everydayjill

First though, a confession. When I was able to spend the night with my sister en route to Louisiana, she told me that she was so amazed that I was going on a mission trip. “Why?” I asked. Silly me, I was thinking that she meant because I have two children, responsibilities, a life, yadayadayada….

“Don’t you remember one of the mission trips you took to Mexico when you were in high school?” Cindy asked.

“Of course! They were awesome!”

“No-that’s not what I mean. I mean when you called Mom and cried because they were really making you work. Really work…”

I went into little sister argue mode, “I did NOT!!!”

“Did too!”

Hmmm, actually, I think I probably did call and cry. I can picture my big-haired teenager self being totally worried about my tan or my nails instead of bricks and mortar. But I did work, and I do remember some amazing things about those times. Holding the baby of the house, Luis, and making him giggle. Playing soccer with neighborhood kids in the street. Papas Fritas at the host church with friends and soon to be friends. And getting so much spiritually when I had come with the intent to give (minus the whole breaking a nail thing).

That is the really cool thing about mission work. When we truly give, we are so richly rewarded in ways that we cannot even fathom. God takes care of us as we take care of other people. The church family that we are tied into in Slidell just went to Greensboro, Kansas to help rebuild after the massive tornado that literally leveled that town. A group is slated to arrive from California to help rebuild in two weeks.  Not only are they from California, but they are from the areas affected by the wildfires. Some people might question why people wouldn’t stay in their own backyards and just help there. Why we wouldn’t just send the money. Dale, the head of UMCOR (United Methodist Church Organization and Recovery), makes the point very clearly that sending money is not enough,  but sending people is the single most important part of long term disaster recovery. There are literally NOT people to pay to rebuild, so money would just sit. Volunteers, however, move- physically move as the hands and feet of Christ. Pretty powerful incentive to keep coming back, huh?

Big God Moment- Worshipping with First Christian Church in Slidell. We were invited to join in a bible study- “You can’t take it with you”, based upon Luke 12:13-31. This is the parable of a wealthy man storing and storing his riches so that he may sit back and enjoy. Jesus rebukes him, tells him that God takes care of even the sparrow, that one cannot take their riches with them when they go. That is an amazing lesson for me when we are twenty-some odd hours from home in a place where even two years later, people are left with so much pain and loss. We are not supposed to worry about keeping what we have, storing it up. We are supposed to be the hands and feet of God, and let him take care of the other stuff.

God Moment Number Two- Sunday Services at First Christian Church in Slidell. Susan made me want to be a Baptist so that we could hear a sermon until two or three in the afternoon! The music made Dale dance- we even had someone ask how they could convince him to stay in Slidell. Don’t worry though- I promise that we are bringing Dale home. That church was the very example of what a church should be- you could feel the love emanating from the entire place.

God Moment Number Three- Coming ‘home’ to the Presbyterian Church, and finding some really great bunkmates from  Village Pres near Kansas City, Kansas. Meeting seven more people who have driven FOREVER to get here and still are so excited is a very cool experience. Even more important is the fact that they were respectfully subdued as the Rockies lost later in the evening.

God Moment Number Four- Five of us went grocery shopping and lived to tell the tale. Let’s just say that Bob and Tyler have one idea about food, Katie and I have quite another, and Dale will just be happy with anything. We were probably a sight to see as we put things in a cart, took them out, exchanged them for something else, snuck a butternut squash in, only to have it replaced by Nutter Butters… but I am not bitter!

I could blather on about all sorts of moments, but I am now going to have a moment of sleep…

After unpacking our boat-van, we met four members from the local Disciples Church at an amazing place called Camelia’s Cafe. Dale amazed everyone by not only ordering oysters on the half shell, but enjoying them to boot (he was nice enough to share with those of us who truly like them!). What better way to soothe tired souls than with soft shell crabs, crawdads, shrimp, raw oysters, crab bisque, sweet potato fries…. A couple of hours later and some of us are going to collapse into our bunkbeds, and the rest are going to watch the World Series. Tomorrow will be a jam -packed day, starting early with Sunday School and not stopping until we can again collapse into our bunks.

Oh, and I stand corrected- there are indeed camels in Texas. Located on a farm called ‘Texotics’, camels roam with emus, zebras, and animals my kids would know the name of, but not I. Camels also have quite a thing for Nilla Wafers, as long as they can wrestle the cookies away from Bob and Tyler.