Never Too Young to Serve

5 days and counting. Each room has the suitcases that are starting to be filled, and while the "to do" list seems to be growing, the "sleeps left" are rapidly slipping away.

It was last night that the meltdown came from our youngest. I have to admit that while I was trying to soothe my distraught 3 year old, the thoughts of "what if this happens in Mexico?" were running through my head and for a split second I wondered if taking him was for the best. Just as fast as the question went through my mind, it was replaced by a peace that we were to do this as an entire family.

Years ago, while in Ensenada (that one day mission trip), I remember the leader of the mission talking about how a little 2 year old was able to make a huge impact on the people around her, just by being there. Who am I to say that my 3 year old can't minister the love of God just as effectively as my 15 year old?

Ethan (3) has been ready for Mexico for a long time. He asked where Mexico was and I pointed south. Now, every time I drive south towards Costco, he's convinced we are going to Mexico! He's figured out that we will go through the United States, see the ocean and drive lots. After watching the video of what we will be doing, he's excited to play with kids and pray (have I mentioned he is our little prayer warrior? When he prays for meals, the food gets cold). Ethan has his bag with his stuffy packed and set by the door, so he's ready.

Joel (6) is a bit more practical. He knows it will be a long drive--he vaguely remembers the drive to Vancouver island. He has been faithfully practicing with his puppet so he can entertain the kids at the daycare. When asked who he will see, he says that he will see lots of kids and lots of different people. I asked him what he will do and he said, "I will help them, of course." I know that he will.

Kids have an amazing way of connecting with other kids, regardless of language, nationality and social status. My youngest boys will most likely connect faster and easier then I will:) They will not be hindered by fear, uncertainty, or even worry about the language, they will just get into the action and join the fun.

While I wish we had learned more Spanish, had more stuff to bring, or just felt more sure of ourselves, I am reminded of what Gloria (mom of the family who has been down countless times) said--smiles are multilingual!

Not yours, Not mine, OURS

The saga of the bottles has continued throughout this week. As of this afternoon, the value of the bottles has been returned ten-fold! I went to the bank today to exchange the money for US and teller said she had never heard of such generosity (praise God!)

For my teens, especially, they were in awe of how God provided. Nathan put it very well when he commented how he's heard and read of provision like this, but never seen it--this will not be forgotten!

Perhaps what is not understood is that this isn't just "our" mission trip. Mission trips don't just happen because of one person or family. Missions are built on the group effort of many. Anyone who has supported is, encouraged us, prayed for us, given us money, pop bottles or things to take--all are part of this mission. We happen to be the carriers or stewards of these gifts, but you all have contributed.

The Bible is very clear that while we are all one body, each with a vital part to contribute. No one person (aside from Jesus) can make a huge impact on the world, but each of us, contributing what we can, have the power to reach many.

As we enter this final week before departure, thank for being apart of this mission trip. We have already seen God move in amazing ways and we aren't even there yet!

Details and God's Details (The Bottle Story)

It seemed like a God-inspired idea--collect pop bottles to help fund the "extras" for the people and organizations we come in contact with in Mexico. The response was overwhelming. Before we knew it, we had a huge collection of bottles in our back yard. Between the first 2 trips, $150 came in for Mexico! I was overwhelmed by what God was doing.. Just when I thought the bottles were slowing down, more came. Then we woke up this morning . . .

Looking outside, we noticed our side gate was propped open with a pylon from our yard and our collection of bottles missing! Now, it wasn't opened at 9:30, when we arrived home last night, nor at midnight, when our dog needed to answer nature's call, so sometime between midnight and morning, our--no, God's--bottles took a trip.

I have to be honest, I was crushed, people had donated these to help those in need in Mexico. The money was going to those "little extras" to be blessing to those around us. You know what I mean, money for the extra little details that can creep in and add up. Now, approximately $100 worth of bottles were gone.

After the initial shock, I realized that someone had been in our backyard in the middle if the night (was our door locked? Was anything else missing? Oh how unnerving). That left me feeling a little insecure.

This happened minutes before going to church, and as we drove, I couldn't help but think of the verse in Joel where God restores what the locusts have stolen. Time and time again, scripture is filled with reminders of how God restores, provides and takes care of everything we need. Who was I to worry? The situation proved to be sad and disheartening, but not devastating. God is still in control.

