camp stuff

I alluded to my 2 days of girls' church camp(ages 3rd-6th grade) last week.  It was fun and certainly interesting!  Here are some funny things heard at GAcamp
 When I was teaching them about persecuted Christians in North Korea and how people might smuggle God's Word over the border, one little girl had quite an idea.  She said we could put pink covers on the Bibles and write the word "Diary" on the front, leave blank pages at the beginning so the soldiers would think it was a girls' diary. :)

  The speaker was talking to the  girls about having faith.  He wanted them to answer his questions and prompted them with
                                "Peter walked on water by"......the girls answered Faith!
                                 "Abraham moved away from his homeland by"...... the girls answered Faith!
                                 "Noah built an ark by"............ the girls answered Himself!
We grown ups really cracked up at that.

Overheard when walking behind 2 girls "Would you rather have a cabin near the auditorium or cafeteria?"   The other girl answered "cafeteria"

I was asking a girl if she liked the speaker.  She replied that she did and elaborated as to why.
"You know how some preachers go on and on?  She gets to the point and makes it simple so you understand, and she's funny."  I hear  ya little one, loud and clear!

I watched my sister-in-law work with the girls and I, once again, realized I'm not gifted in the area of children's ministry.  I mean, I had fun and I loved teaching the girls about God's call on all of our lives to be about His work and missions.  But, the constant mothering and interaction with 26 girls was exhausting.  At bedtime, Shana would work the room, hugging and telling them all "night night baby."  No lie, I was laying on my bunk, iPod in my ears, thinking "would you all please just hush and go to sleep!?"   Put me on a plane to a thirld world country with my backpack and I'm cool--put me as a sponsor in a cabin with 26 girls and this woman is whooped.  Good thing the Bible reminds us that we all have an important part in God's economy, each person is gifted in special ways.  Hats off to everyone of you out there who faithfully serve children.

Now, for the kicker.  We were having night-time prayers when a sweet little girl raised her hand and said "Mrs. Shana, there's a snake on the window."  YEP, a big S.... N....A.....K....E was slithering on the outside window pane.  There are no blinds, just frosted glass but,dude, we could clearly see this 4.5ft disgusting demon of a creature!  Apparently Shana was supernatural filled with speed and agility cause she bolted out in the dark and ran to the first aid cabin while I stayed and pretended it was no big deal to calm the girls.  Men came and took care of the snake issue.  I dreamt about boa constrictors all night ;)                    

S.O.S

Putting your faith into action. As Ive mentioned before, my mother is the full-time minister to women at our old church.  After several staff members read The Outward Focused Life by Dave Workman(have you read it yet?  Come on people, it's good!), they decided to do something really meaningful this summer.  It is called Summer of Service.  Instead of gathering in the church building, they will go out in the community.  I'm so excited to hear the cool testimonies.  Hmmm, what if tons of churches across America did this?  We'd totally wow this disallusioned world huh??  I copied and pasted some excerpts from her blog.  Because I'm a bit paranoid about protecting my family's security, Ive not given the full church name.

This summer, the C____ church staff is working together to bring the opportunity to reach out to our communities every Wednesday evening. We are planning to come together in three different groups to minister in different ways.
One group will come together to do some service projects that are preplanned for people who need the help; yard work or minor maintenance jobs. You may know some in the community who do not know Christ, or do not attend a church, who have some practical needs that we could help with; no large projects, just simple things that could be done in about an hour.
Another group will come together to go out to the community for the purpose of evangelism; giving small gifts to show God’s love. If you have ideas about simple ways to go out and share with people contact....


A third group will do some planned visiting;  those who are in the hospital or at home ill.  As the time comes near, and you know someone who needs a visit, in the hospital, nursing home or in their homes contact...

Doesn't that sounds just so fun????  I love love it!

