Photography

 Thanks!  It is such a gift to be able to take this trip together to Ghana, and we are excitedly expectant to see what the Lord has in store.  He is so good and so faithful!!  We have already seen His hand at work in so many great and beautiful ways, and we know that He will continue to reveal Himself to us as we follow where He leads.

Rejoicing together in His abundance,

~Leah + Miah~

Here We Go!

The Ghana Journals
Part 5//Here We Go!

  
Yahoo!!  As of last night, we have tickets!!  =D  When we had first looked at tickets close to the beginning of this year, the best price we could find was $1800 per ticket.  But… are you ready for this?  Prices have dropped, and we were able to buy tickets for only $1200 each.  That means we paid $1200 less than we thought we would have to pay!  God is so good, and His timing is so perfect!
  
We will be leaving for Ghana on October 29^th, and returning home on December 11^th.  We would love your continued prayer as we prepare in earnest for this adventure.  Please pray:  
--that all the details (like obtaining visas, organizing a visit with my sponsor child, getting necessary immunizations, etc.) would come together.
 --that we would be able to earn or raise the remaining amount of money we need for our six weeks in Ghana.  Thanks to your generosity, we’re well on our way to having what we need, and we’re excited to see how the Lord will continue to provide.  If you or someone you know is in need of baby-sitting, house-sitting, pet-sitting, or if you’d like to have some photo shoot fun with Miah, let us know!  
--that we would be made ready by our Lord to be joyfully spent and used for His glory.  We’re excited to see what He has in store, and it is the desire of our hearts that we would be ready and willing to selflessly serve Him and those we meet along the way.

 Thank you all again for your friendship, love, and encouragement. :) 
  
With joy,  
~Leah + Miah