Many Preparations!

It has been a very busy couple of weeks, filled with many preparations for my trip!
One of the most exciting new developments was that I purchased my plane ticket! I will be flying out of Seattle, WA on Tuesday, July 21st with the Zoolkoski's, and will arrive in Niamey, Niger 19 hours later, after one layover in Paris! On the way home, I will fly the same route, and arrive back in Seattle on September 22. The flight cost just over $2,300. I am very thankful for God's provision, and to the Zoolkoski's for working out all the flight details so that I didn't have to! God definitely had His hand in all of this! Originally, the Zoolkoski's and I were looking at a different airline, which would have been a little less expensive, but would have had an extra layover. Thankfully, the prices for the airline we ended up choosing dropped quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. This was a big blessing, because it is not only more convenient, but Dr. Zoolkoski felt that it will also be safer for me, traveling back home by myself. This is just one more example of God's providence and care for His people!
On a less exciting, but just as important note, I have been getting all of the vaccines that I need before we leave. This week, I got a yellow fever shot, and on Monday I will get vaccines for meningitis and typhoid, as well as a polio booster. These are not only important for my personal health and safety, but are also required in order to get into the country (this is especially true for the yellow fever vaccination).
In addition to this, I got all of my support letters mailed out, and am keeping an eye out for long skirts and dresses on the clearance racks, since that is what I will be wearing while I am in Niger!
Apart from just practical preparations, God has also been preparing me for this journey spiritually. I was reading a devotional from John Piper (who happens to be on my list of favorite preachers!) yesterday. He said this: "Only a few things have gripped me with greater joy than the truth that God loves to show His God-ness by working for me, and that His working for me is always before and under and in any working I do for Him." He later clarified: "'God works for me' means I can't do the work. And this glorifies Him not me. The Giver gets the glory. The Powerful One gets the praise." As I prepare myself for whatever God has for me to do in Galmi, this is a powerful reminder of my own insufficiency. I tend to be a "go-getter", and am driven in pursuit of my goals. However, anything I can do on my own apart from God is insignificant and meaningless. Any success, any achievement, any gain is through, by and from Christ. I pray that God will remind me of this daily in the work He places me in, while I am in Galmi, but also in my normal, everyday life, and I humbly ask that this be your prayer as well. "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." (Psalm 121:1a) How beautiful that God chooses to work through the meager gifts and trivial labor of His servants to advance His kingdom and minister to His children! Please continue to pray that God will work in Galmi, and use the ministry of the Zoolkoski's and I to build His house in Niger!
God bless you all!
Krista