July 19, 2008

I said the other say that I was going to share some of my journal that I kept while in the Dominican Republic. There was a lot going on with me before the trip, tons was revealed to me while on the trip and right now I am still making sense to what and where God is leading me today. I searched through many blogs regarding mission trips and found few that really talked about the life changes that occur or that really explained beyond what happened on the trip...I was always searching for the emotions that were experienced also. So hopefully this will help those who searching for something more, like myself.

July 19, 2008

Today was the first time to fly....Wow, all I have to say....God you're good and know exactly what your doing! I sat between Pam & John on the flight. Pam, I like to call my guardian angel (always there for me) and John, someone who has flown before and could take apart a plane and put it back together again! As the plane is taxing down the runway and Pam is patting my leg reminding me to breath and John explaining every bump, jolt and sound reassuring me that everything was normal! They were wonderful, and I will have to say, I could of never of done it without them!

Arriving at Santo Domingo, stepping off the plane....bit by a bug....yep, oh my goodness, I hope this is not a bad sign of things to come!! As our group rounded the corner in the terminal there we were greeted by a group playing music and dancing for us, how cool was that!! We made it though customs, which was much easier than I expected and after waiting for the other group to arrive and spending $18 dollars on 2 Burger King meals (geezs!), we are ready to go!!

Santo Domingo, I thought was a really nice resort area and as we drove out of the airport parking lot, I was really shocked, totally WRONG in my thought process!! I am having a hard time with all the sights I am seeing, children as young as four walking among all this crazy traffic begging for money, crazy honking traffic jams, the smell and all the garbage in the street. If this is the city, where I think everything was going to be nice, I am not to sure if I was going to be able to handle the area that we are going. We drove about 2 1/2 hours to where our base camp was, and the further we drove the further my heart aches. How can this be?

At camp we got our luggage and started to set up our beds, wow, a pink bug net, how cute is this?? I bet DJ is thrilled!! I do have to mention the heat, or maybe the humidity, I am not sure which, but boy am I sweating!! Maybe that cold shower will not be all that bad after all!

I will have to say our first meal in the DR was not bad at all! We had some kind of rice meal for supper with salad, bread and some kind of mystery something, tasted like cornbread nuggets. Really nice and to finish the meal, home grown Dominican coffee! Yum, I love my coffee!

I am really beat tonight, so I called it quits early. I called Jeremy to tell him we arrived fine and headed off to take that wonderful cold shower. The cold shower was not that bad, but mind you my clothes were pretty sticky with sweat...but oh my, when that cold water hits your back....YIKES, really takes your breath away, not matter how hot you are!!

All in all the first day of my mission trip has really been good. I have been a little emotional, and physically worn out, but could be from lack of sleep on for the past two nights and everything else that is going on. I really did not expect to see so much poverty, even though I thought I mentally prepared myself, really nothing could of prepared anyone until you see it first hand.

I am really excited and honestly somewhat nervous about tomorrow and what it has in store. I think tomorrow is a day of orientation and we might go to a church service in the village that we are working in, La Represa. Oh well, off to bed.

Here are a few pictures of my first day.

Happy Birthday DJ!!

Oh my.....my baby boy is 16 years old today! I cannot believe it, in my wildest dreams I never thought I would have a 16 year old!

Today festivities include (or food I should say), hamburgers with all the fixings (his favorite) cooked on the charcoal grill, baked beans, fries and instead of a cake, brownies with ice cream and chocolate syrup!

Besides the foods, we are going to hang out and just enjoy time with each other. He will going for his driving test on Friday at 9:30am, so I need to be prepared for my 16 year old on the road in just a few days! YIKES!!

Dominican Republic Trip

Wow, what a trip! It took me a day to unwind and be able to talk about everything. My mind is running a million miles a minute, and I can not seem to concentrate my thoughts on any one particular thought! I wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures with you that I took last week. I took about a 1000 pictures in all so it was really hard to narrow down!

Here is the community that we worked in. It was called La Represa, but they had stickers on the sign for the up-coming election.

