Letterboxing

As though I need another hobby to take the time that I should be devoting to the other ones,-- er,  need another hobby to fall behind on, need another hobby!! A friend of mine was sharing a story of her recent vacation to Texas with her family. She mentioned that the day they arrived they had a few hours to kill (before the scheduled agenda of the vacation, I believe), so they found a few letterboxes to fill the time. 'Letterboxes?' my BFF & I asked??? She began to explain the hobby of letterboxing: you access www.atlasquest.comfor a clue to a letterbox (there are other websites as well as other ways to acquire clues). After following the clues and finding the letterbox, you use the stamp found in the box in your own personal logbook and then also stamp the letterboxes logbook with your own personal stamp. It's like a scavenger hunt (and from what I hear, a bit like geo-cache also, although I'm not too versed on that hobby)! Some people get into it and carve their own stamps so they have a unique image for their stamping. And to remain a bit anonymous, each person (in our case, family, as we've decided this will be a group effort) also has a train name to sign into the logbooks, too. After quite a bit of deliberation, we decided on CемьяCее (pronounced SemYaSee) as our trail name: Cемья means family in Russian and Cee stands for the 1st letter of our last name. Unique, keeps people guessing what that backwards R stands for, and, really, a fun way to add a little "russian language" to our diets!

Here are a few photos from our 1st letterbox find. Of course, I won't tell you the name of the box, because it's very faux pasto ruin the hunt for other letterboxers and I'd hate to ruin the fun for all of you!! hehe

Still have not received our finalized-stamped-and-ready-to-add-to-our-dossier Homestudy report!! I guess the story is that our SW has been sick. At least she responded to me- it makes me feel a bit better and reassures me that she's not trying to bail on us, but rather is just living up to her reputation of needing a bit of pushing and reminding to get everything done. I know, it's sad that I have to say that- we really like her and we're glad she's apart of our journey still, but it does get a little nerve-rattling when I think about the time that it is taking to get this done. And with the region that we are in, we can not do anything further with our dossier until we get the homestudy because certain documents need to be dated in a specific order.  I do remain faithful that God is using this time to get us on the right path that He has for us. Proverbs 16:9 reminds me that "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." I'm standing firm in this truth and I will rejoice in these delays!

I also have had a very heavy heart about international flying lately. I don't really want to get into it right now, but to make a heavily-detailed story short, our extended family has suffered several losses do to airplane crashes, one of which was a major international airline crash (which resulted in over 200 deaths- you know, the big breaking-news-on-every-major-network kind of crash).

I know that fear does not come from the Lord, and I know that life is merely a vapor. And I honestly know that when it's my time to leave this earth, regardless of the ages of my boys, my Father in heaven will provide for their every need and will not forsake them. But I also know that I can petition my Lord and present my request to Him and that He is faithful to hear my cries. So this has been my prayer- that God will keep us safe as we travel multiple times to meet and petition for and pick up our daughter; that He will keep us from all evil, that the planes will be in perfect working order, that the weather will be ideal for a text-book smooth flights, that all passengers will act appropriately and that the staff of the plane will handle their responsibilities with great care not to miss a single step.

I covet your agreement in this prayer!

Comments

[Kristine]

You are so right...fear does NOT come from the Lord and it can surely stop you right in your tracks if you let it. Trust in the LORD...HE will guide your every step...

Wait until you find your little girl and when you look back on all of this He will reveal to you all the ways HE guided you along the way. You will be amazed at all the details that will be revealed to you...it is incredible. After adopting 3 times, I got to see these things..but for some reason, it seems like we don't get to see them until we are in the depth of it or almost done or sometimes after we are home...but when we do, it will bring you to your knees in praise.

I can't wait to hear some good news about a referral for you guys!!!

The letterboxing sounds fun too! great pics.

Hugs to you!

Kristine

[Rachel]

Letterboxing sounds neat! I love the photos - we'll be praying for you to find peace with flying. I've given that a lot of thought over time should we decide to adopt again so I know where you are coming from, but I also agree that fear does not come from the Lord and I take comfort in that.

[christen]

What a fun idea?! I've never heard of anything like that. Great verse! I might just have to use that in an upcoming blog post.

Sending prayers up for your family... to unburden your hearts with fear and open them up to peace.

Remember fear is only a state of mind! [Got that from the movie, Love Happens! :) ]

[Debbie]

Started this post a long time ago and just now finished reading it. My hubby and I are thinking about doing the Letterbox thing. We need a fun hobby.

About the fear and flying. My dad used to always say that you are safer in the will of God on that plane then you are to stay put and not do what God has called you to do. I'll be praying for you.

[Kristine]

Just checking on you...hope you hear some news soon.

[Kristine]

Checking on you again...have you heard ANYTHING?