To the world you may be one person, but to that one person you may be the world...

Hola Mi Amigas!!  Our group joked that it might take a few days to adjust back to Englise full time again- we found ourselves still talking to each other at the airports yesterday in Spanglish.  Delaney even tried answering the US Customs officer in Spanish in a frantic looking for a translator until we laughed and reminder her..."we were home, he speaks English."  *smile*
I speant a lot of time thinking about how will I answer the question "How was the trip?"  The truth is- there is no easy answer.  Each of the 11 days have their own story.  There were so many layers to this trip I can only scratch the surface and share some details and try to paint a picture that God would want all my siestas and amigas to see!  I shared with our team yesterday at our ver last devotional that If I had to pick one adjective to describe the trip it would be crazy.  It would not just be "good" or "bad" or "awesome" b/c that doesn't quite do it justice.  I can't just say "awesome" b/c there were parts of the trip that quite frankly were tougher than I ever anticipated.  As I mentioned to my princesses, I so wish I could have had them all in my pocket or along my side to witness everything for theirself...but until then, I will do my best (w/ the help of my journal and of course some prayer) to give a reflection and recap of my experience going to Colombia 2011.  **NOTE:  right now I'm doing an over view.  I do plan to do a breakdown day by day but sheesh that will take awhile.  So for now, enjoy a favorite song of mine that I must have heard over 30x this past week from team devotions to camp:
click here
Read on while you listen ;)

To first give a bit of a background...our group was lead by Marc Greer, a staff member and multi-mission trip Jesus Lovin Triathalon doin Warrior :)  I actually traveled with him before to Croatia as well.  Marc made sure that before we left, we did our best to build group unity as it was going to be imperative for the trip.  He also emphasised one word...flexibility.  Well, right off the bat we were blessed in both of those areas- we had one heck of a team, I mean truly beyond any expectations you could possibly have for being with a group of people you barely know for 24 hours a day, 11 straight days, with not normal living conditions.  We also needed to be flexible before we even left the country as we dealt with over 8 hours of plane delays.  This didnt phase our team...we immediately went bold to the throne and prayed we would make it there safely, in one piece and as punctual as possible.  We did.  Check 1 done and done.

The purpose of the trip had so many different layers as well...which personally, I couldn't quite wrap my little, I mean big, mind around until we were there doing it all.  I just pushed my Type A personality to the side and rolled with the paintbrushes...I mean punches.  The primary description for the outreach trip was working with kids...sweet, right up my alley!  Little did I know, I could have went with a carpenters liscence and fit right in!! 

 I had NO IDEA the trip would entail as much physical labor as it did.  Those who know me best, know that I am more of a girly girl kind of girl.  I dont mind cooking, cleaning (well even the cleaning is questionable- ha) and playing with kids...but I married a big husky man so that he can be Mr. Fix it and we live happily ever after, RIGHT?  My dad was a professional painter and landscaper, so growing up there was no way his 3 girls were going to touch his yard, any lawn tools and certainly not his paint brushes! (clearly my type A comes from him!)  So my physical labor resume was not lookin to hot prior to this trip! 

more paint on me than the wall?!

Coming home, my resume might win me a PT job @ the Depot!  Which btw...if I were a Depot employee the first thing I would say is "We need to open up shop in Colombia!!"  Whole nother layer...LOL

So let me get back to the adjective crazy and explain.

• It was crazy to see how big God is...again.  He is always impressing on my heart to show me "look at how big I am, you can't wrap your mind around it"  Whether it was through the Andes mountains, the ginomeous Colombian skyline, the amount of people, cars & smog or the amount of rice these people eat- it was crazy!Here He was, in a whole nother continent listening to prayers in Spanish, not paying attention to the cultural diffrences, the haves or have nots- just working in peoples lives the same way I know Him to do.  



He is SO Big...

• It was crazy to see how much faith, true faith, the people we worked with had.  Boy can I learn from all of them.  In fact, if you pray for me to have one thing...all I want is more faith. 

