upcoming trip

I haven't talked much about our upcoming trip to a Navajo reservation in Arizona, so I thought I'd share with you about that today.  We load everything up on Thursday night, and at the crack of dawn Friday morning, we will leave our church and start driving west.  We will stop and sleep somewhere in Texas that night and have dinner and hopefully let people swim, should they want to do that.

The next morning we will continue our drive to Arizona and arrive in Cornfields, Arizona around dinner time.  I'm not sure what we'll do that night or the next day, but we will have some free time and I'm sure we'll have a worship service of some sort.  I think we will also go and canvas nearby areas to invite people to our bible clubs each day.

Beginning on Monday, we will have free time until it's time to leave for our sites that we've been assigned to.  Though we are all sleeping (IN TENTS!) at Cornfields, there are different sites that we've been given to remain at for bible club throughout the week.  Todd, the younger boys, Alex and I are all staying at Cornfields for bible club, but Graham and Drew will be at a site called Nazlini.  Each site is 30-45 minutes away from Cornfields.

On Monday through Friday afternoons, we will be giving bible club for ages preschool up through adults.  We will have an assembly to start each day off, then there will be dinner, recreation, the teaching and a closing assembly.  My jobs are assembly leader and preschool teacher.  Todd is a driver (the drivers go pick up the bible school attendees) and will also take them back home afterward.  Graham is helping teach second and third grade at Nazlini and Drew is the head of recreation for his site.  Todd will also head up recreation at Cornfields.

So, it's a LOT of work and preparation to go on a trip of this magnitude.  We have to take everything with us that we will need for bible club, assemblies, crafts, recreation and games.  The lists I have going are growing, and I am always a second away from being totally overwhelmed, but God is good and He is keeping me calm.

The closer we get, the more excited I grow, and I know that God is going to do something HUGE throughout this week.  I am totally trusting in Him, because it is NOT in my personality to be up on stage in front of people engaging them and welcoming them with an awesome assembly.  I am the polar opposite of that, in fact, but I trust God and I trust our leaders, Keith and Kim, who prayed over each assignment they gave.  I am desperate for God to give me everything I need for this trip, and I know He will come through.

Will you please join me in praying for all of this?  We leave Friday the tenth and return on Sunday the nineteenth.  Here are pictures of the team members from our church going and specific requests.

I have several dear friends who've set reminders on their phones to pray for us, and a few are specifically praying for ME during the time we're gone.  Will you do the same?

Thank you so much!  I can't wait to update you when we get home.  I've been on one other mission trip, and one thing I quickly learned was to not say no, but to live each moment without regret.  I don't want to come home and be sad that I didn't take an opportunity to do something I felt God calling me to do.  I pray that I live each moment in the moment and that I obey what I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to do.

Words cannot express how much I appreciate your prayers.  Do whatever you need to save these pictures above.

Also, I am looking forward to spending time with some fun teenagers going!

This was a couple of them who came over last night to help me make posters with lyrics for our assembly time each day.  I am so thankful that they came to help!

Thanks so much, my friends.  Love to all.