South Africa Bound

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It only takes  boarding a 15-and-a-half-hour long flight for my life to finally slow down, which is what I'll be doing any moment now as I wait at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at my gate for my plane to arrive that will be heading to Johannesburg, South Africa. Maybe the news of me going on this trip comes as a surprise to you which wouldn't surprise me as I have been MIA (missing in action) from updating my blog for quite some time now, and No! It is not because I've gotten swept away by some hurricane or anything like that. I have just been SO busy!
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This past month began the start of a new season for us here at Ballet Magnificat. We've hit the ground running, or should I say dancing. We've been occupied with trying to get back in shape from a haphazard summer of working, we've been learning and rehearsing new choreography which will premiere next month, and along with that we have also been rehearsing 'The Arrival' and 'Deliver Us' which are the ballet's that we will be taking on tour to South Africa this month before we put them on the shelf. Also in preparation for traveling internationally, I have personally been kept busy this past month with packing using my handy dandy helpful exhaustive packing list as well as crocheting up a storm to fulfill orders that were placed through my online shop to support me financially in sending me to Africa! (Much thanks to ya'll!) Picking up lots of housekeeping jobs this past season has also helped with my fundraising.
To be honest, lately, I've felt a bit like a workhorse trying to get everything done prior to the start of the tour season ... doing this, doing that; and my mind has felt as if it has been working on over-drive ... remember this, remember that; attempting to get my life squared away, and not just for the one month I'll be in South America, but pretty much for two months as we only come back home for a couple of days after our international trip before heading out again to tour domestically here in the United States. All the preparations prior to going on tour may be put me in a tizzy, but the best thing is that when we finally go on tour, IT ALL STOPS. Every local responsibility unaffiliated with tour life gets left behind. On tour, it is always easier to remove the focus off of me, myself, and everything I have to do, and instead restore it back onto others.
Pertaining to the start of a new season and all the toiling it brings, the Lord has brought to my mind this verse:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every weight and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

- Hebrews 12:1

In my last blog entry, I was telling you guys about how I had such a refreshing time with the Lord during a recent one week vacation I had at the beginning of month prior to the start of the season. Well now that the season is underway, I have found myself unexpectedly swept away in stress and anxiety! I suppose all that faith that was built up during my one week vacation is now being put to the test. All though undergoing stress and anxiety is not fun, I can see how God is using it to sanctify me. It has been difficult for me to get back into the swing of things. The Holy Spirit has been convicting me of how I need to improve the way I manage my time and has revealed to me my need to better prioritize my tasks. I've learned that it is a responsibility to balance work and rest and that both the wisdom and discipline that come from God are what are necessary for doing so. 
That all is for another blog entry, but let it be the explanation for why I have been MIA from 'The Occupied Optimist' this past month. As much as I love blogging here for you, it was becoming like a weight, like that of the one mentioned in Hebrews 12:1. After reassessing my situation this season, I concluded that the most God-glorifying thing to do would be to bump blogging down a few notches on my list of priorities and thus step away from it for a short time...
BUT I am back at it again and just in time to be delivering updates to you about this trip I am going to be taking. I have no idea of what to expect of South Africa. I do know that we will be visiting three cities in three weeks, East London, Johannesburg, and Cape Town and that we will be performing and teaching dance workshops several times in these places. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me/ for us, the Alpha company/ and for people of these South African cities that we will be interacting with. Stay tuned for more updates and please sign up for my newsletter at the bar at the top of this page if you are interested in receiving exclusive updates and details about Ballet Magnificat Alpha's tour schedule for this month and for the rest of the season.

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Thanks so much for reading this post my dear friends! By the time I submit this I will probably be in South Africa already! More updates to come!
❤

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