Jaaaaaaaa! Ok.. so I haven't posted on this blog in like FOR-EV-ER, but I figured it was better than starting a brand new blog just to cover a few weeks of travel.
So if you didn't know.. I'm head back to South Africa. And Super excited about it!!!!!
Here's my FAQ's about the trip:
1) Are you doing the same thing you did last time? Nope. The work we will be doing is outside of Pretoria. Working with this ministry: https://bethesdaoutreach.org/
My previous trip was to the Cape Town area working with this ministry: http://www.campsonshineafrica.org/
2) Will you get to see the kids you worked with before? Maybe. We are going to vacation a few days in the Cape Town area, but still trying to figure out the logistics and feasibility of doing so.
3) Are you going with a specific group? Nope. But I'm not traveling alone either. Heading there with my good friends Mikel and Jessica Berger.
4) What are you going to do there? Well, Mikel, Jessica, and myself connected through our mutual love of education and computing. The school at Bethesda just recently got a computer lab set up. Jessica and I have done teacher professional development and camps for many years revolving around computing. Our original hope was to go do an inservice for the teachers, but decided we should probably ought to have a site visit, skill assessment, and lab assessment before we tried to put anything together. So we will be doing that in hopes of developing a training plan that can be implemented at a later date. The idea is to get these students some valuable computing skills that might help them succeed in secondary school or even in the workforce.
5) When are you going? Sept 30th- Oct 15th. It will take us 2 days to get there (long layover in London). We fly into Johannesburg, and then head straight to Cape Town for a few days of R & R before the work begins. It will also take us two days to get back...sort of.. we leave on the 14th and get back on the 15th. My favorite is when Custom Officials ask you how long you have been gone and your legit answer is "I have no idea."
6) What else will you do there? Um... love on kids, eat meat. Go to an Orphan Care Seminar. Visit with the host families who help care for the orphans.
7) Can you bring me a baby home? Um... probably not.
8) Is this a work trip? Nope. Not at all. That being said, the students at the school and orphanage are well acquainted with Purdue as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group from here take a group of students there a couple times every year. They are well acquainted with David Blough- our quarterback- so please pray our football team keeps doing well. :)
Ok.. I think that covers it for now..stay tuned as we get ready for our adventures!
bkg
4.18.2013
Be Careful Little Eyes What You See.. or as I like to call it... "Whatchu talkin' about Jesus?'
I wanted to give you all an update on the crazy stuff going on with my vision. You might remember I left you last by quitting. Quitting trying to figure out why God does what he does, and I was going to quit trying to be Him. My vision had been restore to my 'normal' prescription and all was well.
Last weekend we were up in Valparaiso celebrating my grandfather's 97th birthday! There were lots of people, lots of fun, lots of food.. lots of sugar. I love sugar. :) So I tell you all of this to tell you that I certainly did not eat well. I shared a room with my sister. And I'm telling you this so that you know there was someone there to witness what I'm about to tell you. I woke up Sunday morning, reached for my glasses, and put them on. When I put them on.. things were blurry. I let out a sigh and thought, 'oh great, my vision went bad again.' So I went to put my contacts in, starting with the right contact. I put it in, and realized my vision got WORSE when I put the contact in. I did a quick self eye test (covered the right, sure enough, could see well with the uncorrected left... covered the left, and the contact laden right was blurry. ) WHAT?
I suddenly recalled a question I had asked my optometrist when I went to confirm my vision had gone bad when this all started. He told me that when my vision started getting better, I should just switch back to my previous lenses. I asked "how will I know when my vision is getting better?" His answer... "your near vision will be blurry when you wear your glasses or contact, but you will probably still see well at a distance with the lenses." HMMM. And that's exactly what was happening Sunday. I still needed them to do things like drive.. but reading anything within an arms length or so... crystal clear.
I've worn glasses or contact since I was in 5th grade. And never in that time has my vision gotten better. So I've been trudging through this week with mixed vision. I bring my glasses along to do things like drive, but while sitting in my office, I am sans lenses of any sort. Until this morning that was....
Woke up this morning.. I've gotten used to doing this morning vision check. Wake up...blink a few times... look around to see what I can read clearly, what I cannot. Take a shower... look back toward the bedroom to see what I can see clearly, and what I cannot. As I'm doing my post-shower vision check today, I realize that some of the pictures on my bedroom walls are a lot clearer now. So I finish getting ready.. and go to put my glasses on.. and the blurriness is HORRIBLE so I take them off and I proceed to my final vision check... what does the neighbors house look like across the yard. And its clear. That was not normal before. I could see things immediately around me with clarity. But not anything at any distance. I drove into work today without any corrective devices... and it was pretty good. Still a bit of an issue with some distances..but overall.. even my far vision is getting better too.