• It was crazy how big their avacados were!
• It was crazy how cold it was being so close to the equator??  Well anything less than 80 degrees I typically classify as cold.  But really, it was cold.
• It was crazy how quickly my few spanish phrases I learned in 3 years of espanol came back to me, but still how difficult it was to communicate with some people.  Wait till I tell you about the buy one get one free kiwi story, or the time I thought I ordered some coffee w/ cream and ended up with cheese & hot chocolate- OH BOY! LOL
 It was crazy to see the poverty level in the inner city...I have been to 18+ countries and have NEVER seen anything like it   



The Bronx





• It was crazy to see the children exposed to such darkness in the 'streets' including prostitution which put women on 'display' in the windows of old wharehouse buildings.  I have been to Amsterdam & Vegas where prositution is also legal, but the differnce here was the children on the next street over witnessing....I balled my eyes out and reached a capacity limit this day.  Writing the blog reflecting on this day will be tough.
• It was crazy to travel with such strong believers...all 14 of us with our own unique stories from all walks of life, all different faith maturity levels, all different cultural experiences and all differenent gifts.  I PTL for Andrea and her voice- man can that chic sing a tune!  I PTL for Edward & Mike's humor, I PTL for my asian invasion plane buddy Ed and all of our heart to hearts.  Who knew 10 years ago when we were both at Club Divine we would be on a mission trip together one day?  PTL for that! I PTL for my bonding with Delaney and her quick wit 19 year old awesome personality, Oh I PTL for this chic who ended up being my Colombia besty :)  I PTL for Cathy's prayers that go bold to the throne.  I PTL for Val's wisdom and long talks and support on a journey I never knew I would be facing unless I went on this trip and had a few conversations with her.  I also PTL for Val's moistureizer b/c I want to look as good as she does at her age of 60 something (never did get the actual year ;) )  I PTL for Jeff's work ethic & Roberts child like attitutde and devotion to personal time.  I PTL for Marc's leadership and all of our triathalon talks and our runs together...even though I HATED running that BRIDGE- grrrr.  I PTL for Matt, our gringo celebrity.  I enjoyed our discussions during the runs and am grateful you walked w/ me when I couldnt hang in the smog infested air!  barf!  I PTL for Rennee- the only one in our group who was literally fluent in espanol- we would still be looking for more tools and waiting to order at the restauraunts if it were not for him.  I PTL for Kurt's vision on the swing set and 20 years in the military- with out his physical work abilities we would still be working at the farm!  I literally PTL for this team, oh what a team.

What we do best...

Delaney...is loco...

Ed making work fun

Fearless Cowboy leader, Mike & Renee

• The bugs were crazy...my legs are looking a lot better- thanks to my princesses'prayers, benadryl a trip to the nurse & a whole bottle of Caladryl.  Who has ever heard of a coffee fly before?  Those little suckers make me want to never drink coffee again...but ya know that won't happen!  Especially since our team came home w/ 50 lbs of authentic organic Colombian coffee...mmmmm

lookin not so bad from a camera view...

• It was crazy to actually see stuff you only see in the movies...like homes with no running water and literally a bucket to use for the restroom.
• It is even crazier that in a community w/ no running water, these children were so happy!

Mrs Mary- @ Club de Amigos

• It was crazy how much rice and potatoes these people eat...I"m all set for the rest of the year on carbs!




bags of water...

• It was crazy everything was in a bag...jelly, water, babywipes ETC
• It was crazy how much God is moving in these people's lifes
• It was crazy that Fran was so excited for powder coffee creamer??  Apparently she doesnt know about a venti skinny mocha from the coffee company that starts w/ a big S!
• This silly thing was crazy- the transmilenial!!


• It was crazy to be a part of something so big you can't wrapt your human mind around it.  It was crazy to see 13 buses roll into the camp all filled with over 400 people who did not know the Lord or the Gospel.  Whoa, was that crazy.  It was crazy who watch over 100 people (and still counting...)get saved and know that one day i will see them again on the other side. 

Pumpin up the crowd w/ some musica!

• It was crazy to know that it used to be in Colombia's constitution that you had to be Catholic yet so many people don't even have a clue what that means or who Jesus is.

