Mission Trip 2013 - Part 2

Here is part 2 of our mission trip....

Monday was our free day. So we headed to the beach!

We had a great day of playing and relaxing in the sun!

Tuesday - Friday looked a lot alike from 8am-3pm. We all worked, helping them with thier KidSanity. Which is basically, their form of Vacation Bible School. Some of our teens helped in music, crafts, cooking, sports and some were even team leaders. They did such an amazing job of helping, no complaining and having fun with the 60 kids that were there!

Tuesday night we had the opportunity to hear from one of the church members - she shared with the teens her story. It was one of privilege, money, opportunities, family....abuse, selfishness, loneliness, homelessness, redemption, grace... it was an amazing story of how God had worked in her life. She is a beautiful person with a beautiful family who all love the Lord and serve Him each and everyday. Our teens really connected with her and her story. It was amazing to see how they listened and took in everything she had to say.

Wednesday night we had a pool party and grilled out hamburgers. They had a blast cooling off in the water. I tell you....it was so hot there!

Thursday night we had a service with just our group. We talked about the week and what kind of impact the things we did had on each one of us. We discussed that even though we were all still very much in our comfort zone (nice hotel, three hot meals each day...etc) - how God could use us to minister and help others.

Friday we headed home in the most comfortable 15 passenger van. And to make things even better, I got car sick. I never actually threw up, but there was a point when I was looking to see where I could throw up. I had decided to lean over another sponsor and throw up on the step by the doors if Nik could not stop in time. It seemed to be (in that moment) the best place to puke. Sorry, that is gross. I know. However, it never came to be. We turned on the air conditioning as high as we could, with every vent pointed my way and I stared out the front window into the horizon for a long time, until most of the feelings had past.

We made it home safely, by 8pm.

It was such a wonderful trip. Nik did an amazing job working with Northpoint and planning everything out. I'm so glad Jaxen and I were able to be a part of this mission trip!

Lately

So yesterday Jaxen went through 4 outfits and 2 bed sheets (one, being mine!). He had some very bad, runny, dirty diapers.  This morning I was checking his teeth and he has 1 molar that has popped through and 2 more on their way. His diapers always seem to be worse when he is teething. But he does not feel bad, nor does he have any fever. I think we are doing better today. So far anyways...!

And this morning we went for a haircut! It was getting pretty long. Here are a couple of pics I took of him yesterday so you can see how long his hair was...

It was a mess of a birds nest, I tell you. So long on top. And here are a few after shots I took when we got home. He is one handsome boy!

The lady who cut Jaxen's hair today told me that he looked like me! People usually say that he looks like Nik. I think it is always fun to see what people think.

Nik has been out of town the last couple of days and will return home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to him being home. I think I might even plan a date night for the two of us sometime next week. It has been too long since we had a date night!

Once Jaxen finally goes down for a nap I plan on being super-woman. I have a ton of stuff that needs to be done around the house that I have been ignoring for awhile now. So my plan is to get it all taken care of (and fast) while Jaxen is napping. And then I hope to read part of a book. Big plans, I know.

One more thought to leave you with today... Jaxen and I ran to Wal-Mart this morning to get a few needed essentials. Jaxen was riding in the cart and got one of his legs stuck. He was crying (whining) a bit and it took me a minute to figure out what was wrong. While I was assessing the situation, a woman turned and looked at me and said "Maybe if you gave him something to play with he wouldn't be crying." Seriously? I was a bit flabbergasted. I said "Thank you". And turned my attention back to Jaxen, got his leg unstuck and he continued to be happy. That lady really rubbed me the wrong way...not sure why. I think my patience might be a little thin right now. Anyways....

I am off to clean out my fridge, do the dishes, work on the terrible mess of laundry from Jaxen yesterday, finish unpacking (I know...it's been about a week now), and possibly sweep and mop my floors. Although, that's not too likely - more a thought.

I hope you are having a good Saturday!

Mission Trip 2013 - Part 1

Finally... a recap! Here you go...

We left Friday afternoon with 10 students, 4 adults and Jaxen.

We piled into a 15 passenger van. And let me tell you something that I did not previously know... A 15 passenger van is only comfortable when you have 15 teeny-tiny little children in it. Not when you have grown (big) teenage boys and not-so-small adults. Through the trip one of our sponsors and I took turns sitting on the outside seat where half of our behind was hanging off and the seatbelt was literally choking us.

But enough about the 'comforts' of our trip.

And I have to tell you... Nik kept reminding us (about 115 times) that "We are on a mission trip...that does not always mean you will be comfortable". Thank you, Pastor Nik, for that reminder. I have spent days now recovering from that van ride.

So that plus some major traffic in Houston made for a long day. But we arrived, finally, to Beaumont TX! That was the destination for our trip. Our focus for the week was to help a new-start church, Northpoint Community. They have been open for less that one year. So Nik setup with the pastors there to work with them, however we could for the week.

The church has begun to make relationships with different ministries in the city. So Saturday everyone prepped for an event with the Boys Home (lunch time) and the Girls Home (dinner time). We had water balloons, slip-n-slide and other water games along with food to grill so we could enjoy a meal with them.

It was fun for our teens to interact / get to know / find stuff in common with the boys and girls who lived in these homes. They had a great time playing games and you just never know what will mean the most to them. One of our teens handed out bracelets he had made. They loved them. And then a simple game of Ninja really got some girls to open up and feel included. When we left, they asked if we could come back again! We assured them that other people from the church we were with would be back the very next weekend. What a great relationship this church is making with these homes and those that live there.

Sunday we enjoyed worshipping at Northpoint Community Church. After church our teens worked to prepare 150 sack lunches (which included homemade cookies) to hand out to the homeless and others who did not have much food.

Our teens went out with some people from the church (who do this once a month) and handed out the food. Another need that many people have is trying to stay cool in the heat and humidity with no air conditioning or fans. We were able to purchase and hand out fans to those who needed it. They worked out in the community for about 3 hours that afternoon.

This post is pretty long so I will wrap it up. Stay tuned for Part 2!