Mission Trip Preparations!

We are getting ready to head to Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico for a short term mission trip.  I've kind of been elected to chronicle our journey.  Luckily, I've been taking notes for a while, since I journal daily anyhow.  The following will be the rough notes I've taken, compiled into one post. 

Pre Trip Notes

Sunday, September 13, 2015

1:36 PM

Olivia and Dave Wolf 

We are beginning the preparation for our trip to Tepic, Mexico.  Our team consists of Tom and Brenda Kabel, Erik and Chris Bendgs, Tom (my husband, for any readers who may not know) and me.  The focus of the trip is to work with Dave and Olivia Wolf, missionaries with UIM (https://www.facebook.com/UIMAviation?pnref=story) who were the first missionaries sent out by El Camino when it was established as a church. Our focus is to encourage them in their ministry and develop relationship with them, their co-workers and Huichol villagers.  The nature of the work will not be completely defined until we actually get down there, but we know that we will possibly be working on runway clearing, working with children in the village, observing and taking part in AWANA.  Beyond that, it will be whatever the Lord leads us into doing. As Dave and Olivia are approaching retirement, it is a great opportunity for us to establish a relationship with the remainder of their team so we can prayerfully consider how we can continue our support of the work that they have started. 

As part of our preparation, we will be working through "Short Term Missions Workbook."  Hopefully, we will be able to meet at least a couple of times to work through and discuss some chapters.  Erik came home yesterday from North Carolina, and Chris will be home on Tuesday, so Tom is going to contact them to determine availability.  We also need to have a picture taken so we can print up and distribute a prayer card (we are behind on this, so it is imperative that it is done ASAP!)

Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico

One of the recommendations that the book recommends is a Trip Journal. I'm a journaler anyhow, so this is not a big deal for me, I likely would have done it anyhow. But now it has focus.

Team Meeting 

Monday, October 12, 2015

13:03

We agreed to ask Cindy Russell about polo shirts with the church logo, in royal blue.

I will also look for tshirts that I can put a vinyl logo on.

Joseph Aziz has offered his house for us to park our vehicles on the day we leave, and he will take us to the airport.  Tom and I will just drive from here, since we are closer to the airport.  

What time do we need to check in?  Our flight to Phoenix is at 7:00 a.m., so we will head to the airport at 5 or so.  Going to be a long day!  Tom needs passport numbers for the American web site to speed up check in, or they may do it.

Cash - each person should bring approximately $300 to pay to Olivia when we get down there for food, lodging and gas.  There are ATMs available, American voltage and American style plugs.  WIFI is available, Tom will give his work cell phone for emergencies.

Someone (likely me) needs to keep a journal or update a web page with pictures and information about what we are doing, and prepare for a post-trip debrief, both in the services (likely November 15) and with the larger GO Team.

Olivia's message to me:

There are 50 kids in the village we will be going to and another 50 in the Awana program. Olivia wants to give them gift bags and has the following suggestions:

¥ small treat/gift bags, fall décor, no Halloween pictures

¥ Pencils (2-3 each bag)

¥ colored pencils (2 -3 each bag)

¥ markers (2-3 each bag)

¥ stickers 

¥ Gummy bears, fruit snacks (individually bagged)

¥ Candy Corn

¥ M&Ms

¥ Caramels

¥ muffin liners – fall colors (for Awana, so only need 50 or so)

¥ big bag of chocolate chips

Olivia has been saving gallon ice cream containers, egg cartons and tp rolls and suggested we come up with crafts/games that could utilize them.  

Olivia also suggested that we get matching shirts.  They can be simple T-shirts that are the same color, or if everyone wants to, we could get a logo put on them.  I’ll work on a plan tomorrow and let you all know what I come up with on Saturday.  

We discussed our Spiritual Gifts and Talents  

Brenda - Exhortation, evangelism, gifts of mercy, helps

Tom K - Evangelism and teaching - willing to do a devotional for the Awana kids - carpentry work physical labor

Tom P - administration, prophecy, exhortation, helps

Erik -  Service, carpentry and physical labor

Chris - Mercy and Evangelism, physically able to do most anything

Teri - service, administration

Gifts? What is expected?  Also - if we find what the pastor's needs are, can we bring extra funds down to help?

