God's Good Words: July 2012

Hey there guys! As most of you know, I went on my second mission trip this past week. I left last Sunday and got back on Friday about 3:30. And let me tell you, I was so happy to be home, but sad to leave new found friends and a little boy that has captured my heart and will forever be there...and no it is not a boyfriend. But you will soon be captured by him as you read below. So without further ado, let’s here about my week (and this is straight from my journal).

Day One (Arrival July 22, 2012):

So we arrived in Sneedville, TN. When we arrived, we were the only church there and I thought for a while we were going to be the only church. But another church arrived. They were from Virginia...St. Matthews Church. And this time on the way over, I wasn’t getting as homesick as I did last year, but I was definitely homesick because I have not spent more than 5 days at home ALL SUMMER. Sneedville is the 4th poorest county in the United States. Here in Sneedville, there is a lot of drug related problems...smoking, dip, tobacco, alcohol, the list goes on. But we had a long 5 hour drive. During our 5 hour drive, I read my book for school. When the other church arrived, we got to know everyone in our room. And we didn’t sleep on the floor. It was basically a huge room with lots of mattresses on beds and our room this year had AC! Yay! That night, we had Big Group which is everyone gets together and we play games and have worship time and something called Testimonies! We played a game and I got 2nd place both times and A+ for my effort. We finished up with some worship songs. And our theme songs were 10,000 Reasons/Bless the Lord by Matt Redman and a song called No Place I’d Rather Be. We were asked to think about it and if we were feeling called to share either our testimonies or tell what God placed on your hearts today during Testimonies time. We were told we had chores we had to do: breakfast, bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, or sweep the hallways. Water there is sulfur water so it smelled disgusting and you can’t brush your teeth with it so we have to go into town everyday and get clean water and bring it back and use it for everything we do whether it be cooking, brushing your teeth, washing your face, or just plain drinking. I have to be up early tomorrow because I have breakfast duty in the morning. Yay! NOT.

Day Two (July 23, 2012):

Woke up at 5:45 for breakfast duty. Realized I didn’t sleep last night because someone was snoring so loud...and it wasn’t me :) . After breakfast was over, we went out to quiet time and we are talking about listening to God...so everything is related to sound. Today’s was sound waves. We all have different rhythms in life. Our different rhythms create us. They make us unique. Today, we went to the park. And we were told to just go knock on the doors and ask for children and that we would bring them back later. I went with one of the staff members, Grace, to get some kids that live up the street from the park. I was asked/volunteered to work with a little boy CJ. Yes this is the little boy that has stolen my heart. He is 9 years old, has blond curly hair, and is skinny. He also has 3 siblings. He has a brother named Noah (going into 2nd), a sister named Emily (going into 3rd), and Savannah (going into Kindergarten). He also has Asperger's. He is so cute. I was scared because I have worked with kids that have Asperger’s disease, but I have always had an adult with me. But one thing I learned about myself is that I am capable to stand on my own two feet and can be confident and do anything I want on my own because I have God. CJ and I built a sand town. It had a castle, water tower, baseball stadium, volcano, and a canyon. We kicked the soccer ball around and we talked about the movie Rio. CJ wants to take me to Brazil. So we are planning that trip in about 6 years. Today during free time, we worked on our ministry mission work. My group is doing songs for the evening programs for the kids. We practiced for about an hour and half and then everyone has learned to make bracelets. Great bonding experience. Finally got my first shower in and it was gross but it got the job done. That night, I didn’t feel well. My side was killing me and I gave back all my dinner that night. Took another shower to see if it made me feel better...could not tell a difference.

Day Three (July 24, 2012):

Woke up feeling much better. I got up and was ready to go to the park and play with CJ. Last night, CJ and I built a kingdom in the sand pit. Then it was story time. We had people act out Daniel 6. It was so much fun watching all the kids laugh and giggle. I got some pictures of CJ playing and CJ and I. Today at the park, CJ and I colored in is SpongeBob coloring book. He loves SpongeBob. Then we played with bubbles. He would just run around and pop them and was entertained for 2 hours. It was awesome to see him smiling and laughing. Today, we had a service project we had to do. We went to this elderly’s lady house. She was as cute as a button. She reminded me a lot of my grandmamma. We had to clean out her gutters, plants flowers, and clean out an old shed. I found an old window that I am hoping to make into a picture frame. Ashley (our leader), Mrs. Darla, and I had lovely conversations to and from the dumpster. Tonight at the park, CJ wasn’t there because he was going to Rogersville with his family. So everyone at the park played a baseball game and we lost by 3. That’s okay, as long as we had fun. I missed CJ though. Tonight at Big Group, we were singing and the afterwards we all just sat and prayed. It was awesome to see the mood change in the room. Today was a great day. I was exhausted by the end of the day. But when I am completely tired...that is when God shines through.

