God is still working on me. Even as Amy went back to China in 2005, Joe planned another trip to Burma, Robert went to China over Christmas break for two weeks (I had three family members on the other side of the world in a two week period!), and just as Amy was planning to return home to the states, Robert left for a year of ministry in Hyderabad, India. I have been so blessed to participate in Joe’s, Amy’s and Robert’s overseas ministries.
God did a work in my heart in another way, too, that I must praise Him for. During Amy’s first year in China, everyone wanted to know if we were going to see her. My standard response was, “No, I want her to experience China for this first year by herself and if she goes back a second year, perhaps we can go visit.” My deep heart answer to my closest friends was, “I am scared to death to even think of a trip to China.” I had been dealing with panic attacks, and the idea of being in an airplane for 13 hours was more than I could imagine. Oh, but God is so faithful! He taught me how to deal with those fears and it would take another whole series of blog posts to tell you about that. In April of 2006, Joe and I took a 15-day trip to China that was absolutely amazing. We were able to go to class with Amy and meet her university students (who knew way too much about me and my home from all the pictures and stories Amy shared with them). We were able to sing about God in the classroom and we were able to talk with a young Chinese man about our own marriage and our relationship to God. Later, Dave took this young man, Mark, to church where he bought a Bible and became involved in Bible studies at the university – I trust he will be one of those with us at the throne someday.
If I had to choose one verse that sustained me through these years and continues to do so, it would be Isaiah 26:3-4. In the “Wanda version,” it says:
You will keep in perfect peace, HER whose mind is steadfast, because SHE trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.