• Its crazy- you really do learn to share everything

• Its crazy you really can make anything out of wood....
• It was crazy to serve in the nursery from sun up till sun down not knowing we did have a bag of baby wipes....oh my









Her daddy was saved this past weekend :)







• It was crazy to watch the children play and sing the same nursery songs we do
• It was crazy to look back and see that God chose me for this journey.  Little ol' me.  It IS crazy to look at my journal and see how many documented things God revealed to me in such a short time.  5 to be exact...BIG BIG things I took from this trip are in my journal.
• It is crazy to look ahead and know He still has work to do with me and in me but I have grace and peace knowing He will fully equip me to deal with it.  Philipians 4:13 Baby!  Not gonna lie though, a bit scared!
• It was crazy to meet so many different missionaries...all w/ the same purpose as us, from all over the world.
• It is crazy that one person can make such an impact.  Just one person.  Put two or three or more together and watch the ripple...

So I think you get the point...in case you missed it, it was crazy :)  Changed my life forever.  I definitly need more time to process everything, but one quote that keeps coming to mind is:

What are we waiting for?

To the world we are just one person, but to that one person we can be the world!

I was stretched on this trip, more than I preferred to be.  I was not comfortable, ate things that weren't that great, others that were excellent, missed my family like crazy, swated bugs, scratched bug bites and prayed harder than I have ever prayed.  This was my 2nd mission trip in 3 years...I pefer He slow down my pace a bit but He is probably laughing as I type that.  At the end of the day, I would do it all over again.

My life is forever changed, 100's of people's destiny was forever changed and for that I am the most excited.  PTL.

You don't have to travel around the world to help one person and make a difference.  Listen to your calling, we all have an inner desire for something.  Life is a mission field and our destiny is eternal- make it worth while :-)

T minus Cuatro Dias...

Buenos Dias Mi Amigos!

T- 4 days till departure.  1st off a big shout out & Thank you for all the 'support' as of lately.  Whew, I have needed it!  Whether it was a FB post, a Tweet, a text message asking what you can do to help, an email w/ a scripture (you know you melt my heart w/ these E!) or just simply signing up for the 'prayer calander' I can not express my gratitude enough!
Per my previous post click here ya'll know this has not been an easy road to walk, or rather...wobble down.  One minute I'm excited, the next I'm crying.  I told Alex today when I went to pick up a book she is loaning me for the trip- you would think I was pregnant- LOL!  I then followed up by saying it would not be this hard if I was not a mommy.  All my mommy teams, you know how it is!  Even if you aren't a mommy...traveling abroad on a trip of this nature can be a rough juggel for anyone.  I had a few days this past weekend where I couldn't even sleep- this is sooo not like me, I am a princess who adores my sleep!  Thankfully, I had yet another breakthrough Sunday evening and was once again restored w/ peace.  PTL!  One common response I give is that "yes, I'm excited.  I'm excited to love on these kiddos and show them the love of Christ. which they sooo deserve"  I am excited to see the big picture when it is all said and done.  I am not necessarily 'excited' to leave my family for 11 days, 10 nights and get out of my comfort zone.  However...His will be done.  I'll be hollerin' adios in 4 days and kissing Kaylee until she tells me enough mommy go bye bye!  Ps. I have told her "Mommy is going to go work with Jesus for a few days"  she will even repeat it and smile as if she gets it...melts my heart.  Then she starts singing "Brocolli, celerey..." all you veggie tale lovers know what I'm sayin ;)

Ok so now on the reason of this post...I just thought it would be cool to post a very tennative agenda of what we will be doing daily.  I say very tennative, b/c these trips are very go w/ the flow and go as you are called.  (hence why I need so many prayers for my super type A personality- LOL)  I've said it a million times, I will say it 3 more million times, Thank you for all the prayers.  I know ya'll will be praying specifically for what we are doing daily and this little agenda may help.
Team Agenda

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...here is the link for our Team Blog if you wish to hear about our adventures while we are away:  Team Blog
Depending on the access to internet will determine the frequency of updates.

Nevertheless....Muchas Gracia mi amigas y familia!!  Te Amo!!

Teeter Totter...

Teeter totter, the childhood toy many of us have enjoyed.  Whether we remember it from the days of our own youth, or from the days filled w/ sunshine (or rain if you live in Michigan...) we have watched our littles play on it in the backyard or at the playground.  Teeter totter for me, as an adult, has one true meaning in my life at this moment- up down, up down, up …back down again, jolting back up hoping to stay up holding on for dear life!  I’m writing this entry more as a documentation for myself, a ‘note to self’ if you will, but I’ll put myself out there and share my vulnerability with whom ever has the time to read it, because maybe it will help someone else out there along the way who is also climbing a mountain to know it is ok to be vulnerable sometimes.  Keep on persevering and climbing that thing!  ...and let me know if you need a tiara (or a crown) I'll hook you up!

