A Gift

For the past 2 days I have been at friends houses saying "See You Later". I have been gone since Sunday afternoon. I came home this afternoon to find a box from Amazon sitting at my place on the dining table. I didn't remember ordering anything and there was no "from" section on the mail label. My name, however, was in the "to" section so I went ahead and opened it. The item inside was wrapped and there was a little Amazon card attached to the front. I thought maybe someone here that I know had sent me a farewell gift. I opened the card, read it, and immediately got watery eyed. As you can read below, the gift was from my Australian family. 

So what did they send me? A book titled "In a Sunburned Country". It is written by a guy who traveled to Australia and reports on what he finds there - weather, the people, the land, the politics, etc. It is described as "a deliciously funny, fact filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiosity".

I just can't get over how very thoughtful it was of them to send me such a gift. I am about to pick up and move to another country (I've never left the US before) for an extended amount of time to live with a family I have only met through Skype and e-mails, away from everyone I know and love. I am absolutely tickled at my Australian family's generosity, welcoming spirit, kindness, and acceptance because it helps make this step that much easier. I'm not even there yet and I'm already being blessed. Every time I turn around something happens that reminds me this is part of God's plan and purpose for me and my life. Every day I get more and more excited to take this journey with this wonderful family and with God blessing the journey every step of the way.