This is absolutely crazy!!!! :) But it leaves me questioning my faith. I've been praying for healing of this crazy situation.. and here's God providing above what I expected and I find it odd? I had someone prophesy over me that God would 'dazzle' me... and yet, here I am 'dazzled' but totally freaked out. :) What is wrong with me? :) Take it, run with it, and praise it! So that's my goal from here.. just give God the glory and share my story. :)
And if I'm lucky and things keep progressing like they are.. maybe by the weekend I'll have X-Ray Vision. :) Wouldn't that be dazzling? :)
Last weekend we were up in Valparaiso celebrating my grandfather's 97th birthday! There were lots of people, lots of fun, lots of food.. lots of sugar. I love sugar. :) So I tell you all of this to tell you that I certainly did not eat well. I shared a room with my sister. And I'm telling you this so that you know there was someone there to witness what I'm about to tell you. I woke up Sunday morning, reached for my glasses, and put them on. When I put them on.. things were blurry. I let out a sigh and thought, 'oh great, my vision went bad again.' So I went to put my contacts in, starting with the right contact. I put it in, and realized my vision got WORSE when I put the contact in. I did a quick self eye test (covered the right, sure enough, could see well with the uncorrected left... covered the left, and the contact laden right was blurry. ) WHAT?
I suddenly recalled a question I had asked my optometrist when I went to confirm my vision had gone bad when this all started. He told me that when my vision started getting better, I should just switch back to my previous lenses. I asked "how will I know when my vision is getting better?" His answer... "your near vision will be blurry when you wear your glasses or contact, but you will probably still see well at a distance with the lenses." HMMM. And that's exactly what was happening Sunday. I still needed them to do things like drive.. but reading anything within an arms length or so... crystal clear.
I've worn glasses or contact since I was in 5th grade. And never in that time has my vision gotten better. So I've been trudging through this week with mixed vision. I bring my glasses along to do things like drive, but while sitting in my office, I am sans lenses of any sort. Until this morning that was....
Woke up this morning.. I've gotten used to doing this morning vision check. Wake up...blink a few times... look around to see what I can read clearly, what I cannot. Take a shower... look back toward the bedroom to see what I can see clearly, and what I cannot. As I'm doing my post-shower vision check today, I realize that some of the pictures on my bedroom walls are a lot clearer now. So I finish getting ready.. and go to put my glasses on.. and the blurriness is HORRIBLE so I take them off and I proceed to my final vision check... what does the neighbors house look like across the yard. And its clear. That was not normal before. I could see things immediately around me with clarity. But not anything at any distance. I drove into work today without any corrective devices... and it was pretty good. Still a bit of an issue with some distances..but overall.. even my far vision is getting better too.
This is absolutely crazy!!!! :) But it leaves me questioning my faith. I've been praying for healing of this crazy situation.. and here's God providing above what I expected and I find it odd? I had someone prophesy over me that God would 'dazzle' me... and yet, here I am 'dazzled' but totally freaked out. :) What is wrong with me? :) Take it, run with it, and praise it! So that's my goal from here.. just give God the glory and share my story. :)
And if I'm lucky and things keep progressing like they are.. maybe by the weekend I'll have X-Ray Vision. :) Wouldn't that be dazzling? :)
4.06.2013
I Quit!
Some of you know I've been having some medical issues for the past month. Almost exactly a month to the date today. For those of you who don't know.. here's the short version...
I was in Denver, started having vision issues. My far vision was horrible and I could not see the presentations that were going on. I did not have any issues before this... so a pretty sudden onset. Upon return home, I had my vision checked, and my prescription had changed by a whole point on each eye since January 1st. With further research, we found that my blood glucose levels were severely elevated- also a sudden change from when I had had blood work done just a couple weeks before at the end of April. What do I mean by 'severely elevated'? consistently in the 300-400+ range. Normal is under 100. So...begin a series of doctor visits and medications and glucose levels that are not moving. The vision issues most likely caused from the glucose levels. I had the lenses in my glasses adjusted and got new contacts so I could actually see at the new levels.
After lots of struggling and impatience, I had finally relinquished myself to the fact that God has me here for a reason, and I should quit trying to be Him... and whatever would come He and I would deal with and I should just quit- quit worrying, quit planning the next step, quit wondering why... etc.
Last night I went to bed... I could not even read my alarm clock on the nightstand next to me- which was pretty constant since this began. This morning, I woke up and it was crystal clear. I hopped out of bed, grabbed my old glasses... and sure enough I can see at my old levels again! And all I can say is Praise the Lord! Nothing has changed on my sugar levels.. :) Its still the same. But my vision is restored to its previous level. I could offer lots of speculation as to why..but no, I quit. I want to rest in giving God the glory for this..and not take that away from Him by thinking its something I did or a change I made, etc. And I wanted to share this with you- and remind you that God does still care for us in trials, He does still provide what we need when we need it, and He can do anything. Anything.
I was in Denver, started having vision issues. My far vision was horrible and I could not see the presentations that were going on. I did not have any issues before this... so a pretty sudden onset. Upon return home, I had my vision checked, and my prescription had changed by a whole point on each eye since January 1st. With further research, we found that my blood glucose levels were severely elevated- also a sudden change from when I had had blood work done just a couple weeks before at the end of April. What do I mean by 'severely elevated'? consistently in the 300-400+ range. Normal is under 100. So...begin a series of doctor visits and medications and glucose levels that are not moving. The vision issues most likely caused from the glucose levels. I had the lenses in my glasses adjusted and got new contacts so I could actually see at the new levels.
After lots of struggling and impatience, I had finally relinquished myself to the fact that God has me here for a reason, and I should quit trying to be Him... and whatever would come He and I would deal with and I should just quit- quit worrying, quit planning the next step, quit wondering why... etc.
