"It's honeymoon season ya know!"

(I am just now catching up with my blog...it's been a God driven summer!)

Yea, well, I am officially freaked out! I am going on a honeymoon with Jesus. I am going to be teaching English in Tahiti on the island of Moorea and then off to Sydney, Australia where I will be meeting with mums through the Mom's In Touch ministry.
You know, last May when the Pastor from England came to our church asking for help teaching English this summer, I immediately put my name on the list, because I am finishing my BA in English along with getting certified to teach high school English amid crazy circumstances--God made a way. Then the details unfolded and He provided for all the things for me to go. I told Mom's In Touch I was leaving the country and they ask me if I could go to Sydney, that the women there could really use some encouragement and prayer as they set the foundations for this ministry there. I ask God, He made a way....

So God did all this. As I am finishing up a summer course early to go, still in the midst of getting my 16 yr old son to be in a place of restoration, counseling and schooling, (he refuses to speak with his dad after our divorce and has quit life) and leaving my own home in some sort of order, I am beginning to feel pressure. Not to mention I have come up against some serious temptations in my personal life in the last month. God has brought me to this point and I know He will deliver me. I also have no place to sleep yet in Tahiti, so I am trusting God for this minor detail.

The cool stuff going on is this. God told me He was taking me on a honeymoon of a lifetime. And then confirmed it a week later through my travel agent. I was getting ready for church one morning and this thought came into my mind about a honeymoon with Jesus. After coming through adultery and other junk it made me feel special that God would do this for me, my heart felt touched and I ask God is this really you saying this to me? And then my travel agent called the next week and said, "Leslie, I am having a hard time finding you flights....you know, it's honeymoon season!" I had tears in my eyes, as I responded with certainty, "I know, but I only need one seat!" So God loves me just the way I am, and confirms this theme for Our trip! Very cool!

While I am in Tahiti I will be teaching day and evening classes, on the beach sometimes!!! wow! It is about connections, not changing the world, just making connections with people who need to learn English and using scripture to teach them, in hope and prayer that someday they would chose Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We are working through a church there.

In Sydney, I am meeting with mums to pray for their schools and children just like I do here once or twice a week for my own children and schools. This is something that is special to me, because this ministry helped me to understand the power of prayer.

Also while I am in Sydney, I am hooking up with two new friends, that I have never met face to face. God has provided both of the friendships and I can't wait to meet them.

I am gone from aug 8th to aug 26th. I am just a single mom, regular woman, daughter, student and friend heading out....with my husband, Jesus Christ...

This is how it all started...

Last May, there was a pastor from England, in our church, asking for volunteers who could help him teach English to immigrants all over the world. He and his wife have a vision and are asking for others to help them see it through. My major in school is English, I am also getting certified to teach in English. I didn't even think about it, before I knew it after the service I was talking to Him and putting my name on the list. He said it may be we need you right here in Connecticut this summer but....are you willing to go to England or South Korea? I just looked into his eyes and said "Yes". I am a single mom with three kids, in school, not sure what God is doing....but you know, He has provided me the finances to finish my degree and certification in the midst of really painful circumstances. All this time...I have been thanking Him for making a way for me to finish my education so I can provide for me and my kids, by simply becoming a high school english teacher. At that moment standing in front of that Pastor, I realized, His plans are beyond all that I could imagine. He just wants me to put my name on the list. So I did and as I walked out of church that day, I said nothing to no one, I just felt free.