Mission Trip San Antonio

This week we are finally getting to take the mission trip that was scheduled for Spring Break. Originally we were supposed to go to Mexico and build some houses for people who didn't have one...and by "house"...I mean 4 walls and a roof...no floor. So yes, we are qualified...

Anyway...

This week we are on the South side of San Antonio in partnership with Christian Hope Resource Center...hereafter CHRC. This place is a well oiled machine of food and clothes distribution as well as Bible classes and counseling for anyone who needs it. It's a neat place to serve locally and we enjoy working there.

This week is their Vacation Bible School. We, of course, are staffing a large portion of their VBS staff. So far so good. The administraion there is impressed with our group and we, of course, are impressed with God and the things He is accomplishing this week.

After the VBS time...of course we could not just be done for the day...that would be too easy! So we also partnered with a local church who has a skateboarding ministry. It is appropriately called Skate Church. Anyway, they wanted the outside of their building to be painted Army Green...so we are painting.

This mission trip is also different for Paul and I because we have all three of our kids with us. This is a first for us. Paul and I have a huge spot in our heart for missions and we try to make it a large part of our lives. We want that for our kids to. We understand that we live in a modern day Babylon and the quickest way to be sucked into the Babylonian Empire is to lose sight of the NEED around us. It's in our backyard and we are almost numb to it. So this week, as a family, we are ripping the blinders off our eyes and staring the NEED in the face. We are dealing with it as a family. The kids are not participating in VBS this week they are working...hard. Today was the first day of VBS and they all did a great job. Yesterday as we were setting up they moved chairs, stacked boxes, swept floors and prepared food boxes. They. worked. hard.

We also painted today. I don't have any pics of that...well...because...I was too busy telling my kids to stop STEPPING in the paint. Stop putting your HANDS IN THE BUCKET! Stop painting OTHER PEOPLE! Wipe up all your DRIPS! Yes...I was to busy for the picture taking, you see...

I did get these yesterday though...when they were the hard-working people!

I vacuumed up crayons and Lego's today.

That's right people. I did it. It all started yesterday when I looked at the playroom and my blood IMMEDIATELY began to boil. I got cold sweats. My hair started to stand on edge. I started saying things my mother used to say. It was a bad feeling.

So I walked away from the playroom and decided I needed to do some serious prayer and meditation before I was going to clean the playroom. I was going to need the Holy Spirit to physically guide me in wading through the mounds and MOUNDS of toys, broken crayons, play clothes and baby dolls. Not to mention the other foot-penetrating items such as GI Joes, Army guys...and their minuscule guns, LEGOS (are the worst, by the way...they have SHARP corners!) matchbox cars, play rings and other jewelry and...the...list...could...go...on...f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

So I closed the door...Out of sight...out of mind right?

Then this morning I walked past the playroom and again all the emotions and feelings previously mentioned came barrelling back in a blaze of glory. Something must be done. So...I went to Curves. I decided a good workout would gear me up for some playroom de-cluttering/throwing away...um...errr....I mean "CLEANING".

As I pull into the driveway...I know it's coming. Oh the dread...Oh the horror. I walk in the door and Paul greets me to tell me that Jacob (my 7 year old) has cleaned the playroom.

***enter Champagne falling from the Heavens, confetti streaming through the air and a chorus of angels singing HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!***

My son, my blessed son has cleaned the playroom! Oh how the love is springing forth from my heart!

I go check it out and he has done a FANTASTIC job...Like a mom-type clean, not a kid-type clean...and if you have kids...you totally get this right now.

The only thing left is to vacuum. He really is to small to maneuver it so I tell him, as the BEST MOM E.V.E.R. that I would vacuum for him. (He actually jumped in my arms and squeezed my neck saying thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou....iloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyou. It was precious.

Of course I notice a few straggling crayons, legos, teeny tiny guns...and such. Jacob asked me if I wanted him to finish picking those up and I looked at him with a smile and said, "No son, I'll take it from here."