Last night I went to bed... I could not even read my alarm clock on the nightstand next to me- which was pretty constant since this began. This morning, I woke up and it was crystal clear. I hopped out of bed, grabbed my old glasses... and sure enough I can see at my old levels again! And all I can say is Praise the Lord! Nothing has changed on my sugar levels.. :) Its still the same. But my vision is restored to its previous level. I could offer lots of speculation as to why..but no, I quit. I want to rest in giving God the glory for this..and not take that away from Him by thinking its something I did or a change I made, etc. And I wanted to share this with you- and remind you that God does still care for us in trials, He does still provide what we need when we need it, and He can do anything. Anything.
12.16.2012
Year in Review
Ok.. let me start this by telling you I am not a writer. And I'm not a reader. Some of you will scoff at those statements, but trust me, deep down inside, I'm neither of those. And holding to those claims... it will be very ironic when I tell you that I keep a journal. And a lot of the journal is tidbits of what I learn from books I read. :) I'd much rather watch a movie than read the book, I'd much rather tell a story than write it. But... what I found is that I learn good things through journalling and recording those tidbits. And I am just about to complete the last pages in my current journal. I had been looking over the things I'd written and starred over the past year and I think some of it is worth sharing.. so here are the 2012 Best of Mindy's Journal (mostly thoughts from other books)...
- Discipleship never comes without a Cross
- God calls us out of our practices to get us to the Promised Land
- Philippians 2:13- God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him.
- If we want to truly get closer to God, we will have to distance ourselves from other things
- I'm made to rise up, do battle with my issues, and using the Lord's strength in me, defeat them- spiritually, physically, and mentally- to the glory of God.
- There are 2 types of perishing- eternal torment in hell or wasting what God made us to be- and our greatest tragedy is to not live the life we were created for
- In regard to Psalm 27:4- people don't mind this being preached, they mind it when people try to live it out.
- Do no despise the small things that God does in your life. What he does now builds the path for the future
- God lets you become desperate so that you need Him.
- Grace is given as Grace is needed
- focus on my intention not my attainment
- set your heart with a fierce desire to obey and become a focused student of His emotions
- we are all influenced by our circumstances and the majority of what we believe is not derived from our own patient and careful study of scriptures but rather because godly and respected teachers told us it was correct
- God decides who gets healed and directs his servants accordingly- we are responsible for listening to those directions and following them.
- Spiritual gifts are meant to be used to spread the kingdom of God- feed the hungry, set the oppressed free, give sight to the blind, lead people to the truth- for edification of the church.
- God pours mystery and adventure back into our lives so we may live in the realm where all things have become new.
- Some believe God's will involves going where you do not want to go, doing what you do not want to do, and being what you do not want to be. We can be tricked into believing the will of God would be some degree of punishment.
ok- so I think I'll stop there for today... so consider this Part one..those only took me through page 81 of my 200 page journal... I want you to keep reading.. so i'll stop writing. :) stay tuned for part 2 (and maybe 3) later this week...
12.09.2012
A Change is Gonna Come...
Yes.. its been a while since I posted. It's been a whirlwind of time and events since my last post, but I'll try to update you on everything.
Change. I don't like change. But yet, I like freshness, newness, renewal, etc. So it should not still surprise me, but I decided to make a change this year. As of last Monday, I have started a new job. Yes, it's still at Purdue. And some would say I've moved to the dark side- Engineering. :) My new position is working as the High School Program Coordinator for a group called EPICS- Engineering Projects in Community Service. It is a hard move, but a good move. I love the Community Service element of this. School groups work with a non-profit community partner to engineer something that meets a need they have. I have LOTS of ideas of how this could best be done and lots of ideas of needs that could be met. I have a really soft spot in my heart for hospital schools in children's hospitals and just keep praying the Lord will lead some group to a project that can combine both of these passions. ( And let me take a special interest in their project :) )
Starting a new job is stressful. Its nice to know that the people I came to know and love in CS are still just 1000 steps away (yes I measured it :) ) but there's also a need to take a no looking back mentality. And it's hard. Leaving a good thing for another good thing.... seems somehow counter-intuitive. Once again, the Lord has been gracious to me in this though. I will be transitioning from one job to the other throughout December. I wanted to follow through on commitments I already had for the CS job, and EPICS has been good to let me do that. And then... I go to South Africa. :)
So speaking of South Africa... y'all would probably like a mission trip update. :) Its just a few weeks away and I cannot believe it! Its getting really real. I've collected A LOT of school supplies (45 lbs to be exact :) ) that I had intended to ship ahead of time. However, the cost to ship is was going to be about 3x's the amount I had budgeted for it. So... looks like I'm going to check an extra 45lb bag at the airport. :) Paying the extra bag fee is A LOT cheaper than shipping, and I'll use a collapsable duffle that I can pack and not have to pay for an extra bag on the return trip... so things should be great! I've been collecting things here and there that I will need for the trip (turns out you can get sunscreen pretty cheap this time of year :) ) and am about an hour of free time away from starting to pack. :)
Today we found out the names and ages of the kids we will have as well as the size of our group and our counselor partners. I've been assigned to a group of 7 7-8 year old boys. I've already started working on nicknames, secret handshake, and brushing up on south african sports stars. :) My co-counselor is a returning counselor and apparently his name is Doc Holliday. I reallllly hope he appreciated Tombstone references. I just want to bust out 'I'll be your Huckleberry' just once. :)
I finally have a bit of a grasp on what we will do.. here's the tentative schedule..