Financial update from Toni

Friday, October 16, 2015

1:27 PM

Toni told me yesterday that each member of the team got a donation of $500. That's  $3000! I don't know who made the donation, she didn't tell me and I didn't ask, although I may ask her for a list of the donors (with no amounts) so I can invite them to the meeting on November 22.  Such a huge answer to prayer. In our case, that just about covers the entire trip.  I'm hoping we have some money left over so we can provide a gift to Olivia and Dave, along with their team members.

Cindy Russell called me yesterday as well, the shirts are in and coming along.  She will invoice the church, then each of us will need to give Toni a check for our part.  I have t-shirts that I bought yesterday that I'm getting ready to apply the church's cross logo to. I still need to get a shirt for Tom, as Michaels didn't have 2XL shirts.  Hopefully, I can find one in the next day or so. 

23 October 2015 Update

Friday, October 23, 2015

4:47 AM

I haven't written in a while, work has been very busy, but I'm putting this up as a slight update. Things are coming together for the trip.  Jan Coleman, Teri Wood, Dana Adams and Jill Field have all indicated they have things for us to bring down, and I suspect we will get more on Sunday.  Pastor Ron dropped off some Crystal Light containers for us to bring and use in some way as well.  I'll need to look at that today.  Brenda, Chris and I are going to divvy up all the things we are bringing down, so the packing will be a bit easier.  We also have a box of Gideon Spanish New Testaments that we need to divide among ourselves.  

I talked to Olivia a little yesterday.  She said that the villagers are extremely simple and would not understand instructions for a complicated game, but to keep them very easy. We can still use some of the other ideas we have with the team children, and possibly in AWANA. The key phrase of the entire trip will be:  go with the flow! We can't go down with any expectations, that way we won't be disappointed!  Fortunately, everyone is on the same page as far as that goes! 

There is one MAJOR concern about the trip that has come up in the last few days - Hurricane Patricia! She's bearing down on Puerto Vallarta as a Category 5 storm.

http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-patricia-mexico-coast.  We will keep a close eye on it and the airlines to see if there are any delays that we need to be concerned with. 

Our team commissioning prayer is on Sunday during both services.  We plan on wearing our new El Camino polo shirts. I need to make arrangements for someone to take a picture of it in at least one of the services. 

Prayer requests:

• That Patricia will disappear
• That we will have a safe trip down and to Tepic
• That we will have zero issues with our luggage
• That we may effectively minister to Dave and Olivia, their team and the villagers
• That God will strengthen us in all ways: spiritually, mentally, physically. We will be there over Halloween, which is a spiritually dark time in a land that still practices forms of Spiritism.

I have a personal request as well. About three weeks ago, I received a phone call that my father who is 85, was in the hospital.  He is home now, resting, but will be undergoing open heart surgery on November 16.  Please pray for this surgery, and for me that I will not let the concern I have for him distract me from what I need to do.  We are planning on driving back to Louisville, KY the week after we return from Tepic to be with him.  

We leave on Wednesday, October 28. My plan is to journal daily, along with pictures so our prayer warriors will know how to pray for us!  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers so far. 

Praising God for all things,

Teri

Doors

Doors.  Have you ever thought about doors?  We deal with so many doors every day of our lives.  There's the bathroom door, first thing in the morning. We keep it closed out of a sense of privacy; same as our bedroom doors.  When that door is open, it's an invitation to our children to enter and fellowship with us; when it is closed, It's a signal that we don't want to be disturbed.   We leave our houses through a door, making sure that it is securely locked behind us.  We get into our cars, closing and locking the car door, giving us some measure of safety against the elements as well as keeping us safer in the event of an accident.   

Arrive at work and encounter another set of doors, the door to our building, then our office.  Both of them are usually kept locked, unfortunately to guard against those who would harm us.  Once in our offices, our doors are either kept open (as mine is all day) or closed (as my boss's often is - when he needs privacy or to concentrate on the task at hand).  I can knock, and receive permission to enter, but there is still a door.  

  

There are other doors. We often talk of a door of opportunity and knocking on symbolic doors to see if there is something behind the door that we should do.  The door can crack open, showing us a glimpse of a new adventure, only to slam shut because God sees what is on the other side that we do not see and is protecting us from it.  The door can crack open a little further, inviting tentative steps in, or it can be swung wide open, beckoning us to come.    