I was reminded of the story Otto Konning tells of his pineapples in New Guinea. For years, he cared for and tended the pineapples, only to have them stolen by the natives before he could enjoy them. this caused serious contention, until he finally surrendered his pineapples to God. After that, he had more than he knew what to do with!

I realized that these pop bottles were already given to God. I have no ownership, I am just the in between person. So, if they already were dedicated to God's work, so who's to say that the person who took these didn't need them more? This sounds more like God's details, doesn't it? My prayer is that whoever took them and whatever money is gained will be used to bring glory to God, because it already belongs to Him.

In the meantime, we go back to collecting bottles (this time stored in our garage) and trusting that God will bring in all that needed to take care of the needs that God presents us in Mexico.

Just an ordinary family

What has struck me as we have been preparing for this trip has been people's reactions to us going. To begin with, we have not had one negative comment, instead, it's been quite the opposite. The support and encouragement our family has been incredible--much more than we ever anticipated (to be honest, a bit overwhelming).

I am humbled by the outpouring of support, and reminded of God's provision.

Proverbs 16:9 says, "We can make our plans, but the Lord directs our steps."

We can have the best laid plans ever, but it is up to God to bring them to pass. Yes, our family had dreams and plans for a mission trip, but the coming together of the details have truly been the work of the Lord.

The fact is, you don't need to go to another country to be on a "mission trip", missions (for everyone) starts in your own back yard. Just because someone goes overseas to spread the Gospel, they are no less a "Christian" then the one who is home, looking after their children and taking a meal to the new neighbour across the street. Our actions and attitudes wherever we are are all part of spreading God's love. This is not hinged on going somewhere new.

In saying this, I don't want to minimize the impact that going to Mexico (or any country where poverty is present) will have on our family--especially our teens. It's just that we are not claiming or pretending to be any more "spiritual" than the next guy, we just happen to be following through with something God has laid on our family's heart. We are just an ordinary family.

Ready Set GO!

So, you may wonder how we got to this point-- taking our family of 7 to another country. . . I guess you could say it all started as seeds.

Years ago, when I spent 4 months in India, my heart was softened towards missions (though I alway said I'd never bring my kids overseas). Years later, when Kim was able to spend time in Mexico on a mission trip, his heart was drawn towards missions as well. However, any hopes of going anywhere were quickly put on the back burner as we focused on caring for our growing family.

A few years ago our family was asked to consider moving to Uganda and work in a babies home. While it ultimately wasn't what God had at the time, something shifted in our family's heart. After countless hours of prayer and consideration, we knew that God was drawing us to missions as a family. We really didn't know how that would look, but knew it was happening. I guess you could say that God put us "in gear" for missions.

A couple more years passed and Kim and I went on our cruise and tied in a mini mission trip along the way (which was the highlight of our entire trip). We knew then that we would be back to Mexico somehow with our entire family (now this was speaking in faith, as our family income for 7 is under $40,000 a year).

Within a month of returning home, our family had a part time "job" that has essentially funded our trip to Mexico. For 3 years we worked every Saturday or Sunday setting up chairs and watched our "missions fund" slowly grow. I had a number in my head of what we would need to go on a missions trip, and this summer, we reached it, as the door opened for us to go on this adventure.

I have to say that it's one of the most exciting (and scariest) moments of my life. It's one thing to step out unfaithful for yourself, but it's a completely different story to step out with your while family--we are taking our faith to a whole new level! It's now under a month till we leave and we are continuing to trust God for every need. Our prayer is that our whole family will be drawn to what God's heart it for our family and each individual in our family. We appreciate your prayers as we embark on this adventure!

On the Road to Mexico

It all started 3 years ago. Kim and I won a cruise to Mexico. Years before, I had jokingly said that if we ever took a trip, it would be great to make it a bit of a mission trip. We were amazed to see that there was a Victory mission in one of our ports--Ensenada. While other passengers were exploring the sights of Mexico, we spent the day bending rebar, teaching puppets and meeting the locals. After that, we said that someday we would return to the Mexican Baja with our family.