On Monday, I worked the kids club in the morning. I had the awesome opportunity to be behind the group. This is a lady that was sweeping the dirt to the tent that we would be working with the kids in. She was so excited that we were there and when eveyone (beside me) were in there, she pulled the tent back to peek in. To me this is such a touching picture, one which would reveal much to me later on that day.

Here is one of me after kids club.

A child resting in a hammock in the village that we were working in.

This village has been praying for 12-13 years for someone to come and help them build their church. Some of the elders were beginning to think that they would not see it happen. This older lady was so proud of the block being laid that she wanted to help carry them to where we were putting them. How precious! We could not get her to stop, so we got her some gloves so her hands were not get messed up.

He are two that I snapped of a child. I was standing at the front of the house and he was at the back door. So, so precious to me. Really touching.

Here is one that I snapped of a village on the side of the road.

I started a journal the week before the trip and I think later on today I am going to post some of my journal enteries. I would love to share everything that I was going through and where my thoughts were. Thank you again for all the prayers, I could really feel them and they so lifted me up!

Also, the spell check is not working so...sorry for some of the mispelled words that you might find!!

We're Home

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are home! It was a fantastic trip and I will tell everyone and update ya'll on all the wonderful details tomorrow! We are worn out, both physically and emotionally, but all in a good way!

Thanks for all your prayers!

Packed & Ready

Just wanted to let everyone know that it has been an exhausting day of packing but I am finally done.

Packing for a mission trip is so different than packing for a vacation. First thing, there is not a local Wal-mart that you can run and get something it your forget it. Everything that we took had to be in gallon zip lock bags, which was more work than I anticipated. Then of course, if you have never flown before.....like myself, it makes packing a whole new challenge....at least in my eyes.

So how an I feeling about the trip today? To be honest, a little nervous. I thought I was going to have a panic attack when I was packing. I survived! I think I was just a little anxious!

We will meet at the church tonight...or in the morning at 2:30am and our flight takes off at 6:10am. Please be in prayer for our group and for me. I just am not looking forward to the flight. Once we get there I am sure I'll be fine. Hubby will be up-dating my blog...hopefully to let everyone know that we arrived safely and how the trip is going. I will call him each evening, to keep him informed. I will be back home on the 27th, so I will have tons to talk about!

Thanks again for all your prayers!

Not Letting Satan Win This One!

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Getting ready for a mission trip should be a time of great joy, excitement and anticipation of the unknown that God has waiting for us. A time that should be spent reflecting on and getting ready mentally, emotionally and physically for what lies ahead. A time for spending quality time with the ones you love, sharing their excitement and the passion of doing what is called for you.

Our church has been spending time studying The Invisible War, by Chip Ingram. This is a powerful bible study on the invisible spiritual realm where the unseen battle rages. It prepares you with God's spiritual armor so you can have victory over the enemy. The thief comes "to steal, kill and destroy" and I can tell you that Satan is working hard in my life right know, and I refuse to let him win!

If you have been following my blog for a bit, you will see that this mission trip has been a battle for me. The unknown, the flight, and battling why God has chosen to send me has really been consuming my thoughts. In the past week I really have been spending time in His Word, preparing myself, and actually getting excited, about this upcoming day. Yesterday morning I woke up with a sense of peace, and actually being ready for the first time to lay all my worries at His feet and go faithfully! Wow, that is really big.

Satan would not have it that way. He worked hard yesterday, to the point where I almost called it quits at the last minute, almost walked away from what I knew could possibly be a life changing event, not only for those we are going to serve, but for myself also.

My hubby, a wise man, called a friend, a sister in Christ yesterday, a rescuer, someone that not only had her armor of God on, but also supplied my with one yesterday as well. Not only did she show me that armor, but unknown she help put it on and get it real tight! No, it was not immediate, it took some time for me to get there. I cried, she listened, she talked, she showed me scripture, she listen more, I cried more and she walked with me through a difficult situation. She encouraged me, really, she did not let me give up, she gave me hope and most importantly woke me up to the realization that I need to pick myself up and fix my eyes on the unseen.