Day Four (July 25, 2012):

Last night, or if you want to call in this morning, all of the girls from Parkway “cuddled.” It was more like all of us laying down on four beds and just laughing our heads off. We had just finished eating popsicles. It was so funny because we had never as a group since we got there just laughed and enjoyed each others company. It was quite refreshing. And then we were just dead 5 minutes later. During my quiet time, I was asking God to talk to me and see what he wanted me to do for my ATL project. ATL is Ask The Lord. I found that I was getting distracted and was like...okay maybe God is telling me something. I was reading my bible and I looked down for a second and there, right before my eyes was a four leaf clover. I didn’t know what God wanted me to do with that or what it symbolized. But I picked it up and shortly there after, a gust of wind came and blew it away. Okay God, now what? I was rounding up kids that morning and a little girl named Autumn was walking with me. We were headed to pick up Ethan and Anthony (two little boys who were dailys that came to the park) and as we were walking, she saw a flower bed and said “Can I go pick that flower?” I told her no because it was someone’s flower bed, but she refused to listen and she went and picked it anyways. And what did she do with it. She gave it to me. I thanked God for giving me my sign. So I went with my friend Taylor, and we went around to all the apartments and handed out flowers that had scriptures on them (1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 142:2). ATL will be coming shortly. So at the park this morning, CJ and I were playing with this toy armadillo. CJ wanted to build it a home. So we started building and we buried it underground and then it came time to feed the armadillo. So we started digging for it and we couldn’t find it anywhere. It was gone... Later in the day, we went for a hike. And at the top of it was a waterfall and you could swim if you wanted. I was just enjoying the scenery because the water was 6’ deep. On my way to sit down, I twisted my ankle. It hurt so bad. We all got back and had dinner and as I was leaving the dining room, I slice my finger on the door. Don’t know how I did that. That night at the park, CJ and I played in the sand. We played for an hour and half straight. And for that hour and half, not a word was said. All you could hear was CJ singing. He got upset when it was time to leave. I didn’t want to leave him. During small group, I mentioned that we all came here hoping to leave an imprint on their hearts, but really we are leaving with the footprints they left on our hearts. I am mentally and physically exhausted.

Day Five (July 26, 2012):

I woke up this morning feeling like I had been run over by a train. God has used me to my max but he knows I can do more. Today is the last day. I am so sad. Today during quiet time, we were asked to pray to God and ask him to help us go up to 3 people and tell them how you have seen God move in your life or their life or just whatever you want to tell them. God told me to talk to Grace. As I was talking to her, she is literally like my big sister. She has been my rock throughout this whole journey. And while I was talking with her, I asked her if I could adopt her as my big sister and she said YES! At the park, I was hoping not one kid would mention that today was our last day. CJ came running up to me and was like “guess what?” and I said “what?” CJ goes “Today is our last day.” I almost cried. When I was dropping CJ off this morning, he goes “I don’t want you to leave.” Broke my heart. Today for ATL, Taylor and I went around to all the apartments and handed out flowers. Some were excited, some were shocked, and some were just didn’t know what to say. I am on kitchen duty tonight. Tonight for dinner is: Chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. Yum! So tonight I rode with Grace to go pick up CJ and as we were walking back down to the park, CJ tripped and skinned both his elbows and knees. I felt so bad. So after he got all cleaned up, I told CJ my last goodbye there but not the last he will ever here from me. I went with Mrs. Jordie to go to the Holler. It is a whole family (extended and all) that lives on one street. There was this little girl named Alicia. She was so sweet. And she put me in “jail” because I was the new kid there. And then she “married” me and my “husband”. First I was married to Lucas (one of the staff members) and then I got married to Nathan Dominique. It was a lot of fun! Barry was my dad. Then we got divorced because according to my dad, he wasn’t the perfect guy for me. Tonight at Big Group, it was very intense. We sang songs and then we did testimonies. I listened for quite some time and then I went up. I didn’t share my testimony but I did thank everyone for playing and helping out with CJ. And helping me through the tough/difficult times. Lots of tears were shed.

Day Six (July 27, 2012):

Going home! :( I was sad to leave all my new found friends. I am going to miss CJ and Grace especially. During my trip, I learned a lot about God, love, and relationships. I also learned a lot about myself and what I think God is calling me to do. We will keep praying!

Thank you all for praying for me! I appreciate them all! I love you guys! And I am so glad to be back home!

Love,

Karianne :)

Phil 4:11-13
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