God talks a lot about doors, but there are three that come to mind more than any other.  The first one is a warning found in Genesis 4:7 "Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it."    Yea. Subdue is probably too subtle of a word at times.  Just yesterday, it didn't subdue me, it grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me down into its abyss.  I saw it sitting there, crouching, with darkness in its eye, felt it grab my ankle and didn't even resist when it pulled me down into its deadly hole.  However, there was Someone on the other side, waiting to pull me up out of the pit. In fact, that Someone would let me have no rest at all until I dealt with the sin issue at hand.  So today, I knocked on a door, confessing my sin to the person I had sinned against, and received forgiveness.  It was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life, but I did it.   

That leads to the second door that I thought about, Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come to him, and sup with him and he with Me. "  For so long, I thought that this verse was an evangelistic verse.  I think now that it really is a symbol of Christ desiring fellowship with us. Do we have the door to Him open or closed? I definitely heard Him knocking on my door last night....all night... praying that He would just go away and let me ignore my sin, but He persisted in knocking, gently, on the door of my heart, until I gave in and opened it so He could come in and heal and forgive me.   

The last door is also in Revelation chapter 3, verse 8.  "I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."   The door to heaven is open, and will not shut.  It's the door to the Throne room of the Almighty God.  Israel did not have the access we have to God.  The door to the Holy of Holies in the form of a curtain kept them apart from God, and the only one who could enter was the High Priest.  Today, through the shed blood of Christ, we have an open door to God that no one, not even satan himself can shut.  He can try to block it, he can trip us up and try to drag us down, but he cannot keep me away from God.  

Reflections

I've not written a blog entry in some time.  With this new job, I don't have the time I used to, and I certainly don't have the time to really develop this blog the way I was hoping.  Ah well. I'm mostly writing it for my own benefit, and if it blesses others, so much the better.

First, the light weight stuff.  My friend Vickie challenged me to learn how to prep meals for the freezer/crockpot.  She's been doing it for some time, and asked if anybody was willing to take part in a meal exchange.  I finally found some recipes that I thought looked good and dove in.  I found this site to be very useful!

 http://www.six-cents.com/2012/06/crockpot-freezer-cooking-101.html 

In fact, I'm going to be making her freezer chicken salsa, with some minor modifications, for the first meal exchange next week. 

This past few weeks at work have been very busy.  Finished the followup work to our largest outreach - our Living Lord's Supper presentation, then went to a conference last week.  I did glean some good information about short term mission trips during the conference, and bonded a little with some of the Ministry Leadership Team from church as well.  Then this week, yesterday actually, we hosted a National Day of Prayer event at church.  I was tasked with making a display board for the Worship Ministries, and my choice was "Pray for Our Elected Officials"  Here's a (not so great) picture of the board I designed:

I am loving the fact that I can use my creative scrapbooking skills and get paid for them :) 

Now, for what I really wanted to write about:

I found out that a childhood/high school friend died the morning of May 7 as a result of a tragic accident. It's funny how things like that cause you to reflect.  I've reestablished contact with some of those friends, but have lost all contact others. I know out of the group of 11 of us, six of us have remained faithful to God, and are active in our churches, including the one who is now rejoicing in Heaven. The rest, I don't know.  Certainly puts life in perspective. 

My quiet time this morning was Jeremiah 27-31

29:11 I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

William's death has really caused me to reflect on my past life, and how far I've come in the 40+ years since then. I'm not the same person, in so many ways, that I used to be, yet the insecurities that were present then - the feeling of being just on the fringe with nothing to contribute, has not gone away.  I still second guess myself all the time, especially when trying something new.

Yet, the Lord has been good.  Since those days I've…

• Joined the Air Force, graduating as an honor grad from tech school.
• Became a paralegal in the Air Force and won awards.
• Was requested to go on TDY trips because of my skill in claims.
• Eventually retired as a Master Sergeant, having turned down promotions because of the impact it would have had on my family.
• Married (too young), had 4 children. Divorced. Remarried a very Godly man.  Now have two grandchildren, a son in law and a daughter in law. One child is preparing to go on her third mission trip, and talking about going to Honduras as a full-time missionary in the near future.
• Moved - Cleveland, Omaha, Portugal, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Arizona
• Went to college off and on until finally graduating Summa Cum Laude from Liberty University in 2014 - 40 years after graduating from high school
• Served on multiple boards at a handful of churches, missions committees, women's fellowship director or board member, constitutional revision committee, church clerk, choir secretary
• Several short term mission trips, and one upcoming
• Landed in a dream job - Administrative Assistant to the Worship Pastor. Not only serving the Lord in a full time capacity, but using creative skills I never believed I had in a way I never could have imagined. 