It still hard, it so very hard to leave with such uncertainly going on within my life. So hard to pick up and leave to a place where I should be ministering to those who may not know Christ and here I leave, going to a place I have never been, knowing that God has something big planned for me. I cry as I type this. I have been through trials in life before, big ones that consumed my life. Today, very hard to do, I am putting those huge boulders that satan threw in my path yesterday, beside me. I am sprinting to the goal and not letting him have the victory. I refuse to let him win! Is it hard? Of course, but something I have to do. Family issues will have to wait. Who knows maybe God will revel what will need to done when I get home. Maybe God will soften hearts while I am away, just maybe things will be resolved. If not, I will get through it, fixing my eyes on what is unseen, for this is temporary what I have been focusing on, but what is unseen is eternal!!

Sleepless Night

I have so much to do before we leave early Saturday morning, and I find myself unable to sleep and really not in the mood to do anything else. I would start going through our stuff and actually start packing, but that would wake up hubby, so I guess I will blog instead!!

Tonight, everyone in my key group at church, was so supportive and excited about what God has in store for me on this mission trip to the Dominican. I love all the faith they have in me and the encouragement that they poured out was so great. I just am feeling so unworthy and so asking God "Why me? Why send me on this mission trip when there are so many others that are more qualified than me to go."

I have this HUGE fear of flying. I do not like roughing it at all, and my idea of camping is sleeping with the ceiling fan off! (I kid you not!!) I am scared of the dark and any bug that crawls upon this earth makes me run in a different direction. And here I am going to another country to share the gospel of Jesus, our Lord and Savior and sharing God's love by helping those in need, and I still sleep with a night light on. My goodness, what is God thinking???

I know that I need to have faith and tell satan to back off and flee, and get my focus on the wonderful opportunities that lie ahead, but I am struggling. I am trying hard to get past the unknown and the fear, and there are days that I do great, but tonight is one of those where I can not get the thoughts to rest long enough for me to fall asleep.

Trust me, I feel this overwhelming peace to know that so many are praying for me and really wrapping me up in prayer, and that feels good. Really good!!

Introducing Higgins

Yesterday Bradley went and volunteered at a local dog rescue mission. Here is what he rescued.

I think he was a little confused as of why he was there....he was there to help them out by cleaning and doing chores, not help them out by bringing home a dog!!

Higgins is a 4 1/2 month old chihuahua that will be a teacup/miniature size. He is so cute, and has such a great personality!

4 Days Left

Yep, four days to go before our mission trip!! Oh my goodness!! Did you read my post about procrastination?? Big time, I am there. You would not believe what I have put off and what I need to do before Friday!

First off, my in-laws will be leaving Florida tomorrow afternoon to bring back DJ & Joey and they will also be staying here while DJ and I are in the Dominican. They will be home on Thursday, and I have yet to finish cleaning Joey's room. This is a very important task that will need to be completed before Joey gets home. He wanted all his little boy toys gone and just older man-ly things left in his room! That was total magic to my ears, so I started working to get that all cleared out before he changed his mind, but I have yet to finish that. Task #1 for tomorrow morning!

Also, I have not packed yet, or purchased anything for the trip. I have a list, but nothing checked off!! Task #2 for tomorrow afternoon. Of course there is church tomorrow evening so I will have to get my butt in gear to get everything done before church starts at 6pm.

I know me, I will only get Joey's room done and will have to head out Thursday to get everything and will have to pack on Friday, which I did not want to do at the last minute, but, oh well!

So why am I not cleaning Joey's room tonight, you ask?? Well I went to Annette's (my cousin) house tonight for dinner, bar-b-que chicken and all the fixin's, and I am to tired (full) to clean!!! But of course in true procrastination fashion, it would not be like me!! Truth be told!

So am I over my fear of flying yet? Am I ready for the big day? No on both accounts. Am I getting better about the flight? I would like to say yes, but........more to follow on that later!

Blog Mission Tour

Why do I blog and what do I expect to get out of my blogging experience? Becoming Me has started this Blog Mission and I thought I would join in and attempt to answer why I blog.

April, my dear, wonderful, try anything, do anything and usually is successful at everything, cousin, talked me into it!! (did I mention she just started a business....check out her blog) April started a blog to share with others about their adoption journey and I was drawn to it.