So Paul brought me the vacuum and I commenced with the vacuuming. And up goes the remaining crayons, legos, super small guns and an undisclosed amount of roly poly's. We sort of have an epidemic around here of dead roly poly's. Any way.

After all is done Jacob comes to me and says, "Mom, where's my money?"
"What son?"
"My money? Daddy said I could have $6.00 to clean the playroom, but since you vacuumed I'll just take $5.00"

I GLADLY GAVE HIM FIVE DOLLARS IN QUARTERS...G.L.A.D.L.Y!

Again, the Mom-Of-The-Year Award goes to......................

Me.

"Mommy, My favorite part was when the clown dropped the phone in his pants!"

A couple of weeks ago we started the summer reading program at our public library. The kids read so many books...they get prizes. So this week their prize was a free circus ticket....the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus! So we figured out we could go on opening night...(last night, Wednesday, July 1). After all, every kid should go to the circus, right?

Well since the kids' tickets were "free" there was a catch. We had to physically exchange them at the box office. So early Wednesday morning Paul and Jacob took our "free" tickets down to the Alamodome to exchange them for real tickets. He also, of course, had to purchase him and I tickets. Paul got there just before the box office opened and was second in line...so no problem getting tickets. Promptly at 10:00am one box office window opened and the person in front of Paul stepped up to the window. Just as the person in front of Paul was finishing, the box office opened up 5 more windows simultaneously. Paul was stepping up to the first window and from behind him was a horrible noise. He turned around to see "middle-aged" and "older" women hurdling the barricades to get to the windows. He said that he had to grab Jacob and jerk him out of the way of the stampede of women before he was trampled. He stepped up to the window just before a "lady" cut him off and exchanged our tickets. Good news! On the opening day of the circus the tickets are discounted! Yay! So mine and Paul's tickets cost us $22.00. Not to bad.

***Circus Expense Count - $22.00 + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 1.***

So later that evening we go to Chik-fil-A for a pre-circus meal and we have a conversation with the kiddos about the expense and "quality" of the items sold at the circus. We explained that we were going just to watch the circus and we were not going to buy any of the "crap"...ahem..."junk"...ahem...TOYS from the circus. We then enjoy our pre-circus meal.

***Circus Expense Count - $22.00 + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 1 + $25.00 at Chik-fil-A***

On to the circus. We have to pay $10.00 to park.

***Circus Expense Count - $22.00 + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 1 + $25.00 at Chik-fil-A + $10.00 for parking***

We get there a little early and wander through all of the circus...um...TOYS to get to our seats and sit down. Just before the circus started the kids said they were thirsty, so Paul went to get a drink. He came back with a couple bags of peanuts a coke and a bottle of water. We had already said no to the $12.00 cotton candy and the $9.00 sno-cone or lemonade in the souvenir cup

***Circus Expense Count - $22.00 + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 1 + $25.00 at Chik-fil-A +$10.00 for parking + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 2 + $15.00 in Circus snacks***

After a trip to the bathroom the circus starts. It's mostly your run-of-the-mill circus but there were a few new things that were really cool. The tigers and elephants were all the same...the same since I saw them as a little girl. The clowns were funny, the Ringmaster was over the top, the acrobats twisted their bodies in wierd ways, and seven motorcycles rode around a cage.

At the end of the circus I asked my kids what their favorite part of the circus was. Surely it was the amazing tigers or the motorcycles in the cage or the trapeze artists or the enormous elephants or the music or the lights...

Nope. Their favorite part was when the clown put a ladies cell phone down his pants. Hilarious.

All in all we had a great time. So glad we got "free" tickets to go.

***Circus Expense Count - $22.00 + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 1 + $25.00 at Chik-fil-A +$10.00 for parking + Gas to and from the Alamodome part 2 + $15.00 in Circus snacks + 3 super happy kids = awesome.