July 2009

Yes, it's been 2 months since my last post. Busy-ness, sickness and lack of internet at home has kept me from regular blogging. Also, I would feel so far behind that I would be overwhelmed in trying to catch up. Now, I'm so far behind, that any posting at all is progress. I'll try to condense everything into monthly recaps.

The month of July was full of high temperatures and tons of activity. I did a little more house/dog sitting, so there was a lot of running from here to there and living out of a suitcase. I counted it a huge event when I put the suitcase back in the garage. But I did love all the opps to visit/sit with dogs and houses.

The Youth at church opted for a week of 'Mission Rogers' instead of travelling to another city. Instead, over 60 kids slept/ate/showered/served/worshiped/fellowshipped at the church. I was there first thing each morning and came home to my own bed between 9 and 10 each night. Other than that, I was blessed to help organize their work schedules for the daytime hours and hang out with them.

Meals were great, as always, due to Janet Batson, who routinely goes along to camp to act as chef. Some of the food was even 'legal' for my dietary restrictions. I know that everyone really enjoyed great meals and snacks. Leftovers each day were donated to families who appreciated the gifts.

Each evening, after showers and before bedtime, was designated as missions time. I spoke one evening about being an M in NYC for 2 years and how God is working in my life here as a Missionary in Residence. One night we Skyped the Bridges, who are M's in Las Vegas. Another treat was having Tony, an M from our church whose family is stateside from India come and speak about their lives. On the fourth Missions night, a few of the youth girls shared about a Blood Water and Invisible Children. The kids had been on 40 days of water (instead of sodas) to tie into their initiative.

During the day, the kids broke into work groups. They served in many places around the area. Some once and some recurring throughout the week. The following are some of the agencies and ministries where they volunteered their time. (Remember it was a horribly hot and humid week. The kids were troopers!) Benton County Juvenile Detention Center, Horses for Healing, Samaritan Community Center - Rogers and Springdale, Helping Hands, Benton County Women's Shelter Thrift Store, Loving Choices, 5 city parks, FBCR property at Bellview, FBCR areas that were used by the kids, a few senior members' homes... They pulled weeds, cleaned church vans, cleaned rooms at the church, helped with donations and organized and cleaned at the thrift stores, cleaned and painted the rec area at the Detention Center, did outside cleanup, served meals, organized food donations, washed windows for businesses in downtown Rogers, distributed 2,000 invitations to Back To School Bash and Upward Flag Football, canvassed for an apartment ministry to start up at the Rogers Commons Apartments, picked a garden and donated the food to families in need, prepped the 300 backpacks for the BTS Bash, and held a 5 day Kid's Bible Club at Doubletree Apartments. It was a VERY BUSY week!

The following week, a group of 21 from Dallas came to FBCR to work with Cuerpo Vivo, our Hispanic congregation, on a week-long VBS in Spanish. On Thursday evening, our Youth co-hosted with Cuerpo Vivo a Block Party at Doubletree Apartments. There were over 20 professions of faith that night amidst the hotdogs, popcorn, sno-cones, snacks, drinks, music and games. It was a great evening.

July also brought about another week long Kid's Bible Club in a neighborhood near the church. The families who hosted it work hard in the heat with music, Bible stories, games, crafts, snacks and love.

We got the Food Pantry up and running the first Monday in July. It has been a steady ministry to families every Monday and Friday morning. We've been busy working on the process to gather food donations, advertising, getting volunteers in place, etc. Jim and Shirley McGimpsey are in charge and have an awesome heart for people. There's been over 20 families come through in July and 2 professions of faith with 2 new families attending church on Sundays. I've been blessed to get to know those 2 families well.

Backpacks and shopping lists for school supplies were distributed to church members over 2 Sundays in July. They were returned filled and ready to give out at BTS Bash on Aug 8. A lot of work went into preparing for the Bash and that filled out the rest of July.

Oh yeah, the medicine I tried for cholesterol made me violently sick. It was horrible. Especially since I was dog/house sitting at the time. That made 4 different meds I have tried for cholesterol that make me sick, so I have retired from trying any more. I do still take Zetia, which is not a statin drug, so that's my compromise. Once that new med was out of my system, I was back on my feet and able to function once again. :)

I've enjoyed living at Deanna's and we are like 2 peas in a pod. We both have our private rooms and sometimes hang out together in the living room and kitchen. It's very comfortable and restful. I am very blessed.

I think that's it for July. It all seems a blur now... But it was busy for God and that's what matters. He is awesome and deserves our best.