Unexpectedly, our area leader called and asked my husband to consider leaving our current ministry of 14 years in Russia and moving to the Balkans to be the supervisor for nine countries. After further explanation, our supervisor asked us to pray about moving and let him know our "leaning" within the week.

I confess that making a list of why we shouldn't move came easy. We knew the language, culture, and ministry in our current location. The new location was in a sun-kissed country with beautiful beaches. Now, for most folks, that would be a plus. But we were cold weather people, and that country was hot. And who wants to learn a new language? My mind continually asked, "God, what are you thinking?"

Our pro list was pretty short. But we decided to set our lists aside and spend time praying and asking the Lord for guidance. As I prayed, I realized I needed to let go of my plans. I'd dreamed of staying until retirement in our current ministry. But God began speaking to my heart and asked me to surrender my dreams and expectations and lay them at His feet.

My husband told me that Isaiah 59:8-9 kept running through his head as he prayed and struggled with this decision. "My thoughts are not your thoughts" was the phrase that kept coming to his mind. And these verses aligned perfectly with what God was saying to my heart. We knew that God was leading us to make the move.

We moved in the summer, and I sweated more during the first month than I had in my entire life. Every once in a while, that question would once again run through my mind, "God, what were you thinking?"

One evening, we were strolling downtown and stopped at a neighborhood square. We walked over and felt like we were back in the cold country. It turned out that there were 180,000 Russians living in our new city, and many lived downtown. Then, to top it off, we discovered most of the countries we would be supervising spoke a Russian-based language.

Turns out God knew what He was thinking! His ways truly are better than our ways, and the unexpected blessings that followed filled us with joy and fulfillment.