We're off! Again!

Tomorrow we attempt departure to Haiti once again. Boy, am I ready! I hate waiting. I was hoping I'd get something done in the intervening two weeks. But no! Inertia took over, and a motionless object remained motionless.

Come tomorrow, remaining motionless won't be an option! I can't wait to see my Haitian brothers & sisters! We have a wonderful team, and I know we'll have a blast!

I don't know if we'll ever know why we waited, but we know God knows best. His timing is perfect. It will be a different trip than if we'd gone two weeks ago, but it is the trip we're meant to take.

Please pray for our Haitian brothers and sisters as they prepare for our coming (again). Pray that their hearts and minds would be open to the message God is bringing through us. Pray we can have an impact that will carry on in their village to bring many to know Christ and escape voodoo. Pray for the team -- that we will be flexible tools in God's hands and, to quote a certain pastor, that we'll be "shiny, happy people solving problems."

I can't wait to see what God will do in and through us. I know we'll be the ones most blessed. And I can't wait to share with you after we get back home. But I guess I'll have to.

Cookie crumbs make good pie crust!

Have you ever thought about what a graham cracker thinks about before becoming a graham cracker crust? Maybe it had dreams of becoming S'mores. But what happens? Pretend you are the graham cracker.

Someone comes along, plucks you out of your comfy package, and smashes you to bits!

Then you are mixed and mashed and poked and prodded and squished into places that aren't so comfortable.
But when it's all over, you are part of something beautiful and delicious!


As hard as our Haiti trip postponement was, it led to something beautiful and delicious for me today! If we had been in Haiti today, I would have missed having visits with two lovely missionary families!

I walked into church this morning, and standing in the back row were missionary friends from Haiti. We squeezed into the row with them and worshiped together. After the service was over, in spite of the fact that my house was a mess, I invited them to lunch at our house. After all, that's what true hospitality is, and that's part of what we want to do as missionaries. Even though it was hard for me, I decided sharing time with them was more important that worrying about having a tidy house.

We stayed for the second service, expecting to have a Sunday School class, but our room was dark and empty. Our son was in his class, so we went back to our church's "cafe" area to mingle and wait for classes to be over. We joined some good friends who were visiting with missionaries to Hungary. We were able to chat with the missionary family for the entire hour, even after our friends left. What a blessing it was!

After picking up our son, we headed for home. My husband immediately began working on dinner. (He's the master chef in our home!) All three of my children worked on cleaning up the living room while I cleaned the dining room. We're talking clutter, toys, dirty socks, dog hair, trash --it was a mess! By the time our guests arrived, a little before 2:00, we had tidied and swept, and it didn't look too bad. I got them a cool drink and ran to the store for a few items. When I returned, the missionary wife, who is German by birth, was chatting with my daughter about living in Germany. After a while, we sat down to a delicious, relaxing dinner! After dinner, I prepared the desert and put it on the table for a "build-your-own shortcake" time. We continued talking about weddings and missions and kids and city vs. country living in Haiti. Before we realized, it was 6:15! We had such a wonderful time of sharing each others' lives!

If our flight to Miami had not been canceled and our trip postponed, we would not have been able to even see either of these missionary families! And if our Sunday School class had met, we wouldn't have had time to visit with the family from Hungary.

I guess the moral of the story (for me) is:
When Cookie gets crumbled, let God turn it into something sweet!

Change of plans

Wednesday night we had thunderstorms with tornadoes. My family spent about a half hour in our neighborhood storm shelter. Fortunately, the only damage was a few limbs down here and there. Some of my friends had lightning strikes to trees and houses, as well as lots of downed trees.

Thursday morning comes. The weather forecasters said no storms. However, one storm after another formed right over the airport. Consequently, they canceled our flight to Miami, which was to begin our mission trip to Haiti. After a lot of phone time and internet searching, we could not find a way to get to Miami in order to catch our connecting flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

After contacting the missionary in Haiti, we decided to reschedule for June 25-July 3. We are thankful to be able to continue so quickly with most of our existing team intact. If we had waited until fall, when most of the available openings were, many of our team would not have been able to go.

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster as we went from packing to canceled to trying to get flights to rescheduling. Now we have a plan in place, but today hasn't been much better. We've had to confirm the availability of all the team members and get information to the missionary.

I'm sure God had a good reason for keeping us home yesterday. We may never know what it is, but we know He is in control! I was reminded again how tightly I hold on to my expectations rather than trusting God to lead and provide.

Well, now I've got two weeks to work on cleaning the house for company coming right after the trip to Haiti. Also, we need to finalize last minute details for the wedding. I won't be bored for the next two weeks!

Random Thoughts

Random funny sign:
My baby turned 12 yesterday!

Today was the last day of school. Tomorrow, report cards and cleaning out my room.

Fifth grade will be continued next year, but in the 6th grade room. (He was in the 6th grade room this year, as well, due to a conflict with another student.)

No more bus driving for the summer! (Except for taking the bus to another campus for the summer.)

One week until the Haiti trip! We're packing Saturday for the team. I'm not sure how we'll fit in 10 wedding dresses! I still have to pack and prepare for myself. And maybe shop a little.

Three days off have never looked so good! I know they'll be busy, but at least I'll be able to do some of the things I've had to put off -- like prepare for Haiti.

Birthday parties don't have to be fancy. Invitations can be hand-written and photocopied (at the last minute).

Lessons do not prepare themselves. (Something to do in those three days off?)

Time keeps marching!

God will provide.

Please pray for my Haitian friend, Jules, who is battling bone cancer in Boston. He will be missed greatly on this trip!