Where to begin?

It has been nearly impossible to overcome ,my paralysis of analysis regarding the Mayan Mission’s Trip. So much happened! Then, to my utter astonishment and relief I discovered the 10 blog posts on the adventure on none other than my own wife’s blog!!

Traitor! LOL!

Actually, she’s a hero for doing this—now I can leave it to her! So…with no further adieu, 

Take Away #1

This little girl followed Juliana around like a puppy dog… they became fast friends.

March 1, 2010 · Filed under Links

So many of you have requested that I post stories from our Mexico trip.  And now that Juliana is beginning to show signs of improvement, I am able to wrap my head around this incredible journey.  I learned so much and am happy to share with you.  I call these nuggets of knowledge Take-Always.

Our departure day started off with many challenges:

    * 4:30am received phone call that our flight to Atlanta was cancelled
    * 5:00am rented vans… drove to Atlanta
    * problems shipping shoes… Atlanta airport would not honor Charlotte shipping arrangements ~ negotiations
    * Atlanta flights over-booked due to storm in the southeastern states
    * 7:30pm re-routed to Mexico City (largest populated city in the world)
    * Spent the night “freezing” in an open air restaurant
    * Finally arrived in Cancun… more issues
    * luggage lost and damaged
    * translator locked keys in car

Note:  this is a short list and not inclusive of the trials we encountered during the first 2 days of our trip.

The biggest challenge happened once we arrived in Cancun.  As we were retrieving our luggage, a single shoe fell out of a bag.  It happened to be a stray shoe with a price tag of $20.00 and a “made in China” tag.  An airport official saw the tags and pulled us aside.  He flagged our bags, slapped a duty tax on us and presented us with a $6000.00 bill.  Payment due before he would turn over our luggage!

Of course, that wouldn’t work.  Not only were we not prepared to pay, but also, that would set a precedent for future missionaries bringing supplies.  After 6 hours of negotiations, the fee was reduced to $400.00.

Our trip which should have taken 8–9 hours ended up taking 40 hours.  we were tired and hungry but amazingly, no one complained.  Not even the kids!

Late that second day, we made it to an outdoor restaurant with very good Mayan food (I ate Tinkin Xic ~ a Mayan white fish specialty).  It was unusually cold outdoors but the sound of the ocean waves was refreshing.

What was the purpose in this crazy travel comedy of errors?  Why the hassles?  Why so many delays?

I don’t have these answers.  What I do know is that God allowed them.  The obstacles were out of our control.  So were the resolutions.  It became very clear, very evident that we were on God’s agenda, not ours.  We were helpless, without any power.  And we must rely on Him for every detail of the trip.  Yes, His plan for this trip would not be accomplished by our own means, but rather through complete dependence on Him.

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD.  Zechariah 4:6

At the airport, the kids practiced their balloon techniques which they used at our makeshift “Village Backyard Bible Schools.”

Dane catches a wink at a very cold open air restaurant in the Mexico City airport.  He was sleeping in a booth.  This was taken after being up 24 hours.  We were desperate for some shut-eye!

Caroline and Juliana find a second wind at the ocean front restaurant ~ 42 hours and still working on no sleep.

Dane gives Nathan and Keenan a lesson in constellations.  The stars were beautiful and abundant that night.

Rob keeps me warm!

Meet our translators (Jonathan and Jamie) and hosts of Sandra’s Mayan Ministry House.

No Comments »

Well, we’re back! Almost 100 of us got set loose on the Newspring campus to join nearly 3,000 others from around the country—ready to be unleashed on society with the love of Christ!

This was a great conference for so many reasons…

• It’s cheap!
• It’s only one day.
• It’s cheap!
• It’s close (only about 2 hours away)
• It’s cheap!
• It’s good!
• Perry Noble doesn’t hold back!
• It’s cheap!
• There were a ton of helpful breakouts on every possible ministry angle.
• And, did I mention the cost? It’s cheap!

Anyway, our people ate it up and so did I! On the way home we had a sort of ‘open mic’ on the buses where people shared what they got out of it. That ended up being my favorite part.

Biggest thing for me?

We should double everything!! We need to bring 4 buses next year and about 200 people!!!

More pictures…

We took over Ruby Tuesdays on the way home!

No Comments »

A young soldier and his commanding officer got on a train together. The only available seats were across from an attractive young women who was traveling with her grandmother. As they engaged in pleasant conversation, the soldier and the young woman kept eyeing one another; the attraction was obviously mutual. Suddenly the train went into a tunnel and the car became pitch black.

Immediately two sounds were heard: the “smack” of a kiss, and the “whack” of a slap across the face. The grandmother thought “I can’t believe he kissed my granddaughter, but I’m glad she gave him the slap he deserved.”

The commanding officer thought, “I don’t blame the boy for kissing girl, but it’s a shame that she missed his face and hit me instead.”

The young girl thought, “I’m glad he kissed me, but I wish my grandmother hadn’t slapped him for doing it.”

And as the train broke into the sunlight, the soldier could not wipe the smile off his face. He had just seized the opportunity to kiss a pretty girl and slap his commanding officer and had gotten away with both!

Now, that young soldier knew how seize the opportunity! In the same way, we must take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way to fulfill our purpose in life.

Unfortunately, many times we get so caught up in the details of every day to day living that we just don’t have the time to seize the moment!

This coming Thursday is such a moment. Nearly 100 people will pile into 2 chartered buses and head down to Newspring Church in Anderson, SC for the one day, “Unleash” conference. This is hands down the best conference for price, length of time, convenience, content and just to plain ole ‘fire ya up!’ The question is, will you be there?

We still have 9 spots left and only 1 days left before we ‘shut’er down!’

If you can ‘make it happen,’ click here to register and then show up Thursday morning at 5:45 (bet you wish that was a misprint, huh?) to board the buses. Buses will leave promptly at 6:00 am!

This will be off the hook! I promise.

But it just won’t be the same without you!

Hope to see you there!

And hope to see the rest of you (and more!) tonight as we continue our Midweek series, “The Bait of Satan.”

No Comments »