Team Schedule/Program:
3 Jan ‐ Most everyone arrives
4 Jan ‐ Tentatively community day‐‐visiting the kids
5 Jan ‐ Tentatively tourist Day, Drive around the peninsula ‐ see beautiful
views, stop at penguins, lunch out (own expense).
6 Jan ‐ Church, Lunch together as a team, Training Day at South Point offices
7 Jan ‐ Training Day, Visit community
8‐11 Jan ‐ CAMP!
Return 11 Jan for team debriefing
Dinner out as a staff
12 Jan ‐ Free day (bday cards/photo cards), Possible shopping trip
13 Jan ‐ Church, Departure
I keep praying the Lord does mighty things through us. He is good and this is His trip to design.
Now... if you want something else to read.. and want to get immediate chills upon hearing how the Lord weaves things together we can never even have imagined.. I highly recommend you visit this blog: http://magnews1.wordpress.com/ . You won't be disappointed. :)
Over and out for now...
Change. I don't like change. But yet, I like freshness, newness, renewal, etc. So it should not still surprise me, but I decided to make a change this year. As of last Monday, I have started a new job. Yes, it's still at Purdue. And some would say I've moved to the dark side- Engineering. :) My new position is working as the High School Program Coordinator for a group called EPICS- Engineering Projects in Community Service. It is a hard move, but a good move. I love the Community Service element of this. School groups work with a non-profit community partner to engineer something that meets a need they have. I have LOTS of ideas of how this could best be done and lots of ideas of needs that could be met. I have a really soft spot in my heart for hospital schools in children's hospitals and just keep praying the Lord will lead some group to a project that can combine both of these passions. ( And let me take a special interest in their project :) )
Starting a new job is stressful. Its nice to know that the people I came to know and love in CS are still just 1000 steps away (yes I measured it :) ) but there's also a need to take a no looking back mentality. And it's hard. Leaving a good thing for another good thing.... seems somehow counter-intuitive. Once again, the Lord has been gracious to me in this though. I will be transitioning from one job to the other throughout December. I wanted to follow through on commitments I already had for the CS job, and EPICS has been good to let me do that. And then... I go to South Africa. :)
So speaking of South Africa... y'all would probably like a mission trip update. :) Its just a few weeks away and I cannot believe it! Its getting really real. I've collected A LOT of school supplies (45 lbs to be exact :) ) that I had intended to ship ahead of time. However, the cost to ship is was going to be about 3x's the amount I had budgeted for it. So... looks like I'm going to check an extra 45lb bag at the airport. :) Paying the extra bag fee is A LOT cheaper than shipping, and I'll use a collapsable duffle that I can pack and not have to pay for an extra bag on the return trip... so things should be great! I've been collecting things here and there that I will need for the trip (turns out you can get sunscreen pretty cheap this time of year :) ) and am about an hour of free time away from starting to pack. :)
Today we found out the names and ages of the kids we will have as well as the size of our group and our counselor partners. I've been assigned to a group of 7 7-8 year old boys. I've already started working on nicknames, secret handshake, and brushing up on south african sports stars. :) My co-counselor is a returning counselor and apparently his name is Doc Holliday. I reallllly hope he appreciated Tombstone references. I just want to bust out 'I'll be your Huckleberry' just once. :)
I finally have a bit of a grasp on what we will do.. here's the tentative schedule..
Team Schedule/Program:
3 Jan ‐ Most everyone arrives
4 Jan ‐ Tentatively community day‐‐visiting the kids
5 Jan ‐ Tentatively tourist Day, Drive around the peninsula ‐ see beautiful
views, stop at penguins, lunch out (own expense).
6 Jan ‐ Church, Lunch together as a team, Training Day at South Point offices
7 Jan ‐ Training Day, Visit community
8‐11 Jan ‐ CAMP!
Return 11 Jan for team debriefing
Dinner out as a staff
12 Jan ‐ Free day (bday cards/photo cards), Possible shopping trip
13 Jan ‐ Church, Departure
I keep praying the Lord does mighty things through us. He is good and this is His trip to design.
Now... if you want something else to read.. and want to get immediate chills upon hearing how the Lord weaves things together we can never even have imagined.. I highly recommend you visit this blog: http://magnews1.wordpress.com/ . You won't be disappointed. :)
Over and out for now...
10.18.2012
More Mission Trip Info- Get Used to It! :)
Hey there friends...
I've had some people inquire as to if there are 'other' donation needs for my trip.. and I'm happy to report, yes there are! :)
So without further ado... here is a list of things that can also be donated for my trip...
I've had some people inquire as to if there are 'other' donation needs for my trip.. and I'm happy to report, yes there are! :)
So without further ado... here is a list of things that can also be donated for my trip...
- Pencils
- Erasers
- Sharpeners
- Scissors
- Lined exercise books (any size really - the school does not seem to mind)
- Colouring pencils
- Toothbrushes are also always good! They use them when they have them!
