Desperately Seeking Sleep

There is a day, during most every mission trip I’ve been on, when I hit a wall. I get so exhausted that I feel as though I have nothing left to give. That happened to me yesterday. Thus, there was no blog update last night. My one goal when we got back to the hotel was to climb into bed as quickly as possible. So, before I leave this morning I am taking a few minutes to write about our day.

Yesterday we packed up our bags and headed up into the mountains near Yerevan to a small village called Tsaghkadzor. As far as I can determine, it is next to impossible for an American to pronounce the name properly. As we drove in it reminded me of a little Swiss Village. Mind you, I’ve never seen a Swiss village, but this is what I imagine it looking like; simply a beautiful area.

A few of the women who were at our conference in Jermuk are also here in Tsaghkadzor. One of them seems to, as she puts it, “have a special love” for me. She is very sweet. When the team was introduced yesterday and it was my turn to stand up she waved at me from the back of the room. It was so cute and reminded me of how my dad used to wave at me from the audience during my elementary school programs. Of course, then I was humiliated, in a proud kind of way.

I learned a few important things yesterday. First of all, I learned that when you spill some of your breakfast on the tank top under your jacket, simply turning it around and wearing it backwards will suffice, and make it look like you just pulled it out of the suitcase.

I also learned that when you are really tired you can close your eyes in a way that makes it look like you are praying for the speaker, when in fact you are sleeping. Of course, if your mouth falls open, your head bobs, or you start to snore, you will be found out. And, it’s not advisable to do this while standing up. I will not divulge how I learned this information.

Most importantly, I learned that God is faithful. That in our weakness and fatigue He is strong. This morning I read Psalm 23 and this verse jumped out at me. Psalm 23:3 says “He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” And so, I go out today, knowing that He will give me strength for whatever is in store for this day.