I'm Not The Only One??!!! Whew!

Today after church we started our final meeting (above, not everyone is pictured) and I hear Brandon begin by saying that usually before a trip everyone experiences a lot of difficulties and spiritual warfare.

I couldn't believe my ears...WHY didn't I think of that?!? 

Let me explain...

Yesterday I was emotionally and physically spent...so much so that I skipped dinner and gave myself a "time out" alone in my room for about an hour. Tim has been more tired than usual. Hudson has had a rough week sleeping (he caught a cold), which means I didn't get hardly any sleep for a few days. And the kids have seemed more difficult (and excited) than usual. Roll that into a ball with "we have so much to do" and I was needing a break.

Yet, I couldn't believe that I didn't realize (or recognize) that there was a HUGE spiritual battle going on.

YEA!!!! (no, I'm not being sarcastic) It is so good to know that I'm not imaging it and things have been a bit crazier than usual. You know..."one step forward, five steps backwards" kind of a few days.

I am so glad that the Lord reminded me of this. Twice actually...right after the meeting we stopped by a friend's house to borrow a cooler to keep in our van on the drive. She asked me to come in and get a quick tour of her new home I have been meaning to see. While were walking and talking she shared with me about the sermon that they had at their church this morning: Spiritual Warfare.

Yep. I LOVE how God always encourages me, reminds me and even disciplines me by bring up the same verse or topic in many ways.

We are in a battle everyday. Satan doesn't want me to stay at home with my kids, teaching them about the Lord, making healthy foods to heal them, encouraging my husband, planning a mission trip to Mexico.

NO! Satan would love it if I would spend my days in self-pity, laziness, ignorance or comparison--rather than know he exists and to be fighting for the Kingdom of the Lord. I think in general Americans (even in the church sometimes) don't want to look into or admit that there is a spiritual realm. So it's kind of a touchy subject. 

Did you notice how you responded when I started writing about Spiritual Warfare? Did you get uncomfortable? Annoyed? 

Jesus talks a lot about this in the Bible...and He made a lot of people uncomfortable too. Not just to be mean, but to wake us up to the reality of the world around us. To take action and to be prepared.

All this to say...please keep our whole team in your prayers. We are going to need it and it is such an encouragement to know you are praying for us.

James 5:16 "The prayer of righteous person is powerful and effective."

Your prayers mean a lot. 


Well, the meeting went well (except for the occasional noisiness from our kiddos!)...we reviewed briefly how each of the team leaders are doing in preparing, we covered how we need to be efficient and timely when we stop on the road so that we work as a team to get things done and back on the road again, the last of the money for the company we are using was due today (of course we forgot ours at home! lol! Don't worry, we got it there later!), costs for food on the road, remembering passports (I do keep thinking that we are going to forget these! lol!) and many other little last minute details that need to be covered before we pack up and hit the road.

I have been so grateful at the thoroughness of the notes and detailed plans that we cover. If I was a college age student, I probably wouldn't care too much, but as a mama to young kiddos and needing to feed them a bit differently-it has been wonderful! You can tell this team has done this more than once!

Here is a picture of our kids sitting off to the side eating lunch (the meeting was about 2 hours right after church)...sorry to everyone who had to smell it cooking! They were so thankful to have food (and I was too knowing that they were not melting down from low blood sugar! lol!)...although Auston was bummed about not having any cheese in the meal.

Yeah...he loves cheese.

God is taking such good care of us. Things are coming together more and more every day (although, like I said above, sometimes in the moment it feels like a "five steps backwards" day or two!) So many friends and family members are praying for us and have sent money for our trip. I love seeing all their hears joined to our trip in a beautiful mosaic of support. Every little bit has helped and together it is creating an amazing masterpiece.

I hope to find a minute in the next few days to share more on all the support and love we have received to go on this trip.

Just for good measure, God worked it out to bless me personally:

Today my in-laws are watching the kids for awhile (it was a surprise to me!), Tim and I stopped at the store and got me a salad, some dates and some tea...so here I sit in SILENCE (!!!!!) enjoying some delicious jasmine tea enjoying the snow delicately falling out the windows when we got home, and now the gorgeous puffy clouds and blue sky...makes my heart full and refreshed.

AND!!! I just got a phone call (yes, honestly-right NOW!) from some friends of ours that want to cover ALL the remaining costs of our trip.

IS GOD AMAZING OR WHAT!!!???

But, we already knew that. =)

(George Mueller would be proud..."If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." Luke 17:6)

Serving Him,

tarena

Mandatory Meeting After Church

Today we had another mandatory meeting right after church.

I have really appreciated how the team gets right down to business and stays to the topics at hand...it helps with our five kids who are hanging out too! =)

We brought some oranges and leftover meat for our kids to snack on before they ran off with some of the older kiddos to play. I ended up enjoying most of the meat-I sure do love good food! =) Did I mention how excited I am to try some of the foods in Mexico? Well, I am very excited! =)

I digress...food always gets me off topic!