The reason I started to blog, was just to have a release and connect with others about everyday life happenings. If you read my blog you will see that my son DJ and I are leaving Saturday morning at 6:10am for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic and having some fears I thought it would be a great place to share my feelings about the up-coming trip and to also, get some great sound advice and encouragement from others, through this journey we are about to embark on and other journeys, past and present that life has in store!

So that's why I blog, but what do I get out of it. Friendships with others that I would of never met in person, peace of mind that I am not the only one with a crazy family, informing family of what is going on in our neck of the woods that we do not get to see or talk to one a everyday basis and just plain having fun doing it!

So here is my Mission Statement for my blog:

• To make friends and be there through their ups & downs in life, praying & praising the Lord for their individual pain and victories.
• Sharing what's going on in my life and hoping others are lifting me up as well.
• Just plain having fun, writing about my crazy adventures. It is like having a therapy session without paying the big bucks $$$!!
• It's great to vent and equally fun to share!
• One of the most important things is to let others know that I love my God. I am not perfect and never will be, but in everything I do, I always try to bring honor and glory to Him in every situation. Good or bad, my faith stays strong!

So there it is, my reasons for blogging!

PROCRASTINATION

Yes, I am a procrastinator, big time with a capitol "P"!!!! Each Sunday evening, our youth pastor holds a prayer meeting at his home, and parents take turn cooking a meal for the teenagers. Tonight was my night! So, spaghetti & garlic bread was the chosen meal. That's cool, not hard, no problem. I would hate to be overly prepared and would hate to ruin my wonderful image as a procrastinator and start it the night before, so I would have to do is make the noodles and cook the bread...right?? So I waited until after church.

Mind you, I still have to stop at the grocery store and pick up the meat and a few brownine mixes to make for dessert!!

So while at the store, Bradley wants chocolate pies, instead of brownies........did I also mention I have this terrible problem with saying NO?? So I gave in and brought the stuff to make six chocolate pies. I will have to say this is a phenomenal recipe for chocolate pie, and you make it in the microwave. No fail, perfect each time, but it does take about 10-15 minutes per pie to make, so I am now in time crunch! What's new, right?? Good thing the other kids are with their grandparents in Florida, or there is no telling what else I would of agreed to make!!

I thought, I would share this recipe with you, like I said it is really great!

Mix

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup flour (any kind)

1/4 cup cocoa

2 cups milk (any milk, rice milk, soy milk, goat milk)

3 egg yolks

Mix together in microwavable bowl and cook in microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Take out stir and put back into microwave for an additional 4 minutes or until thick.
Remove and whisk in 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 stick of butter. Pour into baked pie shells and chill.

That's it.....pretty simple!

I did not really know what to expect, because this was the first time that I have taken a meal over for the group, but after the prayer time, everyone ate and I hung around to chit chat with everyone. Mark (the youth pastor) has Rock Band, and of course I love games, so I had to play....of course!!

So after a busy day of rushing around and putting things off to the last minute, I will have to say....it was all good!!

Just Randon Rambling

Well for those who are dying to know, there are 7 days left until we depart for our mission trip to the Dominican! Yes, I am still apprehensive about the flight, despite my best efforts to be totally positive. My theory is now, if I die on the flight, I am that much closer to heaven!! Of course, if the plane crashes, I'm back to the original departure towards heaven, so I guess my logic is not very logical!

We started our pre-trip mission journal today, and for each day there are six pictures of different types of cartoon characters and we need to circle one which best represents how we are feeling towards the up-coming mission trip. The lowest has it's tongue sticking out, then up from that there is one crying, one moping, one with a creepy trying to be happy, but struggling smiling, one with a happy face and of course one that has it's hands raised in the air. So trying not to be a nerd, and really, I am excited about the trip, but totally freaking out at the same time, I picked the moping guy. I did not want to be cheesy and pick the one crying even though I do tend to get teary at times at the thought of the trip. Picking one that's higher up and more excited is not really where I am at either......so I guess the guy I picked best represents me for now. I wish that they had one with wide eyes and a plane in the back ground! I think I will draw that one in!!

So anyways the bible study will be on the verses Ephesians 4:22-25 and we will spend the next 25 days or so on these verses. So today I am really trying to focus on what speaks to me the most in these verses which is take on an entirely new way of life - a God fashioned life. I am not really sure why this part struck me today, but it did, so maybe it will come to life for me in the next few days.

