The Journey Set Before Us

Friends and Family,

This is Zach.

The bags are packed. The goodbyes have mostly been made. Bruce had his 2-year family birthday party tonight. The journey is upon us!

I am sad, but excited. The cost is great with leaving friends and family, and I pray that the benefit will yield much fruit and it will impact future generations of the Hillegi (plural for Hillegas!). 

We leave from Bridgeport, WV at 6:30 AM tomorrow morning with the me, Kait, the boys, my Mom, Kait's Dad, 7 checked bags (approx. 380 lbs.), 5 carry-on bags, a double jogging stroller and 2 car seats. We will hopefully be in Pittsburgh around 8:30 AM where we need to run a few errands, grab breakfast and feed Wyatt. Lord-willing, we will be at the airport around 10 AM. We leave Pittsburgh around 1 PM for Atlanta (Flight #DL 1599) and should arrive there around 3 PM. Then, we will have 3 hours to grab our bags, go through customs and get dinner before getting on a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa (Flight #DL 200) where we will be in the air for 16 hours until we arrive at 4 PM on Thursday. We will spend the night in Johannesburg before ultimately getting to Nelspruit on Friday morning (Flight #SA 8841) at noon. 

Please pray for our flights. We usually have to bribe Bruce for him to sit still in church for 15 minutes so 16 hours will test us greatly. Thankfully, Bruce is endearing and I pray that people will be understanding. Also, please pray for the transition at the different airports. We will definitely need help!

The verses below are coming to my mind. I just keep thinking about how the Lord is at hand and that all of our circumstances are in his trustworthy, sovereign and loving hands.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7, ESV)

My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! (Psalm 31:15, ESV)

In Christ,

Zach