All My Bags Are Packed...Am I Ready To Go?

Tomorrow afternoon (7/15) at 5:30 PM a team of 30 of us from 1st Pres. board a charter bus to LAX and leave for a 13-day mission trip to the Dominican Republic with Students International. We will be working alongside missionaries in different areas: a school for special needs students, a preschool, physical therapy, health and dental work, social work, sports for teens, construction, and micro-finance.

Our youth director, Craig, had a vision for families to go on a mission trip together and minister oversees to give students and families the opportunity to see God at work in other parts of the world. The unique aspect of this is the multi-generational component of this. Some families are going as well as some teens. My daughter Kaylene wanted to go and  my wife, Wendi thought it would be a good idea (even better if I went along too!). For Kaylene and others on this trip, this will be their first time serving on a mission trip outside of the country.

I am always up for an adventure and thought it would be fun to go. However, I have been hesitant to go this time and wasn't sure that I should actually go. The first stumbling block for me is the financial aspect. Things have been rough this year with medical issues that I've dealt with and blogged about this past year. It has been a bit of a strain financially and the economy hasn't helped much either. I had a talk with our missions director, Terry, who told me that I should not let money be the issue. Wendi and I prayed about finances and going to the D.R. Shortly after that, she got a long-term sub job in Cutler.

Ok, one excuse down...

Wendi likes to point out that in his book Desiring God, John Piper says that because God is sovereign, He always gets His way in the end. His plans can't be thwarted. Jonah is a perfect example of that principle. Jonah did make things harder on himself. I dropped the ball in so many ways preparing for this trip. I never wrote a letter asking for support or prayer, yet somehow the finances came through. I saw that we needed to have certain vaccinations before leaving. Fortunately Kaylene was all up to speed except for Typhoid. Wendi found out that I needed shots and I got them all in one day...yippee!!

Excuse two down...

The past three weeks have been crazy. Our sewer line got clogged and I needed to dig out and replace twenty-seven feet of old clay pipe with ABS pipe. If you want to see the pictures, click here to view them. Yesterday I just finished fixing five sprinkler lines that were broken in the process of trenching and digging to the line.

In spite of my slothfulness, inattentiveness and things that were outside of my control, I am still going. Let me make it clear that I do want to go, but I really have felt distracted by life over that past couple of months with work, church, and things that make life 'interesting.' Wendi even said to me that she feels more strongly than ever that I should be on this trip. That goes a long way with me. God seems to speak to me through my wife more than any other way except for His Word.

I was talking with our high school intern, Chris, the other night about the trip. He was telling me about how many of the kids were "freaking" out and uncertain about what was going to happen. He told the students to relax and know that they would be going to be servants. Jesus told the disciples to leave their boats and nets to follow Him. Chris then said, "Just get of the boat and go." Words of wisdom from a young man that will be on the trip with us.

Prayer Requests

If you've read this entry up to here, you can consider this my prayer support letter. We will be in the town of Jarabacoa, an mountainous area in the center of the country. Kaylene will be working with girls in a sports camp environment. Specifically, she will be playing sports and teaching physical education to build relationships. She will assist with leading volleyball, soccer and softball clinics. I will be working with boys in the community (ages 7-15), through games, Bible Studies,  and getting to know their families. 

Kaylene has taken two years of Spanish and I learned Spanish from working in Cutler. I understand Spanish pretty well, but when I was on a trip to Cuba almost 10 years ago, I tried to order coffee for some friends when we were in the airport in Mexico City. I asked for dos cafés (two coffees) but got dos conos (two ice cream cones). Hopefully I'll be a better communicator this time.

Here's how you can pray for us:

• Pray that all of our travel to the D.R. and back are uneventful. We're flying to the D.R. via Panama City.
• Pray for our health - that everyone on the team will practice safe hygiene and no one would get sick.
• Pray that we would be able to communicate the Love of Christ with the people that we meet - in spite of our language differences.
• Pray that we would be changed as a result of our experiences - how? I don't know and can't anticipate.
• Pray for unity among the various ministry teams.

If I can, I will blog as we minister, but I'll probably be journaling the old fashioned way (the way we used to before computers and the internet). If I can, I'll post pictures and quick updates on Facebook.

Thanks for your prayers.