I can see the Lord's hand through all of this, although at times I wonder. But You are faithful, and yes, You did and do have plans for me, plans to give me hope and a future.  What will the next…20?..however many years I have left, bring?  Hearing of William's death… I know that my life could end today. Help me live my life in every moment so I hear you say "well done, good and faithful servant."

God's Amazing Grace

I started my job as the administrative assistant to the Worship Pastor at our church in September.  I've worked before; I was in the military as a paralegal, worked for attorneys, and in other jobs.  I was fairly competent in those jobs, I knew what I was doing, had been through pretty extensive training, courtesy of the Air Force, so I didn't feel out of my league.  However, in this job for some reason I have often felt like I was in way over my head.  I've been in choirs for years, and was the choir secretary for many years. But this is different. For starters, this choir is larger than any other choir that I was secretary for.  Second, my responsibilities are much greater than they ever were back in those days!

Part of my job is to create the bulletin and announcement inserts.  That part is easy - some word processing and Publisher experience is all it takes.  Another part which is slightly more difficult is getting used to a program called Pro Presenter that we use to project the service to the congregation.  After several weeks of consternation, I think I've finally figured it out. Still not a pro on it by any means, but I feel a lot more comfortable.  Today I had the pleasure of actually having to run the images during a memorial service.  I put the playlist in the system on Thursday, ran through it, made sure everything worked.  Then when today came and I actually had to play it for people, it went just fine! Thank you Lord!!

A part I really enjoy is being able to flex my creative skills.  I have the responsibility to do announcement power points, a video for announcements (power points converted into an MP-4), and posters for the Worship ministry. Since my boss is also the executive pastor, and in charge of a major remodeling project we are beginning the day after Easter, I have had to create signage directing our congregation about entries, information flyers and commitment flyers.  That part is fun, I have to admit.  It's interesting to see how God has taken what was a hobby  and turned it into something to use for His glory.

Another part of my job is the musical part. While I've been in choirs and am very familiar with choral music, orchestrations are another thing.  I played flute (badly) in junior high school, and that is the extent of my exposure to orchestra music.  I was responsible for sending out orchestrations to all the members, including nine that we hire from the community.  Well, wouldn't you know it, but I sent the wrong arrangement to one of the songs and it wasn't discovered until this past week?  Ugh.  I didn't realize that we had two different arrangements of the same song!  Stress level - over the top!  It was rectified on Monday though, and everyone is professional enough that in the end it turned out ok. 

Second issue surfaced this morning, during our final practice.  In one of the songs, the woodwinds had a problem.  At first, I thought (and so did my boss) that I hadn't copied a page.  Come to realize that no, the problem was that the editor/publisher had messed up and three or four measures were missing. They are "rest" measures, and fortunately my daughter-in-law, one of our paid clarinet players and a Music Ed teacher, discovered it and said that it was NOT me! Whew! 

I'm finally getting to the point of this entry, which is a reflection on God's Amazing Grace.  On my way into church this morning, I was listening to the music we are performing. This year we have added three new songs, Scandal of Grace, Oh the Blood, and Cornerstone.  All three of them, and the song that is my favorite, I Stand Redeemed, talk in different ways about God's amazing grace.  I couldn't help but think that without God's grace that He has so freely extended to us, we would have no idea how to extend grace to others.  I've been the recipient of that grace.    In previous jobs, if I've made a mistake, even an innocent, ignorant one, I've been beat up and berated, once cursed out for a mistake that was primarily my then-boss's fault.  What I have discovered working in a church is that GRACE is the operative word!  Oh, I am so very grateful for that.  I've never experienced such grace.  To quote a line from I Stand Redeemed, I am humbled by the grace that has been offered. Not only by my wonderful boss, but more importantly by my wonderful Savior.  