I decided to spend my daily bible time leading up to the trip doing my journal sitting on the front porch. Maggie, my little dog, decided to enjoy a little bible reading also, so I snapped a picture of her appearing to read the bible...to cute not to share!

Also, check out the crazy humming bird feeders! I brought a fancy (expensive one) and then a cheap $2 humming bird feeder at the co-op and those crazy humming birds are wiping out the cheap one and not even touching the other!! The nerve, apparently they do not have expensive taste! What a waste of money!! He he!

Also, check out what I did in my bathroom today! I can't wait for Jeremy to get inspired as he now sits on his throne!!

Bradley's Idea Of Fun

Well Bradley loves outside, hunting, guns and all things that might include a gun. He just added another gun to his collection and has been bugging us to death for a little bit of shooting practice!

Let me say, I hate shooting practice because it seems that every time we shoot I get a gun that is so loud and that kicks so hard that my ears and body vibrates for days. So when Jeremy and Bradley deemed it shooting practice day, I started the whine! I mean the big time, I don't want to do it, I need to go to the grocery store and I need to fix lunch, and I need to wash clothes, you know all the stuff I know I am not going to do! It did not work.

Sooooo, I whined all the way out the door, with the hearing protection over my ears, so I did not have to listen to them, and hopefully in my mind I was so wanting to drive them nuts with my continually whining about everything. I complained all the way down the road about the heat, my shoes and the two baby goats that kept trying to trip me. I do not even think that I bothered them, but I like to think I drove them nuts!!

The target is set, Bradley shots, and I do not think he hits the target. Then shots again and when when we checked there were a few holes, out of the target range. So Jeremy shots....misses the target!! He he!

So here it is, the competitive nature in me, I know that I can hit this target, how hard could it really be!! So I take the gun, whine a little of course because I am afraid that it will hit my shoulder hard and then I start shooting!! Yep, I hit the target!! A lot!! So Bradley takes over the gun and yes, he did do better than me, but not much!!

See those two holes on the 7....yes, those are mine. See all those holes all around the top on the left, yep those are mine also!! I think I did pretty good!!

Errie Quiet Coming To An End!

I will have to say that it is so eerily quiet that the animals in the house are going insane!! Our two days of no kids are coming to an end, and I mean FAST!! Bradley will be home this evening and has already called to say that he is starving and wants me to cook him something good to eat! He is so picky and so tight with his money, I am assuming that he has hardly ate a thing since he has been gone so my vacation of no kids for two days will end with me cooking everything in site!!

The good thing.......I do not have to feed up tonight!! Ugghhh, that has been a chore, those goats, which are aggressive by the way, knocked me all over the place. Did I mention that I was scared of the dark?? Yep, terrified at any little noise, so last night everyone did not get to eat...except my dairy goat. They had to wait until midnight until Jeremy got home from work! It was a sight when I ran outside to the dairy goat pen to grab her, ran back to the garage to milk her and then after putting her back into her pen running for dear life to get back into the house before the boogie man could get me!! Funny, really I am laughing at myself!! Lucky for her that she has to be milked or she would of been out of luck like the rest of everyone else!

Anywhooo....how else have we spent two days of no children in the house?? SLEEP!! Did I mention the the house has this eerie quietness about it? Yesterday morning I crawled out of bed at a little after 10am and this morning wasn't pretty either!! It has been so nice sleeping in and really easy also, when there are no kids begging for breakfast and putting ice packs on your back to get you out of bed!! The funny thing is Bradley's poodle Bandit and Maggie, our tiny pom have been right there sleeping right along with us, so we are not the only ones enjoying ourselves in dreamland!

To end the no kids adventure, today we went antiquing and were on a mission to find something to hold our toothbrushes, a cross, and a small, round metal something to hang on the wall in the living room next to the window. I am going shabby chic and I am wanting to re-do walls in our house, so that was the list and the agenda of the day. Oh the finds that we made!!

Here is a Home Interior mirror that I found for $25 bucks! I was not looking for this but my mom and Annette (my cousin) brought this mirror last year for $100, so it was the find of the day!

