Garden Walk Fundraiser

The effort of many men and women over the past few months has paid off! The "Bring a Friend Garden Walk" Fundraiser for Widow's Might Ministries, Int'l. was held on Wednesday, August 15th. Over 300 people came through the garden and listened to the presentation of the ministry. I was in charge of getting the promo packets together, creating the posters, making sure the video/tech stuff was set up and worked, and then of course playing the violin for a bit. We raised about $5000 to put toward the W3 Project. The goal of the W3 Project is to raise enough money for the Watertower, Well, and Wall for the Nigerian Skills Acquisition Center for widows and their children. This was our third fundraiser this year and we now have enough money to fund the W3 Project! Praise God. Here are some pictures from the event.

Get your hands dirty!

I had a pretty neat dinner meeting a few nights ago with a couple who went on their first mission trip ever last January. I led a group to Nicaragua with START Ministries. I haven't done a great job of staying in touch with them over the past few months, but out of the blue, I got an email from them saying that they felt God was calling them back to Nicaragua this upcoming January to serve. They wanted to get together to gather information, advice and insight on how to go about everything.

Their vision is to produce a childrens musical production at the end of a week. Of course, it would be in Spanish and there would have to be translators and a lot of work, but wow! what a vision! As I sat in their living room discussing the logistics and details of what would need to happen to make this work, the thought kept fleeting through my head, 'wow, isn't it amazing that because of one mission trip, this couple is now on fire for God in a totally different way!' I love it!

You can't really get it through people's heads how missions work affects individuals until they experience it on their own. I know that some are called to go, some are called to pray and some are called to support. But consider stepping out on a limb one day, getting out of your comfort zone and getting your hands dirty for Jesus. Just look what one week in January to Nicaragua did to this couple.

Perspectives

As I was browsing through some pictures that other team members had taken on the last Ireland mission trip, I was amazed at how much I didn't see when I was there. Maybe it wasn't that I didn't see it but that it wasn't 'new' to me or I consider it to be a worthy picture. It is interesting how we all have different perspectives in life and how that carries through into the smallest details of something like taking pictures. I'm so glad God made us to see things differently; to appreciate different things. Looking through those pictures added a whole new dimension to my appreciation and love for Ireland.

Office Rat

If you wonder what I do when i'm not traveling...let me give you a little taste of what I look like at the end of a long day (11:30pm) in the office.....ok, so let me explain:) I am working on creating a packet for Widow's Might Ministry (you can check out that blog at widowsmightministry.blogspot.com) and had run into some difficulty with the printer. How hard is it to print an envelope? Well, according to the HP Photosmart 7260 printer and my Dell computer it is very difficult. Plus it doesn't like 'invitation' size envelopes. HINT: Use a pair of tweezers when small pieces of paper are stuck. (Ok, so maybe it's me)...but no worries! Mission accomplished! 400 envelopes printed(after some bribing to the printer and computer)

And yes, that is a typical day at the office:0

...and back again!

Did I ever mention that I love Ireland and the people of Ireland? Well, it should be obvious now, because I went back this summer. A little over a week after I returned from leading my 7 amazing "kids", the Lord impressed upon my heart the need to go back and work with my parents' team as well as finish the painting on Fran's house. My first thought was..that's crazy! I should have just stayed in Ireland! But as I continued to pray and think about it, I started getting serious and realized that the only set back was that I had no money! This is where it get's good though-as I was praying, I felt the Lord keep saying, just trust Me. Six days before my parents' team was to fly out I checked my support account and I had all but $200 to cover the second trip. Unbelievable! That was my first though, because stuff like this never happens to me. I am barely able to cover the full amount of trips that I go on. Then again, the Lord is so faithful and he has ALWAYS provided! So 6 days before the second team flew out I booked my ticket and started repacking for Ireland..again!
This time I was there for 2 weeks. I was able to spend the first week with 2 other servants who helped finish painting Fran's house. The second week I was more involved with the team helping with kids' camp, street evangelism and drama in the city. I am so glad I was able to go back and be a part of God's kingdom in Ireland this summer!