"In PNG, Plan A rarely happens" - the Director

A Sequel to, Stressed Out!

Two weeks ago, I sat down with my coach and the Director of Support Services from Papua New Guinea. We were hoping to pin down some details about the trip, like when it was going to be.
The complication in pinning that down was that the Branch needed to figure out where it was acceptable to send an unmarried man and woman into the jungle to get some village living without there being a scandal!
"It's a shame," said the Director, "that you're coming before you get married. It'd be so much easier if it were after."
"Right," I said, "but PBT won't let us leave the country for a year after we get married."
"That's not the rule!" she exclaimed. "You can't ALLOCATE for a year after you get married."
(Here's the difference: an exploratory trip is a visit. Allocating is a move. i.e "We can take an exploratory trip to your mother's house, but we are NOT allocating there!" short-term vs long-term)
And suddenly like a tornado of beautiful lights and colors and sounds, I saw the wedding invitations I still had to finish and TIME to do so. I saw the apartment my husband and I would live in and TIME to set it up. I saw the 30% of the funds needed for this trip and TIME to raise it. I saw my wedding in May and TIME to enjoy it. I saw a glimpse of dealing with reverse culture shock 2 weeks before my wedding and it vanished!

Now let me tell you the other ways in which this plan is beautiful and clearly from the Lord.
When we came to this meeting, no one had even considered pushing this trip back. It was prayed at the beginning that we would let the Spirit fill us in this conversation and it appears that He did.
My coach has seen my trip get pushed back a number of times, as you my supporters have, and he knows I DO NOT handle it well. So he took a deep breath before he suggested pushing it back and braced himself for me to bite off his head.
But I didn't. For the first time ever, I was filled with peace instead of turmoil at the suggestion. The whole drive from VA to TX I was thinking about how foolish this trip was, packed so closely to my wedding, but I believed that it was now or a year from May. And I didn't want to wait that long, but it was going to be so stressful to go now...
So the Lord had been working on my heart to accept this suggestion, and that had my coach pretty much convinced that this must from God.

So we decided to part until the next week and see what praying about the idea brought us to. And upon reconvening everyone was more sure than ever that this was a good plan.
(Although the Director of the Branch proposed that if it pushed back allocating why not just skip the exploratory trip and wait to allocate. But I nipped off that idea right there!)

So the new plan is to go for a 60 day period sometime between Aug and Nov. When the Director figures out which village living scenario would be best for the non-scandalous married couple, those dates will be pinned down.

Peace has filled my fiance and me.
Jacob's found a job, I'm looking for an apartment.
And peace abides.

Stressed out!

This blog is not a misnomer.
I am stressed!

There are a number of things that I need to remain a healthy happy human being that other people would not rather stab their eye out than be around.
That is:
8 hours of sleep a night (min)
A nap at some point (for best results mid-day)
A shower and a cup of coffee first thing in the morning
Elizabeth time
a relatively clean working space
a sense of productivity

The things I have in my life right now:
Coffee.
At some point in the day, a shower.
Sometimes, Elizabeth time.

And when we add my lack of important thing I need to the other things in my life, namely:
I have $3000 of $10,000 I need by Jan. (One month from now)
My wedding in May
My apartment that I will need to live in with my new husband, which I don't have.
The project I'm supposed to be working on for Papua New Guinea that I haven't had the time to touch in months due to the raising of supporters and the wedding planning.

So my schedule is: Feb-Apr go to PNG, Apr- drive to VA for Bridal shower, drive to tx to get and set up apartment, May 1st- drive to VA to finish wedding stuff, May 19th - get married, May 22nd drive to apartment in TX,June 9th - Dallas wedding reception. Busy, huh?

So I've been trying to do those things that help me relieve stress: being artsy.
Presently I'm knitting earwarmers and there's a piece of furniture that I found for free on the back porch of the House of Awesome that I'm in the process of refurbishing. And i'm trying very hard to finish one of these before I start on another project. Artsy is addicting.
And when I'm working on these things: I feel AWESOME!
And when I stop working on these things: I feel poopy!
Because these things have done nothing to cure the things that are stressing me out! They've just taken me to my happy place for a while. (Fun Fact: Elizabeth's happy place is I-264 in Hampton Roads)

But coming news, coming changes, might bring my to-do list to a manageable level and wipe my stress away!
Thank God, the Opener of Unnoticed Doors!
Stay tuned!

(Also, pray for me)


This is my bedroom (aka: the couch in the living room)