This is the story of my life pertaining to the decision I made to go on a short term mission trip to Colombia alongside 12 others from my church.  Long story short (yes ma'am, I really did try to shorten this story- LOL), I felt called to go on this particular trip.  For those of you who may be wondering, what does it feel like to be ‘called to do somehting’ it is quite simple.  You get a feeling that starts in your gut that you know you didn’t put there, you never even quite thought of this before so where did it come from?  Well if I didn’t put it there…then, who did?  You may try to dismiss it, but it keeps coming up and up again.  Ahh, my creator has something to say about this.  This sometimes can be easy to discern, sometimes more difficult.  But just like anything in life, the more practice you have with it, the more you act on it, the better at discerning you get.   I may do a whole blog on discernment at some other time but for now, I’ll continue on this teeter totter journey.  So I prayed over it, thought about it, talked about it with my family, cried over it and then received several confirmations that yep, my name was wrote on the wall for this one.  So, I turned in my application with a smile on my face, anticipation in my belly and excitement in my gut.  A few interviews later, my name was officially on the wall aka list and I thought I would just put it on cruise control until we departed June 18^th.  Not so much….life has had a few interruptions on the way.  This journey has been a teeter totter because I have went from beyond excited to scared out of my mind.  I have never cried so hard and so many times about something I strongly felt called I was supposed to do.  I have wanted to quit, more time than one, but because my roots are deep into the foundation I have continued to push through this thing one step at a time.  Friends, this is not what cruise control looks like.  This is the kind of slam on the brakes throw your neck out screeching you try and avoid, then the pedal to the medal accelerate excitement in your belly kind of high.

Backing up a bit let me explain that my husband and I have been trying to make a baby since the end of last July, 9 grueling but quickly moving months.  So I continued to pray over this too…Lord, if you want to give us a baby now, please just let me not be to sick or physically unable to attend this trip...these were my thoughts, but not quite the thoughts of my other half.    He wasn’t havin’ his baby momma travel to another country where drug lording still prevails, amongst many other things, with his baby in her womb.  So I just thought to myself, we’ll figure that out later should it be so.  That thought, was always, and I mean always, in the back of my mind.  When Phil made it clear he was not comfortable with me traveling around the world with his little inside me, a whole new thought process took over.  Maybe I’ll get pregnant, I want to be pregnant more than anything right now, so maybe I’ll get pregnant and won’t go on the trip.  At least I was obedient enough to say I would go, if He (God) pulls me out, that is His decision, not mine.    If I got pregnant, in my eyes, the teeter totter would be on the up and up, we would be ecstatic!  Yes, a bit bummed I’ll need to wait another few years before I consider another trip of this nature, but at the end of the day I want to have another baby more than anything, more than a trip, more than an experience of a lifetime, more than anything!  My plans…right?!  WRONG!  The day my cycle hit (the last chance cycle before the trip), it hit me hard.  Not just physically, emotionally.  Not only was it another month w/ several negative pregnancy test in the trash can staring back at me, but it was the back up plan in the trash can as well.  I guess I really am called to go on this trip, I wasn’t making all that up in my head, He really does choose me.  Then I started the ‘Why me God?”  “Why choose me?”  I am not strong enough, I am fragile, vulnerable, and… sad.  I’m even mad at you.  Mad at you because now I’ve had these other thoughts in my head, not just the good warm and fuzzy ones.  Now I’m scared and feeling guilty for leaving my husband and almost 2 year old home for 10 days.  I mean she can certainly not eat hot dogs for 10 days straight God!  She can not look like an orphan with no pony tails or pretty little hair barrettes in her hair for 10 straight days Lord!   I’m not sure I am ready to leave my almost 2 year old at home for 10 days with limited communication.  I’m not sure I’m quite ready to go walk the grounds of an unknown country for me.  A country that is full of crime, poverty and things I’m not sure I’m even strong enough to stomach.  All the while I’m having a self pitty party, that gut calling is kicking in again; and I mean literally kicking me in the gut!  I hear (mentally, not audibly) Him whispering “You can do all things through me who gives your strength” – Philipians 4:13  I am whispering back “nut uh!” "Don't make me choose God, don't make me, PA-LEASE!"  But my gut knows better, my mind is telling me I can’t but my gut is telling me I can.  My gut is trying to re-convince my mind that he initiated this to begin with, so He will see it through. (Hebrews 12:1-3)  Ohhh the battlefield of the mind, we all go through this.  I remind myself I am not a quitter.  Although that seems like the easy fix, that seems like the most logical thing to do since my mind is trying to win this battle…my gut continues on this teeter totter ride pushing off the ground one more time- this time just enough to make sure that it stays up in the air the longest pinning the mind down to the ground.  I start to consider what is it I am even fearing?  I go to the “D” on a regular basis and some say the D is way worse then the safe enclosed environment we will be working in in Bogata.  In fact, I just drove myself to Detroit last week, to the hood ok, not the touristy part, to the hood to drop off some items for a shelter we try and help out when feasible.  I cried the whole way there while on the phone with my mom not the least bit concerned about my immediate safety.. after all, I had a thing of pepper spray on my keychain and that will help defeat a 9MM any day, right?  How is that for an oxy moron?  Check!  I’m then reminded by another Colombia team member that He (God) certainly watches over and protects those that are being His hands and feet; and worst come to worst he would be my own secret service body guard while we serve there.  Ok, maybe a speckle of confidence is protruding through again.

So I pray for the strength.  I ask for him to speak to me one more time.  Let me know once and for all if this is His calling, am I supposed to go or stay?

He speaks to us through his word (the Bible) which we like to say is living.  It is living because He can bring it to life today and make things jump off the page at your where you almost want to slam it shut and go ‘whoa, get back in there.’

Now I share with you some scriptures I found when I asked him to reveal to me once and for all if I’m supposed to go or stay…Please know that these can also apply to whatever mountain you are climbing in your life right now as well.  Perhaps you were 'called' to read this blog for a reason?!

• Sent to me by a great friend who knew I was having a hard time with this…James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”
• Beth Moore’s blog rolls in the morning after I was documenting all these verses and this one jumped off the email:  “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14  I tell myself, ok we gotta work on this strength thing and then the confidence will mosey its way back into my bones!
• The whole chapter of Deuteronomy 28 that discusses Blessings for Obedience specifically verse 3 ‘you will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country’ now tell me… I can not make this stuff up, I felt called to this chapter in this book and stumbled across this verse.  I do not have this verse memorized, so this is what I mean when I talk about discernment.  Then keep reading…verse 4 ‘the fruit of your womb will be blessed’ awe snap, you are for sure talking to me Father God, yes me!
• Deuteronomy 5:32 ‘Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn to aside to the right or to the left.”  For me, this mean stop teeter tottering already!
• Next he had my little fingers flippin to Joshua; Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Don’t be terrified, discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you WHEREVER you go.”
• Joshua 1:14-15 also popped out while we were hanging out in this book “You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest.”
• James 4:7 “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he’ll come near to you.”  Can I get an amen?!
• James 1:6 another teeter totter shout out “Believe and not doubt.  For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.’  Snap again, I tell you what, I sure felt like a piece of debris being thrown all over the place in a tornado alright! 
• Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world….people don’t put a lamp under a bowl, put the lamp on the its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” …these few verses  has much significance for me.  Not only is it reminding me to shine His light in a dark world, but also a reminder that He will be glorified through this trip.  That is my purpose in life, to bring Him glory in any way I can.  Therefore making this trip part of my life purpose. 
• Last but not least, Mathew 5:37 “all you need to say is simply Yes or No, Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”  Ok how about that for an awe snap to make me stop it with the 2^nd guessing already!

So with my feet deep in the sand and my surrender flag wavign in the breeze next to me; I have surrendered my will and agreed to have His will be done in me and through me.

I'm currently sitting at the top of teeter totter (or on the beach w/ my feet in the sand- whichever visual you prefer- LOL) with a smile on my face, that original anticipation in my belly and my $6 diamond tiara on my head counting down the days until June 18th! 

*picture me in this princess tooling and swim goggles!  Fitting considering I'm training for a tri-athalon too- ha  ;)