- Or there is a scholarship fund- here's what the director had to say about it... scholarship trust fund which helps pay for any kind of educational need that any of our kids might have - we sponsor 2 kids to go to a good school, but also pay for 4 kids to have extra Maths and English lessons (Kumon), also educational assessments, stationery needs, etc .
10.17.2012
Generosity
Ok.. so y'all saw the post from yesterday that I was fully funded for the basic needs for my trip. A lot of the costs of the trip had yet to be determined, but I was determined to begin fundraising and you all have responded in an overwhelming fashion! So, imagine my surprise when I got an email from our trip coordinators telling me that the cost of our trip was actually going to be $150 more than what they told me. Challenge accepted :) And turned it over to the Lord.
When I got home last night, there was a check for $100 in my mailbox, and then an additional online donation for $50 this morning. How good is God???? :) Without trying to seem greedy... I want more though. I want to go tell these kids how important they are and that not only does God love them, so do all you people that have never met them. And that you love God so much that you want them to know Him too and I'm supposed to bring that message on your behalf. But my basic funds are covered, so why do I want more? I want to shower these kids with love and symbols of that love. I want them to know the joy of receiving and the joy of giving.
I have been overwhelmed by who has given and how much people have given. It certainly has led me to reflect on my own generosity (and lack there of... :) ) It makes me humble myself to try to realize you are not giving because you like ME or because of anything I have done, but rather because you believe in the work the Lord can do and our call to Go! It renews my faith in following the Spirit's call. It reconnects me with people I had lost touch with. It's just totally amazing what generosity can do! (Oh, and I found out I probably get to see real live penguins, so I'm pretty stoked about that. :) )
I cannot thank you enough for following along on this journey! I'm really excited to see where it takes me and what the Lord has in store.
When I got home last night, there was a check for $100 in my mailbox, and then an additional online donation for $50 this morning. How good is God???? :) Without trying to seem greedy... I want more though. I want to go tell these kids how important they are and that not only does God love them, so do all you people that have never met them. And that you love God so much that you want them to know Him too and I'm supposed to bring that message on your behalf. But my basic funds are covered, so why do I want more? I want to shower these kids with love and symbols of that love. I want them to know the joy of receiving and the joy of giving.
I have been overwhelmed by who has given and how much people have given. It certainly has led me to reflect on my own generosity (and lack there of... :) ) It makes me humble myself to try to realize you are not giving because you like ME or because of anything I have done, but rather because you believe in the work the Lord can do and our call to Go! It renews my faith in following the Spirit's call. It reconnects me with people I had lost touch with. It's just totally amazing what generosity can do! (Oh, and I found out I probably get to see real live penguins, so I'm pretty stoked about that. :) )
I cannot thank you enough for following along on this journey! I'm really excited to see where it takes me and what the Lord has in store.
10.15.2012
Mission Trip!
Hello! So by now most of you know I have finally found a mission trip to celebrate my birthday this year! Woo hoo! The quick overview is that I will be going to Cape Town, South Africa in January 2-14, 2013 to work with Camp Sonshine International. The main purpose of the trip is to do a bible camp for the kids there (ok, actually the main purpose is to share Jesus with them :) ) and then we will be visiting their community and onsite mission organization too.
To find out more about the trip or to stay up to date, you can visit http://tinyurl.com/mindysmission
To find out more about the trip or to stay up to date, you can visit http://tinyurl.com/mindysmission
So How is God working through this?
1) Y'all have been so faithful to donate to the trip. The original approximated cost was $1850. I always assumed my trip might be a bit more than that because that was for trips leaving from the DC area where the mission group is housed. Turns out the cost of my trip is more like $2325. As of 2 pm today, I now have raised $2328. :) Praise the Lord! He is sooo good! All of that was done in about 2 weeks time also. That's just totally amazing and overwhelming!
2) I'm learning about my own generosity and giving. I always would have said I was very giving- but I've been so overwhelmed by who has given and how much they have given and it has really challenged me to think about my own levels of giving and how the Lord would have me work through that.
3) The Lord is speaking loud- some of you know that I had a few other options of mission trips that I declined before signing on to this one. I feel the Lord is speaking to me that this was the one worth waiting for and that He has something big planned for this trip. That was confirmed by how quickly I've met my fundraising goals too! You people rock! I am just praying I rise to the challenge :)
4) I am recognizing that you all are honoring the work I can do in the Lord's name by supporting this trip. I hope I do justice to sharing your love to these kids too and that I'm not just there because I care about them, but also because you do too!
Thank you to all of you who have supported and will continue to support my trip in finances and prayer! I think I'll post more on this blog as updates come available... .but will also link this to my website... so choose your poison :)
I thought I'd also post a fundraising update for you that I posted on the website earlier:
10/15/12- Fundraising Update
Hi all! just wanted to give a little head's up on where I am in the fundraising cycle.... the short answer is... done!!!! I found out last week that they wanted to book my flight because airfare prices were lower than what they had seen for a while. After long debates and price comparisons, my flight to South Africa is booked! The total cost of my flight ended up being $1975.40. A bit high, but lower than what it had been showing. So the total due for my trip was $1975 + $100 (camp supplies) +$250 (housing and food in Cape Town) = Grand total of $2325!
As of right now- 2:03 pm on 10/15/12, I have received $2328. PRAISE THE LORD! He is soooo good!
