Update Before Kenya

Dearest Family and Friends,
I am writing to you once last update from Wisconsin before I leave for Kenya this Saturday, January 31. The Lord has clearly shown me that it is time to return to Kenya for my wedding. My trip will begin on Saturday as I fly from the Twin Cities, and ends on Sunday, February 1 in Nairobi, Kenya.
These past weeks have been a time of great blessings in my life as I have been able to visit with many dear friends, give several presentations, organize my things to move to Kenya, was prayed over and released with my church’s blessing, and through it all, the Lord has confirmed to me that I am doing what He has directed me to do. It is not easy to leave the comforts of home and especially loved ones, but it is amazing how the Lord blesses those who obey Him and this is what I am experiencing now. Sometimes I think I must be dreaming as the blessings are just so awesome!!!
Douglas and I will be planning our wedding for April 11th at the YWAM Athi River base in Kenya. Of course you are all more than welcome to attend, but we will be sure to take many pictures to share with those who don’t make it!!! As I mentioned before, my parents will be coming from the U.S. and my brother Joe, will also be coming from Taiwan for the wedding. After the wedding we would like to live on or near the YWAM base in Kenya for a period of time. Our hope is to work on getting Douglas a visa to come to the U.S. to meet everyone, know my culture more, and work on raising long term support for our future in missions. But, first the wedding, and then we will see how God works out all of these things. Long term, our dream is to live and work in Kenya as family, likely with YWAM. We also know our connection and ministry will always go beyond Kenya, especially as my roots are here in the U.S. Many of the details aren’t clear yet, but we are trusting that God will show us and bring us to where He wants us to be in the right time.
A few prayer requests that I would like to pass along are:
-strength, peace, and joy for these last few days at home
-safety in my travels
-encouragement to my parents as they release me to go to Kenya
-focus to always be on God as we plan the wedding and begin our lives together
Once, again I want to thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and prayers. You are part of this story; it isn’t just Douglas and I.
I will write again soon to let you know how the trip went. Until then, take care, may His peace reign over you and keep you!
Praising His Name,
Becky Lawrence
P.S. Once again, if you are not a regular recipient of these updates, but would like to be, please let me know!

Quick Update!

Dearest Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! Since my last update, God has been really showing Douglas and I some new and different things than what we had planned. I had it set in my mind that we would get married here and refused to consider going to Kenya to get married. Obviously, with the denial of Douglas's visa, God had other things in store for us. God could have gotten Douglas a visa, but that wasn't His will. So I decided to let go and dream with God of the possibility of getting married in Kenya. And as I surrendered this to God, His joy and peace have been mightily upon me. I love being home, but these months away from Douglas have not been easy. Almost in the moment that I let go, life, in the form of God's joy, rushed into rescue my heart that was let down by my own plans. In short, I am planning to return to Kenya at the end of this month (January) to plan for our Kenyan wedding. And let me just say that things are coming together better than I could have even planned on my own. One thing that I really struggled with was the idea of not having my parents there on my wedding day. But when I surrendered, I let go of everything, even that. A day or two after I decided to return to Kenya, my mom came up to me with tears in her eyes to share that God had shown her that she and my dad were to come to Kenya for the wedding! Wow, isn't God awesome and so faithful to take care of everything?! That is just one example of how God is working things out.
I don't have a plane ticket yet, but am hoping to fly to Kenya in the very end of January. Douglas and I will be planning and preparing for our wedding, so that in early April, when my parents and brother come to Kenya we will have our wedding! There isn't a set date as of yet, but we are thinking the wedding will be sometime in the week before Easter (April 12). We are still working on locations, the exact date, and other details, but I felt it was time to update you all on this exciting news!
My prayer is that this e-mail finds you well and encouraged in the LORD as we begin another year of life.
In Christ,Becky
P.S. If you are not a regular recipient of my updates and would like to be added please let me know!