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Third World Woman--song

I've been at a girl's church camp the past 2 days speaking to them about missions. The verse I shared with them was
 I John 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
The talks went really well.  I enjoyed sharing my experiences with the sweet and spunky girls(more crazy stories from camp will be shared later!!).  As I was driving home today, my friend Carol, texted me about a song she'd heard.  It is Third World Woman by Amy Grant.  Wow oh wow, these are some powerful lyrics and go with this picture I took in Haiti!!

What if I were that mother staring from my TV

What if that were my brown-eyed baby

Hungry as she could be

What if that were my family

What if that was my world

Waiting on water, waiting on a vaccine

Waiting on someone to bring me a bag of beans

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me



What of I was that mother and I was waiting on me

The big success so well dressed on the other side of the sea

Living with my distractions

Life’s been good to me

Maybe she’s praying

Praying for a miracle

Maybe the answer is me



Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me



I was born in Georgia where I could do as I pleased

And I can get my hands on just about anything I might need

Who’s that third world woman

Maybe she could be

Could be mother, could be daughter

Could be sister to me



Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me

Lord have mercy on me



Christian lyrics - THIRD WORLD WOMAN LYRICS - AMY GRANT

The International Adoption Delivery Room

This is a throwback, waaaay back!  I wrote this several years ago while reflecting on Dillon's referral in Feb of 2003.

James 1:17a  Every good and perfect gift is from above
     I have just hung up the phone.  The decision has been made.  Yes, we will choose to parent this two months old baby boy we read about on three pages of faxed, impersonal information.  Any minute now, a picture should be transmitted via email.  Praise the Lord for modern technology!  I click the refresh button a  hundred times.  My husband is at work and expecting the same computer aided first glimpse of our new son.  Funny, when pregnant, peole love to talk about who the baby will resemble.  Once born, the new bundles is bright pink and has squished up features.  Grandparents proudly claim inherited traits from their side of the family.  Adopting a child transracially grants much more of the surprise element.  Sure, many mothers-to-be report having dreams of what their new child will look like.  Generally, we have no idea.  This is our second Korean adoption so we are familiar with the beautiful Asian traits.  I envision plump cheeks, almond eyes, and that adorable stand-up hair. Oh, there is a message in my inbox!!  Slowly, the attacment for Myeong Cheol opens.  The face of an angel looks back at me.  He is a small two months old with no hair.  Huge black eyes burn their image into my heart.  He has tiny rosebud lips and two bare feet sticking out of a sleeper.  We are forever bonded; mother and child.

quite a day

Friday was interesting.  It began with dragging the kids to the car repair place at 7:30am in the city.  We dropped off the minivan for some long needed(but put off to save money so we didn't have to use a credit card) maintenance.  We drove across town to get ready for our private speech therapy starting up again for the summer.  At 8am we entered a donut shop to try to get a free donut since it was National Donut Day and the news said many places were giving away donuts in honor of the day.  We walked up to the counter and I heard Abby say "Uh-oh, Momma!".  Dillon barfed right there in front of the donut counter.  I was so embarrassed that instead of free donuts, I spent 6.00 getting donuts and drinks for everyone!  Dillon was magically cured and wanted Sprite :)
We headed to speech.  After speech we went to the dentist.  That was interesting too.  Nothing like trying to parent and keep 3 kids in check while lying on your back getting plaque scraped off your teeth.  The hygenist and her husband have no kids yet and she proceeded to tell me how 2yr olds "should" behave! HA, that was a laugh.
After this,  I was very tired and hungry.  Radical Experiment went out the window.  We got lunch at Subway.  We headed to my aunt's home to meet up with my sister and swim a while.  I was basically stuck there til our minivan was done at the shop.  My sister is keeping a new foster child for 2 weeks.  The little girl is a very smart and sweet 10yr old.  She broke my heart when I was talking to her asking basic questions.  I asked if she had any siblings.  She replied "I have a 7yr old sister, she lives in a different house for respite care."  SAD.  Her status as a foster child was so matter of fact, ya know??  I mean, she just stated it like it was the same fact as her hair is blonde.  What a sad sad way to grow up.  Being an adolescent girl is hard enough.  Throw being a foster child and man, that is tough!!!!
Finally the van was done.  Lets just say the bill was huge--can you say a double ugh?!  I told the repair dude that he had to keep it running well for many more years, so fix it all up. 
In the midst of all this, Hudson has an intestinal issue--shall we say--and his booty is raw.  Carter was exposed to poison ivy during his combat wars in the woods Tuesday and had an allergic reaction.  His eyes and nose are swollen and dark purple and he itches terribly.  He refuses to leave the house and has been holed up for 4 days :(
Fun times.  Seriously, I'm not complaining.  It is a privelage to care for these little dudes in my home.  It is a blessing to have medical care, be able to hire a speech therapist for Dillon, a big blessing to have dental care and a big privelage to have transportation to it all.