Here is the cross that I got, of course Jeremy did not like it, but I thought it was perfect!

The toothbrush holder. It was just what I was looking for!

As for the metal, small round something I was looking for, I really did not find what I was after, but we did come across this cross that I thought we could break free from the base and hang it on the wall and use the base as a candle holder...but it is put together really well, so Jeremy will have to take care of this tomorrow for me!

Here is the wall that I re-did. at first there were only the two small cat pictures up, so I added another cat picture and the cross, and the empty spot up top, where the small, round metal something was going to go, will be replaced with the metal cross when we get it dismantled!!

For those on the countdown with me, 10 days left before we head to the Dominican!!

Are You Kidding Me????

Just had to share what a crazy, crazy world we live in!

Today after church, we decided to go to Ihop. Rare occurrence for us, but hey, we only have Bradley at home this week, so why not. (DJ and Joey are in Florida visiting their Gram & Pap). We were sitting on the bench waiting for our named to be called, when this woman came in, bumped into another woman and then they both proceeded to cuss each other out (which was not pleasant to witness). So of course, Jeremy and I exchange looks, of OOOOOOKKKKKK along with the other woman standing next to us.

Well, Apparently they (the two women yelling at each other) just came from a little league game, yep, boys in tow, when they decided to start hitting each other, yes fist fight, at Ihop. Thankfully, their respective others pulled them apart!

Of course Bradley is loving all the drama, but I really was shocked! So that made a very interesting restaurant adventure!

So after that, we went to the mall, to get Bradley a bathing suit, for his Six Flags and White Water trip tomorrow. Did I mention that for the first time in 17 years of marriage, Jeremy and I will be totally kid less??? Woohoo!! Anyways, after the mall we were driving to Wal-mart, when we passed a guy walking down the road with a pistol in his hand!! Yep, a gun, broad daylight, not concealed! I'm floored!! Of course, Bradley, the Rebel, wants to turn around and see where he is going!! What??? Are you CRAZY??? After all, today we have witnessed a fight and a guy walking with a gun, I really would like to avoid the 6 o'clock news!

Of course, things are rarely dull around our house hold, but what is this world coming to, when you can't even eat or go on a Sunday drive without running into maniacs???

Did I mention that the Pugh household will be kid less tomorrow and Tuesday??

Keeping Your Focus On Ministry

We teach the 5th grade Sunday School Class on Sunday mornings. This morning we did not have to teach because we did not get our materials since we were in Pennsylvania at Creation Fest. So we had a rare treat to sit and listen as Jock Rucker taught our class for us.

We are learning about how God can use us in ministry, by using your special talents. Which is so easy and can be done anywhere. Jock had the class do a something this morning that was very neat. There is a large tree branch about 6 inches in diameter and about 4 1/2 feet long and it also had a fork at the end. The kids then I took the branch in our hands and balanced it where it stood on it's end with the fork at top. To begin with you have to look at your hand where the branch is resting and try to balance it, which is not possible, you may be able to hold it up for just a few seconds before it starts to fall. Then you balance it again by looking up towards the top of the branch, which makes it possible for you to balance it. (You should try this!)

This experiment teaches us, that by focusing on yourself (your hand) and not on Him, or your ministry makes it impossible. Whoo hoo! I loved it!! (as you can tell!)

So what did I gain with this experiment??? Well......that I am no longer focusing on the flight, but my focus is totally on Him and the ministry that I am going down to the Dominican for!! For those who know me very well, you will have to remind me of this experiment over, and over, and over, and over again!! But I feel so much better by thinking this way and for today................I AM BRAVE!!

So here begins my journey of faith!

Keep your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. Colossians 3:2

Gracias a Dios!

Don't be fooled by the title, NO I do not speak Spanish and I am having a terrible time learning it. The title for those who do not know is Praise the Lord!

For months now I have been listening to online Spanish courses trying to pick up a few things. Problem is that I do so well when the little guy is on the screen and I am saying things with him, but as soon as he is gone and I have to do it by myself, I forget.

Words I know:

Gracias - Thanks you
De nada - You're welcome
Bano - restroom
No - no
Por Favor - Please
Hola - hello
Adios - Good-bye

That's my limit, it is also the easiest words to know, so I will be completely lost.