So, what if you still want to donate???? Here are your options:
A. Go ahead! it's the Lord's money and if He has encouraged you to give, please give!
B. You can donate on the Razoo site still. If you donate there, the overage can be used for the following things: we can purchase additional supplies needed for our camp or for the mission site we will be working with in Cape Town. Or there are additional costs that I may incur for this trip and the $2325 just covers the basics of getting there and eating while there- so I may be able to be reimbursed for items such as airport parking or immunizations, etc.
C. I'm a little uncomfortable giving this as an option, but I have had enough people ask if it is an option, so I'll offer it to you- you can just donate to me for personal expenses for the trip. So things like souvenirs, thank you cards to write all you nice people, or as one friend put it, you might just want a cinnabon in the airport and we want to make sure you can do that. If you choose that option, I am not a 503C organization, so for tax purposes, it just counts as a gift and I do not think you get to write it off in your charitable donations though. :) (and checks made to me, not CSI. )
Thank you to all of you who have made this possible and to all of you who will continue to give!
6.18.2012
Summer Camp Twilight Zone
So in case you haven't seen my facebook posts, this week is summer camp. It started with staff check in at noon Sunday, camper check in at 3 pm Sunday and will go until 2 on Friday. It's an over night camp for middle school students.
I've done summer camps every year since 1994 (so almost like 20 years), so you would think I would have seen it all by now. But no. This year, we are in the twilight zone.
Twilight zone started with some major unexpected schedule changes on Friday. We punted, came up with a Plan B (ok- it was probably plan F by the time we got it together) and all was well. Until check-in. I seriously wonder how some of the student workers get their jobs. Let's just say incompetency abounds and leave it at that. Also, the Conference division at Purdue has been going through some major hiring and I've been the camp that gets to train their new staff. Its lovely- and sometimes I just want to look at them and say, "I don't know.. that's your job- I'm not supposed to have to worry about it." But I didn't. Grace abounds.
After that, kiddos check in was at 3 pm yesterday- by 4 pm we had lost a kid. Not lost as in they decided to not stay at camp- lost as in, we can't find you. We found him a half an hour later. :) All was well until we went to go to the labs. Our department has their own labs, so our staff control them. Apparently they forgot to activate the login names we needed, so we were not able to do our first lab last night. Again, we punted- came up with a new game plan... and went on with it. The night ended (for most of us) with our Aspergers kiddo having a breakdown. Staff was finally able to get him settled down, but he woke up one of our counselors 5 times in the middle of the night. :)
So how did today start off... with a call from Sister someone from the LDS church inviting me to come visit them. I had to run to pick up my bite guard at the dentist- and they gave me the impression tray. As well as my bite guard. But I thought that was kind of odd. But no rest for the baffled- today was filled with lots of parent visits. Usually we have one or two that will check in on their kiddos.. but today we had 6 visits. 6. that's one-fourth of our camp.
The problem that arose Friday with the schedule change, turns out to be something we found out we could figure out in 10 minutes today. 10 minutes. yep. that's all it took.
Then, tonight is our fun night! We go to Bruno's for pizza and to go see a movie. Typically this night usually elicits a puker. They just eat too much, or too much grease from the pizza or something... nerves.. I don't know... but usually we have a puker. The puker usually comes LATER in the evening though... not immediately after taking one bite of pizza. We have 5 indian kids in camp. They are vegetarian. Apparently Bruno's put out meat sauce for the breadsticks and no regular marinara, as well as their pepperoni pizza looks deceivingly like the cheese pizza. So we had a kid who immediately got sick when he realized he had taken a bite of pepperoni pizza instead of cheese pizza. He then went into full panic attack mode resulting in us having to call the parents and him wanting to go home. Dad confirmed with us that it was mostly a psychological issue and we encouraged the kiddo to stay. And all while that is happening, a kid lost a tooth.
After we settled all of that, we headed to the movie theater. More incompetency at the movie theater. We order snack packs for our kiddos- we give them a very organized list. We confirm with them early in the day they will have them ready when we get there. And then they never do. There's an efficiency issue for sure. But once again, I feel like I had to train the concession worker on how to get his job done well. As for the movie, we saw Madagascar 3D. Typically I miss a good portion of the movie because I have to escort kids to the bathroom during the movie. We've had as many as 12 (like half our camp) have to go in years past. This year- we had 0. ZERO! Legendary! The only time we had to step out for anything was when our Asperger's kid was having a panic attack. He's had a rough go this week and just wanted to go home. We were able to coax him back to the movie, but he did end up going home for the night tonight.
Its' just all odd stuff. One little unbelievable, unordinary thing after another. The best laid plans do not guarantee success. :) But its keeping me on my toes- and I kind of like it. :) I guess God does give us what we need... and I needed some good new stories. :)
Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds :)
I've done summer camps every year since 1994 (so almost like 20 years), so you would think I would have seen it all by now. But no. This year, we are in the twilight zone.
Twilight zone started with some major unexpected schedule changes on Friday. We punted, came up with a Plan B (ok- it was probably plan F by the time we got it together) and all was well. Until check-in. I seriously wonder how some of the student workers get their jobs. Let's just say incompetency abounds and leave it at that. Also, the Conference division at Purdue has been going through some major hiring and I've been the camp that gets to train their new staff. Its lovely- and sometimes I just want to look at them and say, "I don't know.. that's your job- I'm not supposed to have to worry about it." But I didn't. Grace abounds.
