Summer adventures and memories….
Happy Summer!! Where have I been with my posts!? To begin, my youngest son, Evan, was honored to be on our Little League All Star baseball team this summer. This meant three weeks of practices, team building activities, and then the games. Now, for my non-AZ friends, this is all in our triple digit temps – and these boys worked hard….their character and physical bodies were put through many tests. I am so proud of them. They were undefeated until the semi-finals, and lost by 1 run. I am a huge baseball fan that has roots back to my high school days with going to Cubs games and yes, ditching school for a day. Ahhh….I hope this post isn’t read by my kiddos and then I see them on the tv at a Dbacks game. But, I have to admit….maybe I will allow them to miss a day for some fun activity. Those crazy moments were some pretty great memories.
Speaking of pretty great memories, one of my most recent “favs” is a trip to the Dominican Republic last summer that I accompanied my oldest son, Jack, on with our church youth group. I have worked on mission work here in Arizona, in the Native American lands. I have gone to Mexico to build homes and slept in tents in super hot and humid weather with “earwig” bugs residing in my sleeping bag! Ugh…had to be sure I was sleeping with mouth closed at all times, which is impossible to do when you are actually asleep and cannot monitor this. As my children grew up, my hope was to teach them to serve others. Along our life journey, we have had many wonderful opportunities to care for and love on people here in our homelands.
My favorite time of serving locally was by far in the middle of our hot AZ summertime taking otter pops down to a men’s recovery shelter, which is also a soup kitchen to the homeless at lunchtime. This was several years ago, and it didn’t matter what age my children were….. they handed out these cold, tasty treats to people who were worn and tired. The smiles on the people’s faces were invaluable. And to my delight, I see my oldest off to the side with my husband talking to a man who seemed to be shy and off on his own. I could tell the love of God was being shared with this lonely man.
One summer while vacationing in Carlsbad, California, Jack was off talking to a man who seemed to be living a homeless life. We gave him some lunch and shared good conversation and again, the love of God was evident as Jack shared his faith. When you serve the widows and hungry, the worn and homeless, the tired and sick elderly in nursing homes and find yourself giving them a big hug…there is just no other feeling. I love to love on people who are lacking “love”. It is a beautiful moment!!
When the opportunity came up for a global mission trip to the Dominican, I was in the depths of despair and grief missing my sister Tammy. I just knew God was leading me and urging me to take this step and go global. And the significance to go with Jack was that we were to go with Tammy on a little trip last summer after Jack graduated from high school. Since we would never have that chance again in this life on earth, I felt so convicted inside to do something that would stretch me…but would be a way to “give” to others. I had read so much on “grief recovery” and how at some point, I needed to “give back”. Here was my chance.
Advice by experienced “global” mission travelers: go to serve and love the native people of that land, yes, but also we are to go and care for the missionaries who live there, helping them in any way needed. Go and fully engage in the experience. Be Jesus, regardless of how out of my comfort zone it can be. Then, share that experience with those back at home. I followed this advice and had a life changing experience. I truly fell in love with the people in the DR….the missionary leaders and the native people we served for that week. I have tons of pictures on my Facebook page from July 2014, if you haven’t seen them.
More I will share about this trip next week….but as I write this, I am preparing another son, Ryan, to take on the “global challenge” as he travels off tomorrow to Nicaragua with our church youth team. I am not going this year, and it saddens me greatly to not be with him as I was with Jack last year. But, Ryan, he is his own person. This is a child who in Kindergarten drew a picture of himself as a “Missionary” for what he wanted to be when he grew up!! He hasn’t expressed that interest over the years after that time, but music is his passion, and sharing the love of God through music. I don’t know what his life calling and career will be, but I know Ryan will have such a great time on this trip. I pray for him to feel my heart that is praying fervently for him.
As a middle child, Ryan is more independent and doesn’t need or desire to have his mom too involved in his life. What teen does anyway! Here is the unique part of our family: Ryan’s siblings are more okay with my involvement, but Ryan..he beats to his own drum (and he’s the drummer, too! ha.ha. good one liner there!!) This is a tough one for me, to be honest. I am learning to step back, let go, and trust God in a whole new way. I love this middle child so crazy much, and so proud of who he is becoming….and I am also having to change how I parent him. May this trip he embarks on be positively life changing indeed…for him and for me. Okay, the tears are about to flow…..