Dog Days of Summer

Here are Carter and his buds decked out for air soft gun wars.  They had a blast playing war in the woods

across from our neighborhood.  Unfortunately, Carter got the gift that keeps on giving--poison ivy and an allergic reaction to it.  He's bright red and covered with rash!!  We went to the doctor to get steroids today.

Here is Abby with her sweet sweet teacher.  They give each kid a characte/Fruit of the Spirit award.  Abby's was kindness and that surely fits her.

 And here are the two munchkins!  Mike and I had been out running and came in about 6:30am to find the little Korean contingent asleep together on the couch!

And finally, Kindergarten graduation.  Dang, that little dude is adorable!

As for me, I'm working my 2 days a week.  I am painting the living room a little at a time.  I'm excited about reading more.  My sweet cyber friend, Sunny(who I'm sure shares my brain and heart), told me about a good Christian fiction book called Quaker Summer that I plan on checking out.  I'm going to take Abby to get her own library card and check out some books.  I'm currently working on a Bible Study called "Five Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter."  Several of us moms with girls entering 4th grade are going through this study and will talk with our daughters over the summer.  Oh, what a daunting task to raise godly, pure girls in this crazy culture!   I just started getting up at 5:30 and jogging again--no big distances, but I sure feel better.  I am also trying to be patient with the house being a wreck from having all the kids home.  Man oh man, it is so hard for me to relax and not stress about it.

Mike is working in the office for the month of June.  People are always surprised that the principal has work to do when school is out.  We are planning on breaking ground for a new building in a few weeks.  Our school is doing an ministry for the on-site construction workers.  I can't wait to tell you guys about that.  I'm thinking about posting a little about tithing sometime too. Hmmm, it is painful to have a brain as hyper as mine ;)

How's your Radical Experiment coming?

Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea each year.
90% of all deaths caused by diarrheal diseases are children under 5 years of age, mostly in developing countries.

I took this picture on a city street in Haiti. 

This morning I watered my flower bed.  Just so it would look pretty when I drive up,  I sprayed precious clean water on the plants.  Meanwhile, these kids have this as their only water source.  OUCH.  I don't want to cruise through my life consuming and throwing out while babies die from starvation and diarrhea. 

So, how's my Radical Experiment coming along?  Well, today marks 2 weeks since I've gone through a drive through.  That's good!!  Yippee, but don't celebrate yet.  We did all go to a nice Italian restaurant a few days ago to celebrate school being over.  As for new clothes, haven't bought a stitch--for myself anyways.  I did get Abby a pair of shorts and the boys some Tshirts.  Making a big change takes time.  I want to keep plugging away though. And, let me clarify, there is nothing wrong with buying some things or enjoying the fruits of our labor.  It is just that we live in such a gluttony consumerism society and rarely think about the people suffering while we consume more and more and more-it is never enough for most of us!

In "Radical", David Platt gives a blazing statement about our wealth and the millions in the world without the basic necessities of life.

We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ao and ask, "How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?"  I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in America today and ask, "How could they live insuch big houses?  How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes?  How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn't have food and water?  How could they go on with their lives as though the billions of poor didn't even exist?"

If you are doing a Radical Experiment, drop me a comment and let me know how it is going.