After that, kiddos check in was at 3 pm yesterday- by 4 pm we had lost a kid. Not lost as in they decided to not stay at camp- lost as in, we can't find you. We found him a half an hour later. :) All was well until we went to go to the labs. Our department has their own labs, so our staff control them. Apparently they forgot to activate the login names we needed, so we were not able to do our first lab last night. Again, we punted- came up with a new game plan... and went on with it. The night ended (for most of us) with our Aspergers kiddo having a breakdown. Staff was finally able to get him settled down, but he woke up one of our counselors 5 times in the middle of the night. :)
So how did today start off... with a call from Sister someone from the LDS church inviting me to come visit them. I had to run to pick up my bite guard at the dentist- and they gave me the impression tray. As well as my bite guard. But I thought that was kind of odd. But no rest for the baffled- today was filled with lots of parent visits. Usually we have one or two that will check in on their kiddos.. but today we had 6 visits. 6. that's one-fourth of our camp.
The problem that arose Friday with the schedule change, turns out to be something we found out we could figure out in 10 minutes today. 10 minutes. yep. that's all it took.
Then, tonight is our fun night! We go to Bruno's for pizza and to go see a movie. Typically this night usually elicits a puker. They just eat too much, or too much grease from the pizza or something... nerves.. I don't know... but usually we have a puker. The puker usually comes LATER in the evening though... not immediately after taking one bite of pizza. We have 5 indian kids in camp. They are vegetarian. Apparently Bruno's put out meat sauce for the breadsticks and no regular marinara, as well as their pepperoni pizza looks deceivingly like the cheese pizza. So we had a kid who immediately got sick when he realized he had taken a bite of pepperoni pizza instead of cheese pizza. He then went into full panic attack mode resulting in us having to call the parents and him wanting to go home. Dad confirmed with us that it was mostly a psychological issue and we encouraged the kiddo to stay. And all while that is happening, a kid lost a tooth.
After we settled all of that, we headed to the movie theater. More incompetency at the movie theater. We order snack packs for our kiddos- we give them a very organized list. We confirm with them early in the day they will have them ready when we get there. And then they never do. There's an efficiency issue for sure. But once again, I feel like I had to train the concession worker on how to get his job done well. As for the movie, we saw Madagascar 3D. Typically I miss a good portion of the movie because I have to escort kids to the bathroom during the movie. We've had as many as 12 (like half our camp) have to go in years past. This year- we had 0. ZERO! Legendary! The only time we had to step out for anything was when our Asperger's kid was having a panic attack. He's had a rough go this week and just wanted to go home. We were able to coax him back to the movie, but he did end up going home for the night tonight.
Its' just all odd stuff. One little unbelievable, unordinary thing after another. The best laid plans do not guarantee success. :) But its keeping me on my toes- and I kind of like it. :) I guess God does give us what we need... and I needed some good new stories. :)
Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds :)
4.29.2012
Bringing Back the 2x4
Well. It happened again. God got out the 2x4 today. :)
I have some friends who pastor at a local church. (*gasp* not the one I currently attend! :) ) I had a message from them telling me that I might enjoy the sermon that was slated for today. I had visited one other time, and had been meaning to get back there... so I thought 'why not' today.
I went to their early service. Any guesses what the sermon was about? Coca-cola. For real. (no pun intended, even though it is the real thing. :) ) But it was about how Coca-Cola has been more successful at reaching foreign populations than the church has. And it was about missions. :) The whole sermon was about missions. *BANG!* That was the 2x4. You've seen the post where I've decided to NOT go on the trip to Honduras right? And I just made that decision last Sunday. And I made bold comments on my last two blog postings about how God uses the 2x4 method "There would be repeated themes that showed up in my prayers, sermons, bible studies, etc. All at the same time- in the same week... and often even in the same day. That's the 2x4. Keeps hitting me between they eyes until I can't not get it! " or I'd said things like "And it quickly became clear that while I am still called to missions, I am not called to this mission. God has a plan for me... and I don't know what that plan is.. but I want to be obedient to Him, so I will leave myself open to that call and His plan. :)"
So I left the church service there with a confirmation of my call to missions.. some mission. And thought that was dazzling. But then the Lord went and did it again...
