mission trip...

mission trip was good. we went to m-fuge in glorieta, nm. it took about 20-ish hours to get there because we stopped every hour or two...

[a little bit of background here--my dad is from deming, new mexico. growing up, my family would go there at least once a year in our big diesel van. it would take us usually 13-15 hours because my dad would only let us stop to pee like three times (maybe it just seemed that way--julia? rachel? mom? input here?). needless to say i learned how to hold it, and my bladder is well controlled. stopping so frequently is a whole new world to me.]

anyway, the trip was great. we did mission work in santa fe, nm. m-fuge is a great camp/mission trip opportunity in that it has different mission options and opportunities for the week. the five categories to choose from are:
1) games and rec-- playing games and doing recreation with children
2) children's ministry-- hanging out with kids, playing with them, painting faces, etc.
3) social ministry-- visiting nursing homes, skate parks, etc., and just hanging out with people and sharing Jesus' love with them
4) creative-- puppetry, acting, singing, playing instruments, etc., and taking it out to bless people with it
5) pcy-- painting, construction, and yardwork

joel and i had the pleasure of doing games and rec with kids from the boys and girls club in sante fe on the 1st and 2nd day. they really touched my heart. we also played games with kids at a park on the 3rd and 4th day. we had the opportunity to meet a lovely young lady. she was 20 years old with a 16 month old and a 1 month old. her boyfriend had just left her, and she is in desperate need of financial help. our church group had the amazing opportunity to help her out a little bit; to God be all the glory. please just be in prayer for she and her boys. pray that she draws nearer to Jesus and that she depends on Him for everything.

during the week at worship, there were mission emphases on the roma people group in poland and different people groups in canada. we learned a lot about the people groups of these regions and the mission work that is being done there. be praying for a baby boy named Zechariah. he is part of the roma people group, and he is dying from a lung disease. his parents, who are believers, have already lost two baby boys from this same disease. i cannot imagine the heartache. pray for God to heal baby Zechariah. pray for his parents to find peace and strength only in God throughout this trying time.

God also is confirming in our lives that He wants joel and me to adopt one day. i am excited!!! we don't know how many, from where, or any details. please be in prayer for us, as it will be a long, hard, rewarding journey.

here are a few pictures from the trip... i can't post any of the beautiful children i met (b/c its illegal). just know that they are awesome little blessings from God.

this one is a picture of our games and rec leader, james, air guitaring and joel air drumming to "a friend like that" by hawk nelson. this was our safari hunting night. it was a huge camp-wide trivia-esque scavenger hunt. it was awesome. the theme for the week was africa, and each group represented one african country. it made me smile. we were zimbabwe.

this is a picture of our youth and sponsors who came along.

this is my man and me with glorieta in the background.

i have a few funny stories about some things that occurred on the way to glorieta. it will have to wait until we upload the pictures.


we are now home, teaching VBS, and i need to cook dinner. welcome home to the real world.