Wednesday......!!!

I am only a mere few days from our mission trip to St. Louis. I am pretty excited at the opportunity to minister to the people of the church we are partnering with, and to reach out to the community. Someone made the comment, "St. Louis? That's not a mission trip."  Many people are under the impression that a mission trip is a trip to a foreign country. A mission trip is, in fact, a trip where the individual(s) go to share the gospel and minister to the community. If you are sharing the message of Christ, regardless of where you are, you are a missionary. We leave Wednesday and plan to return Sunday. We will be helping the church in St. Louis in outreach ministries, and invite the surrounding communities to their upcoming Easter services. In out down time, we plan to look around the city, and of course, no trip to St. Louis is complete without a trip to the arch! Be sure to stalk my Facebook page to see updates and pictures. And please, we will covet your prayers!

Last week's State Fair Food Day was a success. I became acutely aware that my kitchen is simply too small! LOL. With 2 fryers, a microwave, a stovetop and oven going simultaneously, it got kind of hectic at times. The biggest issue was that the funnel cakes didn't hold together, but they tasted good. No one seemed to mind, as they were going to tear it up anyway. The funnel cakes and the elephant ears were the most popular items. The Pronto Pup bites got a lot of compliments, and people said they tasted just like the ones at the fair. Will I do this again next year? I will have to think about it. It was a lot of work, and I'll need to have some extra help. It was a lot to do by myself. When next March rolls around, I'll re-evaluate, and go from there. My next endeavor will take place in August, and I'm planning a chili and bierocks day. Sound like a winner? I'll keep you all posted. 

I've got the Spring itch to go out and work in the yard. I'm not putting anything in the garden until late April. I've seen April snow before, and I'm not taking any chances. I have planned out what's going in. Tomatoes, radishes, corn, and sunflowers. I've had terrible luck with cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew, but I'm going to try again this year. I have some rich compost to work with, and I'm hoping for the best. I've been working on this compost for about 2 years, and I hope it does the job. Last year, I had a bumper crop of tomatoes to give away, and I'm hoping to do the same this year. Working in the yard and garden is therapy for me, and I'm anxious to get back out there. The weather has been amazing lately. In fact, the entire winter has been mild, so that means extra bugs this year. I'll need to stock up on pesticide so that all of those bugs won't be trying to make a meal of my garden. 

That's about all of the time I have for today, but I wanted to update you on what's been going on. Please keep us in your prayers this week. Thanks for reading and praying. God bless you!
      

I truly enjoy Saturday mornings. I don't have to set the alarm, but rather let my body wake up on its own. My new job is very tiring mentally, and I am wiped out at the end of the day, let alone the week! The first couple of weeks really kicked my tail. However, I am still enjoying this new position and the kids and staff I have the privilege of working with. I am sill in awe of how God pretty much dropped this job right into my lap at about the time I was asking God what I should do. He's good about taking care of us.

This past week we took mom in for a leg angio. The doctor sent a microscopic drill into the veins in her leg to break up and remove plaque build-up. My mom has been experiencing pain in her legs when walking, and it got to the point where she couldn't even walk the distance of a city block without pain in her legs and needing to stop and rest. The surgery was a great success. The doctor found veins that were almost 100% blocked, and cleared them out. The x-rays before and after were like night and day. Yesterday, my mom was able to walk around the block with virtually no pain! God is truly good.

I'm about 3.5 weeks away from our mission trip to St. Louis. We're going to be helping a sister church with some ministry opportunities. I am very excited about this trip. It was like God spoke directly to me about going. In our down time, we'll see the sights of St. Louis, including a trip to see the Arch. You can't go to St. Louis without seeing the Arch! I am looking forward to seeing how God can use myself and our team to bless this church family. The trip is 29-April 2.  Prayers are greatly appreciated for safety, changed hearts, and that our team members will be fully funded.

Speaking of mission trips, this past week I nailed down the dates for my 4th trip to Tijuana, Mexico. The 1st week of July will see me traveling to San Diego to train and enjoy visiting with my dear friends at Ocean View Church. From there, we will travel across the border into Tijuana to minister to Colina de Luz, a wonderful orphanage with the most awesome kids. We'll also take carnivals (water slides, face painting, Gospel message, etc) into parts of Tijuana that are partnered with the orphanage. It is a blessing to see the kids come out of the woodwork to enjoy the festivities. They don't get to experience something like this very often, and it's like Disneyland to them! I can't wait!

I'm still a bit short on funding, so here's what I'm doing: First of all, I'm going to pray. If God sees fit to send me back, He'll provide what I need to get there. He will move people's hearts to give as God leads them. Second, I'm hoping that my baking business will take off. It's been pitifully slow the past few weeks. Third, I'm putting together a State Fair Food day on March 18. I've been able to replicate many of the food items at the state fair, and people can message me their orders, come and eat (or take it to go), and make a donation. I'll be posting the event on my FB page immediately following my posting of this blog page, and I hope that you might check it out. Then, I have a separate fund set up to help me out financially this summer, as I'll be gone for about 4 weeks doing ministry work including Tijuana and children's camps. When I'm gone, my employers don't pay me, LOL.  I'm endeavoring to raise $1,200 to fully fund Tijuana and my summer fund.

That's where things sit right now. I'm confident that God is going to take care and provide for me. God has put a burden on my heart and a mission for my life. He's not going to desert me now, while He has so many things on my plate.  Philippians 1:6 tells us that "...He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." That's the verse I'm claiming for this season in my life. Would you please consider praying for me over the course of the next few months? 

Thanks for taking the time to read over my posting. You are busy people, I am sure, and your interest is a blessing to me.   I pray God's blessings on you today.