I was driving back home and felt this need for more corporate worship. (trust me- that wasn't what I had planned for my day.. I was looking forward to a lonnnng 3 hour nap, maybe some reading time... quiet afternoon. ) So.. I turned my car around and headed over to my current church's second service. (Side note: I did have a moment of panic driving over there thinking that my God of comic irony *might* have a little fun and when I walked in my least favorite song : "Shine Jesus Shine" would be slated as the ONLY song for the entire worship. He was good and didn't do that. ;-) ) So what was our sermon about there? Obedience. And specifically the tie of obedience to evangelism :) *BANG!* That was the 2x4 again. So God was faithful... and dazzling AGAIN. But wait... there's more. :)
Just yesterday, I was having a conversation about how having directed a summer camp for so many years was one of the most important selling factors to me having gotten my job at Purdue 10 years ago. Summer camps have been the mainstay of my current job too.. and something I enjoy doing. I've always enjoyed the irony of this because as a kid... I wasn't into summer camp. I did girl scout sleep away camp as a 4th grader. Not the best experience. And then I did church camp- one year- as a 13 year old. Still not my thing. But yet, I ended up directing and working at camps for most of my professional career and I love it! It's the same irony that follows me in most of my life- the girl who never went to a prom, ends up being the prom coordinator for 5 years as a teacher. I've never played volleyball, but I coached it. And not to brag, but I did all this stuff well. :) God has shown me favor in those assignments and I've gotten much joy out of them too. So... today.... at church service #2... after the call to obedience.... our worship leader gets up and says that he and his family are going on a 6 week mission trip this summer. ( I knew that. ) But what he then says is that they have just found out that there is an opportunity for them to run a week long summer camp at the end of their project and they need people that can just come to help with the summer camp. SERIOUSLY???? *WHACK!WHACK! WHACK!* That's the 2x4 doing some damage and God getting out the Bedazzler. :) The funny thing is.. I've stayed away from these trips- the 6 week ones are conversational english using the bible as the english book. Not really my kind of thing. So I've usually just discounted them right away. But a summer camp as the culminating end to their 6 weeks of learning english.. never say never I guess. (i'm seeing a pattern. :) )
Because you mean to tell me... the same Sunday I am reminded about my call to missions and being obedient to the Lords calling, You're going to throw a summer camp at me? Wow. So certainly I'm going to put some pretty serious prayer time into this... and hope y'all will join me in this prayer. The trip is at the end of July. In Brazil. So I'll need to decide pretty quickly.
He's good. All the time.
I have some friends who pastor at a local church. (*gasp* not the one I currently attend! :) ) I had a message from them telling me that I might enjoy the sermon that was slated for today. I had visited one other time, and had been meaning to get back there... so I thought 'why not' today.
I went to their early service. Any guesses what the sermon was about? Coca-cola. For real. (no pun intended, even though it is the real thing. :) ) But it was about how Coca-Cola has been more successful at reaching foreign populations than the church has. And it was about missions. :) The whole sermon was about missions. *BANG!* That was the 2x4. You've seen the post where I've decided to NOT go on the trip to Honduras right? And I just made that decision last Sunday. And I made bold comments on my last two blog postings about how God uses the 2x4 method "There would be repeated themes that showed up in my prayers, sermons, bible studies, etc. All at the same time- in the same week... and often even in the same day. That's the 2x4. Keeps hitting me between they eyes until I can't not get it! " or I'd said things like "And it quickly became clear that while I am still called to missions, I am not called to this mission. God has a plan for me... and I don't know what that plan is.. but I want to be obedient to Him, so I will leave myself open to that call and His plan. :)"
So I left the church service there with a confirmation of my call to missions.. some mission. And thought that was dazzling. But then the Lord went and did it again...
I was driving back home and felt this need for more corporate worship. (trust me- that wasn't what I had planned for my day.. I was looking forward to a lonnnng 3 hour nap, maybe some reading time... quiet afternoon. ) So.. I turned my car around and headed over to my current church's second service. (Side note: I did have a moment of panic driving over there thinking that my God of comic irony *might* have a little fun and when I walked in my least favorite song : "Shine Jesus Shine" would be slated as the ONLY song for the entire worship. He was good and didn't do that. ;-) ) So what was our sermon about there? Obedience. And specifically the tie of obedience to evangelism :) *BANG!* That was the 2x4 again. So God was faithful... and dazzling AGAIN. But wait... there's more. :)
Just yesterday, I was having a conversation about how having directed a summer camp for so many years was one of the most important selling factors to me having gotten my job at Purdue 10 years ago. Summer camps have been the mainstay of my current job too.. and something I enjoy doing. I've always enjoyed the irony of this because as a kid... I wasn't into summer camp. I did girl scout sleep away camp as a 4th grader. Not the best experience. And then I did church camp- one year- as a 13 year old. Still not my thing. But yet, I ended up directing and working at camps for most of my professional career and I love it! It's the same irony that follows me in most of my life- the girl who never went to a prom, ends up being the prom coordinator for 5 years as a teacher. I've never played volleyball, but I coached it. And not to brag, but I did all this stuff well. :) God has shown me favor in those assignments and I've gotten much joy out of them too. So... today.... at church service #2... after the call to obedience.... our worship leader gets up and says that he and his family are going on a 6 week mission trip this summer. ( I knew that. ) But what he then says is that they have just found out that there is an opportunity for them to run a week long summer camp at the end of their project and they need people that can just come to help with the summer camp. SERIOUSLY???? *WHACK!WHACK! WHACK!* That's the 2x4 doing some damage and God getting out the Bedazzler. :) The funny thing is.. I've stayed away from these trips- the 6 week ones are conversational english using the bible as the english book. Not really my kind of thing. So I've usually just discounted them right away. But a summer camp as the culminating end to their 6 weeks of learning english.. never say never I guess. (i'm seeing a pattern. :) )
Because you mean to tell me... the same Sunday I am reminded about my call to missions and being obedient to the Lords calling, You're going to throw a summer camp at me? Wow. So certainly I'm going to put some pretty serious prayer time into this... and hope y'all will join me in this prayer. The trip is at the end of July. In Brazil. So I'll need to decide pretty quickly.
He's good. All the time.
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