Friend-ly Weekend

Such a good weekend. Lots of time with friends. Some time with family. Fellowship. Meals together.

Yesterday we spent time with another couple at a baseball game. It started out a chilly morning, and we were bundled up in a blanket, but it was very comfortable by the afternoon. Such a quality time enjoying each others' company. We left tired and sunburned. Well, I was anyway.













When we parted ways, Hubs and I went to my brother's new house to spend the night. It was nice seeing my brother in his element. Crazy to think he owns a house now. I don't know if it was getting up so early, spending so much time out in the sun, the headache I had developed, or the sunburn, (or a combination of everything?) but I fell asleep around 9:30. WOW! That never happens. Hope my brother doesn't feel unloved by our early retreat.

This morning we traveled to worship and fellowship in Council Grove. It was so wonderful to see many of the people I had gone with on the missions trip. We sang many of the songs we sang together on the trip. We watched the trip video. We shared and ate together. So great. Such a blessing.

I enjoyed the pastor's message too. He read from Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9; the story of when the disciples and Jesus came down from the mountain and healed the boy. I like that he reminded us of how Jesus saturated his life in prayer. He didn't act first then pray like we tend to do. Jesus didn't say "God helps those who help themselves," Ben Franklin did. The pastor said that discipleship is learning to constantly believe in Jesus and (I really like this part) constantly realigning our lives to him over and over. In order to do this, we need scripture and prayer. Good message.

Good weekend.

Post- Thoughts (Part 2)

Ok... So I wanted to share some of the meaningful things I enjoyed or discovered each day of my wonderfully magnificent trip.

Day of Arrival and Rest

I was so thankful to have a day of rest after we arrived. My body forced me to take a short nap until more people arrived. I'm not a nap taker, but I was so tired from taking turns driving all night that I couldn't help it.

It was so, so good to see Chacho and Marc, the missionaries, again. It had been almost four years since I had last been down to serve with them... way too long ago. I'm so, so glad God laid it on my heart to go on this trip. Isn't He just awesome in that He knows what we need and guides us closer to Him?

Day of Worship and Praise in Matamoros

This was the day of the awesome testimony to God's work as we were attempting to attend church with our brothers and sisters at the Matamoros church. Check out that story here. Our Father provided so much for us over the course of the trip. Vehicles were there on the other side of the border for us. The assistant mayor (vice-mayor?) of Matamoros provided a public transportation bus for our huge group to use to travel in each day.

One thing that pulls at my heart on every mission trip is how welcoming the United in Christ church members are (in both Los Fresnos and Matamoros). It is an experience unlike any American church. They just give so much!

Day of Preparation for VBS and Soccer Camp

It was so wonderful to have such a great group of ladies to help me out with crafts. I like all that is creative (pretty much) and especially enjoy getting to use my God-given creativity, so I was pleased as punch to get to make some Bible verse posters and skit props too.

First Day with Kids

Despite the surprising amount of dirt blown in my face, it was such a blessed day. I can't communicate with the kids well (my three years of Spanish long ago are inadequate) but oh how their faces light up over simple gestures. Thank you, Lord, for so many positive universal signs. Smiles. Thumbs up. Even just using their names. And once again we were shown tremendous kindness and hospitality.

I was also so thankful to work with such a wonderful woman who could talk to the kids. She didn't just use this time to tell the kids how to make each craft, she also used the time to teach them. I can imagine she asked questions like "Who made the stars?" and the kids shouted "Dios!" as they point to the sky over and over again. Lilly was an awesome helper, and I'm sure she's an amazing first grade teacher too. What a blessing!

Second Day with Kids

I was excited to work on painting a couple of vanities for the dorm bathrooms. That's definitely my cup of tea. The time with the kids went great, of course. It was especially wonderful, though, to have some hard working helpers afterward to help me finish up with this day's craft. Much appreciated.

I found a couple things humorous about the international students traveling with us on several occasions. One... their enjoyment of taking pictures with each other quite often. I think that's a cultural thing but could be wrong. I don't really interact with high school or college aged people much anymore, so it's hard to tell which is true. I thought it humorous either way. Two... the instances I saw (and was eventually engaged in) international students teaching each other the "Tony Chestnut Song." You know the one I'm talking about where you point to your body parts as you sing... "Toe-knee Chestnut nose eye love you..." This was equally humorous for some reason.

Another real blessing on a couple of occasions was getting to spend some quality time with one of the littlest members of our group. I enjoyed talking with her, hearing about things from her perspective, and playing "I see..." (our version of "I spy...") out the windows as we were driving along. I see purple lights. I see flags. I see a big chicken.

Third Day with Kids

Another day of many blessings. Several great conversations.

One thing that really stuck out to me this day was the devotional. It was over 1 John 4:19-21. Love. Love God. Love others. What I got out of it, though, was more about relationships. How relationships are of God. They are modeled by God. He first loved us. Now we are able to love others. So... in order to have positive relationships with other people around us, we need to have a relationship with our Lord and Savior. It's all Him!

There was another part of 1 John 4 that really struck me too. It said that "there is no fear in love." Yikes! Fear. That's a tough word for me because a lot of my behavior is based on fear. That's something God is still working on in my heart. That's something that could use some prayer!

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I'm so glad to be home with the people I love. I am also so glad I didn't let my fears talk me out of this great experience. I have no regrets about the decision to go.

Thank you, Father, for knowing what's best for me and encouraging me in that way!

P.S.

Happy 60th birthday, Mom!

I still love you so, so much!

Post- Thoughts (Part 1)

There are so many things I could write about the last week. A small part of me wishes I could have blogged at least two or three different days, but a bigger part of me was glad I was away from so many distractions like Internet, TV, etc. and doubts I would even have had time to blog (or felt 'up' to it) at the end of our long days.

Here are some immediate thoughts from the trip, as I sit here pondering whether or not I want to crawl out of my nice warm bed to do a heap of laundry from this past week on such a dreary, cold spring day... I do intend to share some highlights from each day sometime later (thus the Part 1 in the title).

I am so thankful for so many things!

• Most importantly, that my Lord made a sacrifice to save me. How awesome and amazing is that?!
• That my Savior continues to bring me to my knees over and over again and helps me realize the need for more and more of Him in my life over and over again.
• That my Father loves me... unconditionally... despite me!
• For the endless opportunities He gives me to serve His mighty kingdom. Far away. Nearby. 
• That He does not give up on me when I fail over and over again.

He is such a patient and forgiving God!

• That my Lord helps me conquer fears and anxieties and stands by me all the time.
• For all the positive friends and acquaintances that were placed just so in my life to encourage me, remind me of all my God has to offer me, and remind me of who I want to be.
• For all the acquaintances and people who challenge me and make me to be a better person as I seek to be more and more like Jesus.

The Lord is so mighty and so holy!

• For the work done through me this week and, of course, the work done IN me too.
• For a heart that wants to know its Creator more and wants to be a faithful servant daily.

Two final thoughts...

Primero... 

The most amazing part of the mission trip happened on our first trip into Mexico. We were all stuffed into a big yellow school bus that had been donated to the United in Christ ministry. We were going into Mexico to attend church in Matamoros. At the border crossing, though, our bus was stopped (as expected, I mean, it was a big yellow bus FULL of people). They didn't want to let the bus through because they said we might try to sell the bus. (It was similar to the ones the city uses for public transportation.) In the long time we sat there, waiting to find out where this situation would lead us, instead of saying negative things or complaining, we erupted into praise songs and prayer... one unified voice... lifting up our Father's name. Our team included people from Kansas, China, South Korea, Japan, and Finland... all singing for the Lord! It was enough to give goosebumps or bring tears to your eyes. Oh how wonderful is our Lord and Savior! He provided a way for us to get across that day to fellowship with other believers in Matamoros... and every day following it. I think the fact that this happened at the beginning of the trip, first thing, really set a tone for the week. Now I'm excited to see how the Lord will top that experience in the future mission trips I will take... He is so mighty!

y Segundo...

My grandmother sent me an email the day before I left. She was playing 20 questions with me wanting to know everything she could about the trip. I quickly rattled off answers to her, but there was one comment/question that I had no response to... until now...
She said: I'm  interested in why many churches choose to go so far away from home when there is so much to be done here in the U.S.
I believe: She's right. Our world is broken, including our beloved, rich, but lost United States. Marc (one of the ministry's missionaries) reminded us of the passage at the end of Matthew 28 that commands us to "go and make disciples of all nations." He also reminded us of a passage in Revelation 5 that says "from every tribe and language and people and nation." I agree with Marc that not only are we called to serve others in our daily lives, we are called to serve on missions trips. If for no other reason, believers should go on missions trips because it helps keep things in perspective. You learn and grow on another level because of the cultural, language, and economic differences. Not only is all this true, not only do you have the joy of serving and sharing with others, to top it off, you are usually blessed in unexpected ways every single time.

I can't wait until my next trip!

Matthew 28:16-20

Revelation 5:9-10

Pre- Thoughts

What are my pre-trip thoughts?

I'm not as excited or pumped up as I'd like to be. In fact I think that if you didn't know I was going on a trip, you'd never guess it. I do think it'll be a great experience though. (for many reasons)

I wish my hubby were going with me. I'm kinda sad to be going on my own, and I know I'll just be sobbing for part of the drive to meet up with the rest of the group. (I know this because I teared up just thinking and writing about it. Goodbyes are so difficult for me for some reason.)

I'm trying really hard to hold onto a verse highlighted by our trip leader last Saturday... Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:6-7) I'm still feeling some anxiety about not knowing anyone on this trip. Of course it will be ok though.

I'm also trying to keep Mark 8:34 on my heart too. This trip is all about taking up my cross and following Jesus wherever He leads. It's not supposed to be about being comfortable, so hopefully I won't have a whiny or complaining heart when I try to make it about me. It's not. Hopefully God will quickly put me in check!

I'm anxious to see what God shows me through this experience.

If you are reading this, mysterious people who read my blog, please pray for me this week.

A Randomly Productive Saturday

Today was random, but it was good!

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This morning was a meeting for the upcoming mission trip. Intimidating not knowing anyone there except the trip leader and his family. I guess that means I'll have a lot of opportunities to make new friends... or acquaintances... or "Facebook friends." [ha ha] I think it'll be a good trip though. Maybe it'll be nice being away from everyone and everything. Maybe it will give me a chance to renew and recharge my spirit. I do wish my hubby were coming with me, though.

The trip leader pointed us to some excellent things to think about as we prepare for the missions experience.

ONE... over and over again, the Lord tells Joshua, "Be strong and courageous..." Then in Joshua 1:9 He continues with, "Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Yes! Thank you, Lord! I need to remember this as I will be intimidated and hold back because of all the people I do not know. I had the thought today that it's obvious I've been away too long. I'm like a stranger again to this experience.

TWO... staying unified will be an important part of the trip, despite feeling tired or grumpy or hungry. Paul reminds us in Romans 15:5-7, "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

THREE... we are blessed to be a part of the United in Christ ministry as we serve along side the missionaries. Our purpose there is to serve God. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

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We have had such beautiful weather the last couple of days. What a blessing! Luckily, I've been able to enjoy a little vitamin D!

Yesterday I came home from work a little early [well, actually a lot early] because an afternoon meeting didn't go nearly as long as planned. I sat myself in a lawn chair on the porch. I propped my feet up on the porch railing. I read me several chapters in the mystery book I'm currently reading, Brink of Death by Brandilyn Collins.

Today I started to repeat yesterday's moment of relaxation on the front porch when it hit me that it was time to trim the mum bushes.

Looky, looky at what I found!

Beautiful babies popping out of the ground already!
Spring is on its way!

As I was clearing away the dead leftovers from last Fall, I noticed this little beauty too (on the other side of our house).

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This afternoon I baked a cake for Grandma's 92nd birthday. Yes. Take a moment to process that information. 92 years. I can't even imagine being alive that long. Having 92 years worth of experiences and knowledge. Wow!

I'm glad to get to spend another birthday with Grandma tomorrow. I am so thankful for the role she has played in my life and for the many blessings she's been given in these 92 years. I'm proud to be her granddaughter. I'm so thankful for the constant reminder from her that "Jesus loves me" at the end of every note and letter she gives me.

[I would insert a picture of the cake right here, but I think I will wait until tomorrow. I'm pretty proud of my hard work, and I hope everyone enjoys the effort I put in to this special birthday cake.]

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I'm so glad today was so productive! It's way too easy to not get anything done sometimes.