A Last-Minute Change of Plans

Dear Friends,

A funny thing happened on the way to the airport....

Well, we weren't quite literally on the way to the airport, but we were certainly getting ready to. We had been scheduled to return to the U.S. Friday, July 1, to begin our period of partnership building ministry. (With us nearing the end of our first official term on the field, our leadership asked us to return a bit earlier than originally scheduled to get a head start on the debriefing process before we began partnership building in early fall.) We had not said much about our travel dates because we wanted to surprise our families and friends with an earlier-than-expected chance to meet Andrew in person.

However, as we called to reconfirm our travel arrangements with the airline, it turned out that, contrary to what we had been told previously, we would not be able to bring Carmen the rabbit on the flight. With only a few hours to come up with an alternative, the airline was understanding enough to waive the change fee for a slightly later return, and it turned out the best day to travel was next Friday, July 8. We are thankful for having more time to find an alternative arrangement for Carmen, but I guess this means the surprise is ruined.

On the other hand, this does give us the opportunity to help out with our church's outreach event at the city's annual "Rommelmarkt," a city-wide flea market that attracts people from all over Belgium and beyond. The church put on an outreach at last year's Rommelmarkt, and it was a great opportunity to meet and bless people by not selling anything--instead, they gave away gospel tracts and drinks and cookies. It provoked a lot of conversations and provided an opportunity to share God's love with the very secular community here. We've been working to help organize this year's outreach, but didn't think we would get to take part in person...until now. And it helps to have Caty here, as she is the only French speaker in the church, and many come up from Wallonia (French-speaking southern Belgium) for the weekend and Rommelmarket.

We are certain that this may be God's way of allowing us to meet with a divine appointment at the outreach or over the next week. Please pray for us to be faithful to His leading and able to hear His voice in this next week. And please also pray that we can find Carmen the "foster" care she needs or else find another way to get her to the U.S. And of course, please pray for the Rommelmarkt outreach: that we would have good weather and opportunities for good conversations, and that the seeds planted there would take root in the hearts of many.

Thank you for your prayers for us, and have a great July 4th weekend!

Blessings,
Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley