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!!

1825 days...

For the past one thousand eight hundrded and twenty five days I've been married to this man.  He still melts my heart today like he did 8 years ago when he swept me off my feet at that good ol college Pub we both were slangin drinks at....Pub 13.

When we went to Bora Bora, Tahiti (for photos go here:  Bora Bora pics) a little over 3 years ago for just a 'swing through' vaca on the way home from Australia (I know...kinda crazy, the good old days HA) we felt in love with that place!!!  We made a pact that we would go back for our '5 year anniversary.'  Even though it was only going to be 2 years later and cost about the same as a small house in MI...we were gonna go back. ...or so we thought! LIttle did we know that same year we would get pregnant a few months upon our return. Soooo...plans changed this year, we booked a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, MI instead!  SNAP- WHAT A CHANGE!  TC is sentimental to us as it is also the destination we speant our 1 year (or 365th day as Team Ulin) anni at as well.  You can put on your spring jacket, dip your toes in the sand and sip a nice local wine and pretend you are in some real exoctic foreign place if you want...but for us, we are quite ok with keepin it local.  TC is quite a beauty.  The norm for Team Ulin would be to taste some good eats and explore all the fun local winerys...but this trip was the 1st of its kind.  All about our full of energy and appreciation 2 year old!  Who told us over and over amongst our 3 day stay "this is her favorite ever."  Whether it was her favorite hallway (that had trees colored on the wall), or her favorite pool or favorite 'story time'...she had a lot of favorties on this trip :)

'her favorite fountain'

'our favorite' 2 year old :)

Being parents has changed our world...not in a better or worse way...just changed our worlds.  Life as we knew it changed that one Tuesday morning 2 years and 9 months ago.  Whew, glad we got some of our trips under our belts prior to then!  I say not for better or worse bc I love it all! I sometimes miss sleep and quiet dinners w/ just me, my man and the sunset...but Kaylee has brought more joy to my life Jan I could have ever dreamed! She makes my little world!

After Kaylee went to bed last night (@8pm btw) Mommy fought to stay awake also!  The shot of espresso after dinner was like water and my body was screaming for some sleep.  I fought and fought and stared back at my suitcase w/ my cute um, outfit, for our anniversary...but instead went for my oh so comfy shorts from Vicky's Secret PINK and my PINK t-shirt.  Def would have made other choices if I were laying in a bungalow in Bora Bora ;)  Phil and I curled up on the not so comfy hotel suite couch and watched a show about the Tornados of 2011.  So romantic...LOL.  This is our life, we are livin to love it and I sure do.


We certainly wouldnt have it any other way, we are so grateful and blessed and hope to make another trip to the GWL some day hopefully by then w/ another team member ;)