At the meeting we covered some of the ways we could raise funds for those of us who haven't finished yet (that would be us!! lol!)-I do appreciate that there are a few different ways already set up for us to work with. Takes a lot of the stress out of things!

We also reviewed "Job Assignments". Here is the list of the main positions that needed filled at this meeting:

• Food/Supplies Purchasing Coordinator
• Kitchen/Cooking Supervisor
• VBS (Vacation Bible School) Coordinator -craft coordinator, snack coordinator, sports equipment coordinator & Entertainment Coordinator
• Worship Leader
• Devotional Leader
• Evening Outreach Speakers
• Teen Outreach Coordinator
• Evangelism/Small Group Coordinator
• Accommodations Coordinator
• Mexico Base Camp Coordinator

(For time sake, I'm not going to list their descriptions, but I was amazed at how many main leaders are needed for each trip!)

Honestly, I was holding my breath (and not making eye contact with Brandon! lol!) that I wouldn't be asked to lead any thing. That sounds horrible, but I know my limitations and I was honestly feeling that if I was a leader I would be overwhelmed.

Please don't get me wrong...I LOVE to help out-it is actually hard for me and has taken me many years to learn my limits and when to say "no". I also don't want it to sound like I don't want the Lord to push me beyond my limits and stretch me. 

I do want to be stretched. I want to grow. And I'm excited as I know I will be on this trip...

I just also know that this is my first mission trip to Mexico with FIVE young children...and we eat a different diet right now to help heal our oldest son. This means that I will be a little busy and distracted.

It will be wonderful to help where I can and I can't wait! =)

At the meeting we reviewed a few of the things covered in the last meeting, talked about upcoming important dates and fee deadlines.

It was a great meeting and we are just getting more and more excited for the trip!

Before the meeting I caught Brandon and Geri at the fundraising table (our church can buy something called "SCRIPS") that is like gift cards where a portion goes towards the trip.):

 I also caught Gary (Geri's husband) sitting off to the side going over some verses with a friend. Isn't that so wonderful? I love to see people with hearts for the Lord and His Word...we have such a great team!)

Serving Him,

tarena

Meeting at church

Today we had a meeting with nearly everyone who has committed to going on the trip.

It was a wonderful chance to see who will be going and also to get caught up and reminded of all that needs to get done these next couple of months. It is hard to believe how soon we will be leaving...less than 10 weeks from today.

At the meeting we went over some of the info we covered at the last meeting just as a reminder or to inform those who weren't at the last meeting. I loved getting to hear the "inside info" on helpful things to bring, etc...it will really help with my planning and packing. We talked about dress codes, payment schedule, and a few other things. It was only about an hour long meeting, but it was a good chance to get up to date on where we are.

The reality of getting our passports done asap really hit me. They take awhile to process too, so hopefully we can do that within this next week.

I'm getting so excited to go...and a bit overwhelmed at what needs to get done. I know the Lord will provide and work out all the details as He always does.

Night!
Serving Him,
tarena

New note from Brandon:

Found this on Facebook today:

"Hello Everybody. So, we made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and the Rose Bowl. What's next? Planning for the Spring Break Mexico Missions Trip of course. We will be hitting the road to Mexico 11 weeks from this coming Thursday (hard to believe, huh?). I have 2 very important dates I need to share with you.

1) Sunday, January 15 - Mandatory Planning Meeting. We will meet at CCC in the fellowship hall after 2nd service. Please plan on the meeting lasting 1 - 1.5 hours. All adults, high school and older, should be in attendance. Attendance by children is optional.

2) Saturday & Sunday, January 28 & 29 - Taco Feed Fund Raiser. This is our only mandatory fund raiser. Please set aside both days. The funds earned are used to pay for our food while in Mexico. If you choose not to participate, $50 will be added to the cost of your trip.

Please pass this message along to anybody that might need the info, but isn't getting it through Facebook. Also, pass it along to anybody that might be interested in joining the group.

Finally, if you have not yet applied for your passport, you need to do it ASAP. Please contact me if you need help with the process."

Oh, me oh my! Can the trip really be that soon???

Passports-oh yeah. I better get on that!

Serving Him,
tarena

Optional Meeting

Hmm...there is an optional fundraising meeting we can go to this weekend...will we make it?

Should we go? Will the kids sit for that long after church?

We better bring food.

Serving Him,
tarena

First meeting

Today we had the first Spring Break Mexico Mission Trip 2012 meeting. It went really well and there seemed to be a good turn out for those who are interested in attending. There is also a great age range-very cool! Lots of people who have gone before and also a lot of newbies to this group!

We were given a few handouts going over the break down of costs and also what the schedule for the trip would look like. There will be lots of fundraising opportunities and they sound really fun-especially the taco feed.

Now let's pray that we can get the vacation time off and we are all set to go!

Serving Him,
tarena