For those who are on the big countdown with me, we have two weeks before we leave. Today's agenda for getting ready for my trip include:

• making a list of things I need to purchase for the trip (more on that in a bit!)
• studying more Spanish words
• cleaning Joey's room (if I die on the plane, I would hate for anyone to clean his room besides me!)
• writing a letter to send out for those who do not frequent my blog about the trip
• re-reading my book about planes so I am prepared for the flight!! (yes, I'm still freaking out about the plane!!!)

That's today's agenda. So if you are curious about what you take on a mission trip to the Dominican, as I would be, here is the list of things I need to take, of course times two, DJ has to have the same.

• work clothes for each day
• modest clothing to wear after work
• 1 outfit for church service
• 1 pair of work gloves
• 1 rain coat
• 1 light jacket
• underclothing for each day
• pair of sturdy work shoes and socks
• pajamas
• bandanas for work site
• bed linens
• toiletries
• insect repellent (100% deet)
• flashlight
• aspirin, pepto bismol and other medications we might need
• sunscreen
• razor
• Bible
• hat
• water bottle
• toilet paper
• batteries
• anti-bacterial gel
• duct tape
• towels
• lice spray
• ear plugs
• fan
• nail pouch
• trail mix and other munchies

That pretty much covers everything. Geezes, just think, if I were not so freaked out about the flight, I would be freaking out about no bathrooms.........err.....bano.

Adios!

15 Days To Go!!

15 days till we leave for the Dominican Republic, and I have to say that I am totally freaking out!! Tonight after church we had another meeting to get ready for the trip and actually it is 16 days if I make this post by midnight, but considering it is one minute till midnight, it is officially 15 days, but who's counting......besides ME!!

Anyways tonight we got a t-shirt and a journal that we will start seven days before we leave, then continue to fill out while we are in the Dominican and also for seven days after return home. We did go over some more logistics about the trip and we will be leaving from the church for the airport at 3am, so hopefully leaving in the middle of the night will make me very sleepy, so I will sleep most of the plane trip. I highly doubt it though!

I have also been reading this book a friend gave me., "This Is Your Captain Speaking" by Ray Stark, it is a flight training guide for passengers. It is a book about noises, weather and when things go wrong. Basically it is a pilot exploring myths, facts and fears about flying. It has been helpful in a sense and one of the best things I have read so far, is the fact that the pilot does not want to die anymore than I do and he or she is going to keep that plane safe at all costs.

Also, Vicki, my friend, who works at the airport is arranging for me to take a tour of the airport and also of a plane so I can be a little more prepared. Hopefully I will not freak out to bad!!!

I will have to say, I really do not think any past the plane ride, so right now all the fear that I have is totally on the trip there and not to much of the actual mission trip itself. Do not get me wrong, I have fears and apprehensions of what is going to happen, things I will experience and the general fear of the unknown, but the plane ride is pretty much consuming all my thoughts!

Creation Fest 2008

We just got back from a week long trip to Pennsylvania with a group of twelve from our church to work at Creation Fest. We never have heard of this event that has been going on for 30 years! If you have not heard of it either, it is like a Christian Woodstock with lots of well known Christian artist and 80 to 100 thousand people in attendance! So how did we get roped into this adventure??? A man named Jeff that owns G-Force Extreme Games contacted our youth leader and wanted to know if 8 youth and 4 adults would travel with him and help run his business for this event and in return he would pay for our admission into Creation Fest and after working we could enjoy the festivities. I did not get a lot of pictures, because my camera battery died, but here are a few...

Here was the group that we supervised.

Jeremy worked the Touchdown inflatable, here is one of him hooking up a child.

Emily and I worked the Bungee Swing and here is Jeremy going up for a jump.

Here is Jeremy doing a flip! Ughhh, I was so worried about his back!

Jeremy and Teresa (another adult with our group) after Jeremy lost in a water gun fight with the teenagers.

The trip was great but very exhausting! We worked 3 hours on 3 hours off for twelve hours a day. Our cabin was about 45 minutes away near Raystown Lake so after stopping for supper, we drove about 2 hours a day. Would we do it again?? Yes, it was a blast!!