Oh Ali... I hadn't even though that this might affect ya'll in such a massive way... you'll definitely be remembered... but I do believe that God knew this volcano would be problematic long before we did and the benefit in living in God's providence is that every pathway no matter how twisted and complicated leads to His will... so there are a few more kinks in the road, but nothing so big that this Almighty wonderful God of ours can't straighten out and work around! And I think it is positively wonderful that the orthopedic surgeon decided to stay longer even if the cloud clears and flights start moving again...
I had no idea this would have an impact on the ministry you are doing. I have heard the complaints of others about the volcano and dismissed them as whiny. Now I will begin to pray for God to work. I am guessing you will be amazed at how powerfully He shows up. Blessings.
Of course, God knew about this. Nothing happens on this earth that He does not cause or allow. Creation is held together and sustained by His power. I don't even try to figure out what His purposes might be - He is God. Enough said.
However, I also know that God listens and responds to the prayers of His people. And I know that He will work all of the circumstances in a seamless and amazing way with millions of people involved all over the world - isn't that something?
I contact you because we are both blogging about our responsible travels and hence we target the same audience. We could share that audience. Are you interested?
Our project in a nutshell
From October 2009 - October 2010 we travel around the world and find and support deserving causes (such as orphanages, streetkids projects, refugee camps, ngo's) by working for them, offering publicity and donating some money. We understand Charity Travel as a humanly rewarding way of traveling while helping the neediest people on our planet. We hope you like this idea - you are welcome to read more about it on
http://charitytravel.blogspot.com
We will globalize independent volunteering/donating by creating an example and proving it is perfectly possible to remain independent of the large bureaucracies of ngo's - because the internet (couchsurfing, facebook) allows us to establish safe and trustworthy contacts. Interesting side-effects are the cultural exchanges between our different projects and the sensitization for the state of the world of the travelers themselves.
So, if this idea appeals to you - and to the readers of your blog - we could cooperate. To start with, we could simply place a link to each other's blogs to share our audience. I would place a link to your blog on my affiliates page that has a growing number of visitors, interested in responsible traveling.