Every time I get ready to go overseas I go through a familiar pattern of thoughts and concerns. I think about:

• My wife, my kids, and the various things going on in their lives.

• The pressing issues my wife will face, like our ongoing kitchen remodel, her work pressures and all the normal, daily things she attends to.

• The things I need to purchase for my friends in Mongolia like medicines, supplements, foods and spices, fun things for the kids, electronics and computer items, books, clothing, etc., wishing I could bring more.

• The travel details, money, and restocking the medical kit.

• Our in-country housing details and what we need to plan for in each city.

• What we may be asked to do, the people we'll be ministering to, what I might be teaching on, etc.

• God's heart for Mongolia and what He sees for them now, and five, ten, twenty years from now.

• The joy of seeing my friends in Mongolia that I miss every single day I'm not with them.

• Church on The Rock and how blessed I am that I can leave without a worry in my mind that all will be well because of the dedicated servants who will watch out for one another.

• How grateful I am to have an understanding wife.

The list is much longer, but these are some of the things that I think about. My greatest blessing, though, comes from knowing that our God in heaven will take care of every detail, watch over every soul, fight our every battle, and guide us to every victory in Christ, both at home and abroad. I always have total peace when I get on the plane and I give God all the glory for that.

Please keep my family in your prayers. Please keep Mark and I in your prayers. You can follow our adventure on my blog at www.chrisbayer.com and also here.