Priorities and a Day on the River

Every now and then, because of my volunteer work with Compassion, we have conference calls scheduled to discuss various things that I am involved in. During the school year, it is usually pretty easy for me to plan on ‘attending’ these calls since we really should be home making sure school and house work are getting done.

But during the summer, things come up. Like the one day opportunity to save $10 per person to go on a river rafting trip with your daughter and a couple of her friends. The conference call can be rescheduled, but you don’t always have the chance to save money on a day trip like this. Or do you have the opportunity to put your family first like this.

We all had a great time on the trip (a little sore and sunburned though!), but most importantly, I want my daughter to know that she is more important to me than even the ministry that is near and dear to my heart. I don’t ever want her to resent the time I put into helping other people realize the difference they can make by investing into the life of a child living in extreme poverty.

Question for you: How do you balance family and ministry time?

Did you travel to Nicaragua last week?

Over the past few days, I have read many inspiring posts from the Compassion Bloggers while they were all traveling in Nicaragua.

Did you have a chance to read any of the posts? I sure hope you did! But if not, here is a chance for you to hop over to read some of their posts:

• the easiest way to find all of the posts is right on the Compassion Bloggers site
• or you can visit Christy
• or visit Edie
• or visit Kelly
• or visit Traci
• or visit Shaun
• or visit Keely
• and let’s not forget Brianne!

Question for you: if you took the time to read some of the posts from the trip, which one(s) spoke to you most? And if you decided to sponsor a child because of the posts that you read, I would love for you to share about that!

We have hit a bump in the road

If you have been reading along on my blog, you know that I have been over the top excited about our upcoming Compassion trip to Mexico to visit this young man. Well, God has other plans…

This morning there was a message on my answering machine letting me know that the Compassion center that Eduardo attends is being closed and that we will no longer be able to sponsor Eduardo, and that I needed to call them back.

After wasting some time (stalling is more like it!), I finally made the call and learned that after many attempts, Compassion has had to pull out of this church because there has not been enough committed volunteers to implement the program. I feel sorry for the poor girl that I was on the phone with because I couldn’t stop the tears. She went onto to explain that the church will continue to run a children’s ministry program that Eduardo can attend. She also told me that Eduardo is a healthy and quiet boy, he just completed the first grade. Then she shared with me the best news that any sponsor would want to hear:

“He accepted Christ as his Savior”

Even though I am so disappointed that we will not be able to continue to sponsor Eduardo, it warms my heart to know that He knows my Savior, that he is my brother in Christ, that I will see him one day in heaven. Through our letters and support, and through the tireless work that so many volunteers gave at the Compassion center, Eduardo has learned about the hope he can have when he has a relationship with Jesus. God knew this would happen, it is not an accident or a mistake.

So where does this put us for our trip with Compassion to Mexico in January? Oh, we are still going!! At this point, there is a possibility that we might be able to sponsor a child from one of the centers we will be visiting on our trip. In any case, we will be sponsoring another child from Mexico, and God already knows who it is.

Will you join us in praying for this new child that we will be adding to our family? Thank you!

Knitting, sewing, and canning my way to Mexico

Wow, a lot has happened since I first announced I will be traveling with Compassion in January to visit Eduardo.

me and Matthew

My son is going to Mexico with me!!!

passport

My very first passport arrived!!

So, those were the two big announcements I wanted to share with you, but I wanted to update you on what I have been doing to raise money for the trip.

jam making

I have been making a lot of jam, like over 20 batches!! Cranberry-Strawberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Apricot. Jam making is something I usually do during this time of the year, sometimes just for us, but a lot of times, I will make enough to give jars of jam as gifts during Christmas. I have been able to sell half-pint jars for $5 each. I hope nobody is expecting jam for Christmas this year!

knitting dishcloths

For bridal showers, I love to give the new bride a couple of hand knitted dish cloths along with an apron. When the trip came about, I had about 10 dish cloths already completed and ready for bridal showers in my closet. After checking prices on Etsy, I decided to sell some of these in sets of 3 for $10. I picked up a huge cone of cotton yarn at Hobby Lobby using a 40% off coupon. So far, I have made 11 dish cloths from this one cone and there is more yarn on the cone!

baby blankets and wash cloths

For baby showers, I love to sew up a flannel blanket and a couple of terry cloth/flannel wash cloths. I had 15 of these in my closet done already because I usually go to JoAnn’s the day after Thanksgiving and purchase flannel for $1.59/yard. I did purchase more flannel last month to make a few more sets, and I have been selling these sets for $15 each.

So, as you can see, I have been knitting, sewing, and canning my way to Mexico! God has allowed me to use things that I enjoy doing to raise money for my trip. I am amazed at how everything is coming together to make it possible for me and my son to go on this trip!

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on how I am preparing for this trip!

Questions for you: Have you ever raised money to go on a Compassion trip or mission trip? What ways have you fundraised that have worked for you?

Capture Your 365

We are now entering my favorite time of the year (summer, yay!) and I have a few photos from the Capture Your 365 Challenge to share with you this week!

signs of summer

ISO 100, 86mm, f/4.2, 3 sec

Day 152 – Signs of Summer: Our town has a festival at the beginning of June each year and Saturday night always has a fireworks display. We love sitting out in front of our home and watching the fireworks over our neighbor’s houses. I set up my tripod and just continued taking a lot of pictures during the display. It was a great way to end an almost-summer day!

butterfly

ISO 400, 190mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec

Day 154 – Dandelions: No dandelions in my backyard and not the sharpest picture I have ever taken, but I was able to capture a butterfly! Boy, that was hard work!

negative space

ISO 100, 50mm, f/2.5, 1/15 sec

Day 155 – Negative Space: My husband surprised me with a bouquet of ‘just because’ flowers. These were the perfect subject for today’s photo prompt!

documented

ISO 400, 50mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec

Day 156 – Documented: When it was decided that I would be joining the Compassion trip to Mexico in January 2014, I decided to start a ledger to keep track of my ‘earnings’. To remind myself that God is in control, I wrote out “The Lord will provide” from Genesis 22:14. There is no reason for me to worry about the funds for this trip because God will make it possible if it is His will for me to go. He has been providing abundantly, it has been exciting to see Him work in all of this!

What have you captured this week with your camera?