My prayer is that everyone experience this grace. God's grace is simply amazing. He took me, when I was a sinner, totally lost, and offered me grace and forgiveness.  I stand redeemed. 

When I think of all my faults and all my failures
When I consider all the times I've let God down
I am humbled by the grace He has extended
I'm amazed at the mercy I have found
I could never earn His love on my own
Yet every time I come before His throne
 

Chorus:
I stand redeemed by the blood of the Lamb
I stand redeemed before the great I AM
When He looks at me, He sees the nail scarred hands
That bought my liberty
I stand redeemed

Even at my best I am unworthy
I have nothing precious i can give
A broken life is all I have to offer
And yet it's a priceless gift to Him
The bitter mark of sin will never fade away
But I can come before Him unashamed 

http://lyrics333.com/i_stand_redeemed_lyrics_legacy_five.html

http://tinyurl.com/nncrbg6

Lastly, a shameless plug. Tomorrow at 3:00 Tucson time, and Wednesday, April 1- Friday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m. Tucson time, we will be live streaming The Living Lord's Supper.  It is a live depiction of Da Vinci's The Lord's Supper, with each of the disciples coming to life from the painting and telling their story, accompanied by choral music and orchestra.  We would love to have you join us!  If you do join in, let me know!  You may join in the service by going to www.elcaminochurch.org and clicking on Live Stream.

Fog

We live in the desert, which is usually very warm and dry. In the winter, our wet season, the humidity generally runs below 50%, the dew point is often around 30.  It is DRY.  So imagine my surprise one Monday morning as I woke up to a thick, pea soup fog.  We have had fog before, but generally up in the mountains, and if it was in our valley, it burned off as soon as the sun rose.  However, this fog was different.  It descended and stayed around for some time, not burning off until well after 9:00 a.m.  It caught everyone off guard. There were numerous car accidents, people were late to work, and everyone was somewhat disconcerted by it.  However, the fog did lift; leaving behind a rare desert chill, but all was right with the world again.

I read an article recently that seemed to imply that trauma should not affect personal and spiritual lives; that those who have been traumatized should get over it, turn it over to the Lord, and life will be all “peaches and cream” forevermore.  Usually those who have this outlook have not experienced any kind of serious trauma.  They live in a world where they have been spared any major difficulties.  The implication from these well-meaning people is that it is as simple as “give it over to God and the pain will go away.”  If you don’t do so, or continue to struggle, then you simply are not “spiritual” enough, or you are living in sin.  

I have lived with trauma- the trauma of a broken marriage.  I am 17 years removed from the end of my marriage, and yet, to this day, I am impacted by it.  When I was first faced with the reality that I was about to become a statistic, it really felt like I was grouping my way through a thick fog; an unrelenting, smothering, cold, damp fog that seemed like it would continue forever.   You reach out to grasp at something, not knowing if it is safe enough to hold you and help you through the fog, or if it is an angry animal that will turn on you and attack.  You do not know where to turn; do not trust your instincts anymore; feel totally and completely disoriented and lost, and have no idea when the fog will lift. You wonder where God is, or if He is there at all.

Nevertheless, the fog does begin to lift.  As you feel your way through it, you realize that by just sliding one foot in front of the other, you are making progress. It begins to get easier.  Slowly but surely, just as the fog burned off in Tucson, the fog burns off in your life.  The sky is blue again and you can see clearly.  However, it does not stay that way forever.  More clouds, more fog often rolls in, and you find yourself in the fog again.  The fog goes away much more quickly each time, and the blue skies return.  It does get easier.  You find that the foggy days are not as frequent, in fact you will one day wake up and see nothing but blue skies and realize that it’s been that way for some time. 

God was there, even when I could not see or feel His presence. He was the One who sustained me even when I felt like the fog would consume me.  I turned to His word time and time again and found comfort and the strength to press on.  Passages like the Psalms where David cried out in his anguish, pouring his heart out to God.  Promises like those found in Jeremiah 29:11 and 33:3.  God was there, ever Faithful, ever True.  The God who provides, the God who sees. The God who Loves.  God Almighty.  I can truly say along with the Psalmist

You are my God and I will praise you,

You are my God and I will exalt you!

Psalm 118:28