After we got home, we immediately took on a second job as a family with the sole purpose of saving up so we could go on a mission trip as a family.

For three years we have worked, saved, and dreamt of a mission trip. We are now seeing this dream come true.

Stay tuned as we walk a brand new adventure!!

I am a Platypus

I am a Platypus
By Renae
I can remember when I was a young teenager. Eagerly I read a book on personality types. It was at a time where I felt like I was going through a bit of an “identity crisis” and I truly wanted to figure out who I was and where I fit in with life. You can imagine my dismay when I completed the quiz at the end of the book and each personality type scored EXACTLY the same!

Now, fast-forward to this fall. Our family was enjoying a family camp and the key speakers were talking about discovering your personality types. It was so interesting to gain a better understanding not only of my children’s personality types, but also my husband’s. However, I was disappointed with answering only 4 questions. Carrying on my research at home, I found links to continue to discover who I really was. I took the first test and read my results—it didn’t really sound like me, so I waited a couple of days and took the test a second time—and got completely different results. I tried a third time, with again, different results. I didn’t seem to fit into any of the personality types, but rather seemed to be a mixed blend of them all. I felt like that insecure teenager all over again.

It was easy to pin-point my family, though: my one daughter was the fun-loving OTTER, always ready for adventure, not really wanting to stick with one thing for long. Details really weren’t her thing, while friends were vital. She thrives on action and adventure and is usually the first of my kids to say “I’m bored”.

My other daughter, however, is the exact opposite. As a BEAVER, she is a stickler for details. She is the one who, while in grade 1, told me I wasn’t following the directions correctly for her LA. She is precise, prompt, and very detailed oriented.

Figuring out my boys was a bit more of a challenge. My oldest is a people-pleaser—now, not to the point where people walk on him, but enough that he doesn’t want to ruffle feathers. If something isn’t right, he wants to fix it, this is very similar to the GOLDEN RETRIEVER that I learned about. Another trait is indecisiveness (which I have a bit of).

My younger son is known to decide what to do and try to gather up followers. He loves to be the “little boss”. We call him our little LION. He will line up the family, tell us stories and then dictate the questions and responses we are supposed to give.

Meanwhile, the youngest is another OTTER, looking especially for ways to get a great reaction from his LION brother. He usually is at the dinner table poking his brother instead of eating his food.

My husband is a good combination, with strengths in being a LION and OTTER. He is also a bit of a GOLDEN RETRIEVER, and cares what others think.

This takes me back to my dilemma, close friends are sure I am one way, while my tendency is actually the opposite. I do pay attention to details (BEAVER), but may not make a big fuss about it in order to keep the peace (GOLDEN RETRIEVER). If a leader does not rise up, I will take charge, but it’s not my first choice, so I am not the LION I once thought I was. I do enjoy having fun, but it’s not high on my priority list (so, OTTER is the lowest for me). All in all, I tend to be close to the middle in most of the strengths, thus making me a mismatched animal resembling the platypus.

I fought with this conclusion until I chose to look at the personality traits like a wheel. Each strength took up a certain quadrant, with those tending to the extremes on the outer edges. I sat closer to the middle without the extreme tendencies. As I observed where my family sat in their personalities, I realized that they were mostly on the extreme outer circles. Often I feel like I am the anchor bridging the gap between such extreme personalities . . . not easy, but I am glad to do it.

In saying all this, I am content to be a platypus—a mixture of every personality type. Perhaps my strongest are the GOLDEN RETRIEVER and BEAVER, but the LION tends to rise up to take leadership when needed. While fun isn’t my focus, I can understand enough of the OTTER to keep connected (good thing, since 3 members of my family are strong OTTERS).

I did not try to categorize my family in order to put them in a box. Instead, my goal is to better understand myself, my husband and my children and rejoice in the differences that God has given us instead of fighting them. Let’s celebrate who we are and try to better understand, this will make for a more peaceful home and school time.

Here are some links to help you discover more about the personality types and strengths in your family:

Gary Smalley

http://smalley.cc/marriage-assessments/free-personality-test

Family Relationships Report (this is in colors and is the one that I scored different each time)

http://www.ttifamilyfirst.com/parent.php