More Pictures from our Trip

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Nathan wrapped up in the waterfall from his classroom.

David with a kool-aid mustache. I think he had one everyday.

David by the St. Joseph lighthouse.


St. Joseph lighthouse at sunset.

Guitar Hero

One of the things that our youth group kids learned to love on this mission trip is the Playstation game Guitar Hero. The house where the boys were staying had 5 boys, and they had the best set up with a swimming pool, fooseball table, pool table, 6o" TV and Guitar Hero. Two people would play at a time and everyone else would sit there and watch. It was hilarious.

Well, on the trip home, a bunch of the kids kept telling Brian we needed to get it so the youth group could play it. On Monday, Brian broke down and got it to have at our house for game nights. Well....I thought that was the reason. Monday night, Brian and I stayed up late competing against each other. That game is soooooo addictive. The funny thing is that I am not a video game kind of person. I am horrible at stuff like this, but it really is kind of fun.

Yesterday, David and Nathan kept begging me to play. So, I set it up and they started playing. They were horrible. I tried to teach them but it is not a game geared for little guys with little hands. I played it a little and they watched. Then we shut it off and I thought that would be the end of the fascination with it for them.

After church last night, David was showing us his stuff from Bible class. He had made a scroll that said, "I am thankful for the Bible." Normally on something like this, he would draw a cross or something like that. However, last night, he had written guitar hero and drawn pictures of an 80's band member holding a guitar. OH MY!

Then while Nathan was praying before bed last night, he said, "Thank you for guitar hero. ROCK-N-ROLL!"

The Good Samaritan

We are back from our mission trip to Michigan. Can I just say that our teens are the best?!! I know there are a lot of people who question whether teen mission trips are really worthwhile. If any of these people would have been on this trip with us, they would never ask that question again. Our kids made a big impact on the church in St. Joseph. The church is in the process of looking for a minister and dealing with all the struggles that come with that process. Our teens encouraged, uplifted and built up this little church, and they did a great job with the Vacation Bible School.

Our trip to Michigan was quite eventful too. One thing I learned on the trip is that when the person driving says, "Oh no! We just lost all our power," it is NOT a good thing. Our serpentine belt (which controls EVERYTHING) broke, and we were stuck in the middle of nowhere. A man happened to stop by and checked to see if everything was okay. He thought he might have a belt that would work, so he left and then brought back a belt. It was too short, but he started the search to find us one. Another man stopped by to help too. Unfortunately, we soon realized that there were no belts anywhere in the near vicinity and that best case scenario was three or four days to get one. So, the first man that stopped called his preacher and they opened up the Christian church to us. The main problem was getting us there. So a few people came in cars; the First Methodist church brought their van; and a Sheriff's deputy threw the book at some of our kids and hauled them away in his police car.

These people were amazing. Not only did they house us, but they fed us supper and breakfast (and by breakfast, I mean homemade pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, etc.). The church members opened their houses up to us so that we could take showers the next morning. They provided snacks, a TV to watch movies and continued to help us find the belt for our bus. We were able to wait there until James Anderson, Pat Bashaw and Brandon and Rachel Grady brought us some church vans so we could continue on to Michigan. If they would not have helped us, we would have been stuck on the side of the road in a very hot bus for a very long time. Instead, we got to enjoy meeting some very kind people and have a really good time in the process.

The real ironic part of the whole situation is that on the Wednesday before we left, Nathan Mellor spoke to the teen class about the parable of the good Samaritan. Many people approach the parable from the standpoint of the people who did or didn't do something to help the man by the side of the road, but Nathan talked about being the person on the side of the road who needs the help of others.

I don't know about you, but sometimes (okay...most of the time) I have a really hard time asking for help or letting people help me. I think being in the position where you are totally dependent on others is a good thing. I know I left with a new perspective of who I want to be. I want to be known as someone who serves, fully and completely. I want to be the kind of person who will drop everything and care for someone else....even if they don't have the same name on their church building as I do or look the same as me.

Breakfast David Style

For the past three mornings, David has been making me breakfast. The first morning I was served Triscuit crackers and a glass of water. He had Nathan climb up to get the dishes out of the cabinet for him...what else are little brothers for?

The second day, we moved up to a bowl of Cheerios with little pieces of Triscuits in it. Let me tell you....yummmm. He also stepped up the type of glass he used. He pulled out one of the glasses that Brian and I used at our wedding reception. I am not exactly sure how they got it out of the cabinet because I think it came from the cabinet above the refrigerator, but honestly, I am not so sure that I want to know either.

After I was done with the glass, I put it right by the backsplash of the counter top so that it would not get knocked off and broken. Then I headed upstairs to do some work. All the sudden I heard a loud crash. Guess what broke? Yep...my glass. David was trying to get it to put more water in it to give to me while I worked and had accidentally dropped it. It was one of those moments that you just have to bite your tongue and not say those parental things that you are thinking. You know...things like "Why do you think I put it where it could not get broken?" and "You are too young to be messing with stuff like that!" I reminded myself that stuff doesn't make the memory, so I told him thank you for being thoughtful and that we all make mistakes. I would love to say that I had good thoughts after that and didn't mind cleaning up the mess, but it was so hard to get up all the little slivers glass and that was a bit frustrating!

Today for breakfast, David branched out a little bit. He served me barbecue potato chips with a glass (kind of) of water. Today, David found a little bowl that goes with my trifle bowl and that was my drinking glass. I guess he just wants me to feel fancy! As for the barbecue chips, let me just say that I am not a huge barbecue fan, and to eat them for breakfast was quite a task for me. BUT...I was a good mom and ate them. I was then offered Cheerios for dessert, but took a pass on those.

I appreciate that he is taking the initiative to make breakfast for me, but a good friend suggested that I might want to buy him his own set a dishes so that he will leave my breakable stuff alone. She also suggested that I need to stock my pantry with some better things for breakfast. I think that is pretty good advice that I am going to put to use....QUICKLY!