A Ship in Harbour is Safe...

Dear friends,

"A ship in harbour is safe, but that is NOT what ships are built for." William Shedd

I found this quote the other day on Julia's bulletin board when I was sitting on her bed, delivering some mail that she won't see until she returns from Bolivia next month. (She arrives home April 10, the day before her 20th birthday.) People frequently ask me if I experience fear when I think about what she is doing there, traveling among the mountain villages in very harrowing conditions. No, I don't. Yes, I am concerned, but there is no fear. I usually don't hear about their wild exploits (like crossing a river with a strong current or sleeping on a bus overnight because they were stranded by a mudslide) until after the fact. Anyway, and I sure do enjoy the stories! This is what I have tried to raise our children to do: to live in the Holy Wild, not in the Safe Harbour. What she is doing in Bolivia is God's work, and she is in God's care. She's having quite the adventure! You can read all about it on her own blog at http://www.juliaknowles.blogspot.com/.

Thanks to a visa extension, Julia will actually be able to go back to Entre Rios in July for 12 days with the Mission:X medical team from our church! She and Angela are already planning a health education program for the people in the villages.

I have often told the story of how one day a few years ago I walked into Julia's room and noticed newspaper clippings taped up all around the Bolivian sugar sack that she bought on one of other two trips there. Each of the clippings had to do with some sort of crisis around the globe, such as an earthquake, famine, terrorist attack or war. I was mystified about this until I noticed a dog-eared book on her nightstand about global mercy ministry. The clippings are still there, and so is her sweet heart. She has such a passion for hurting people, for people who need the touch of God's grace. And I so admire her for it!

Do pray for her! Pray for her safety! (After all, I am her MAMA!)

Blessings,

Virginia

(P.S. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you want to see what I'm talking about!)