“Mooommyyy!” I leapt out of bed at the sudden cry of my son. BOOM was the next sound I heard. But even the window-rattling noise of the thunder fell short of the volume of our crying toddler. “It’s just a thunder,” I yawned, kissing his forehead. “Go back to bed. It’s just the rain.” Not without a struggle, he finally calmed down and went back to sleep. But moments later he was up and crying again. “It’s fine, Baby,” I reassured him. “Mommy is close by, don’t worry.”

This time he wasn’t going to give up that easily. “I want you to hold me!” he cried. “I want to sleep in your bed!” Hot tears streamed down his little face. Forget about the sleeping rules, I decided, my heart melting. This child is genuinely scared. I picked him up and lay down on the bed in his room. In an instant, I could feel his tense little body relaxing in my arms. The whole house kept shaking with every peal of thunder for a long time after that, but he never even twitched again. He was now sleeping through a raging storm with the peace of a deaf person. What a difference!

By the time you read this, we will be getting ready for the biggest storm of our lives—the chaos and unknown obstacles as we launch our mission in the Republic of Georgia. Fortunately, we will not be alone. We are so thankful for the wonderful team of prayer warriors, supporters and friends we’ve been blessed with during these last two years. We are not expecting things to be easy as we move forward, but we thank God for His wonderful miracles, and we thank you from the depths of our hearts for embarking in this journey with us. It makes all the difference.

• Twitter