Saturday, July 05, 2008

An Odd Feeling....


Howdy all,

This morning something odd happened. We sent a mission group on a mission trip ... without me! I'll be joining them next week, but it was a very odd feeling to put them in the vans and then watch them drive off!

Nineteen people left this morning for a week at the Benito Juarez orphanage in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. They will work on various construction projects in the mornings and just hang out with the kids in the afternoons and evenings. We've been doing this for several years with our youth. What's funny is this year of the twenty people who will be on the trip (including me), only nine are minors! We've got a lot of adults on this trip, more than normal.

One special thing about this trip is that my oldest daughter, Joy, will be staying at the orphanage when we return next week. She's going to be interning there for three months. Joy was born in Coaztacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico when Lori and I were missionaries there. She has dual-citizenship, which is kind of cool. I'm really excited for her and proud of her. She has a huge heart of compassion and loves everything about Mexico. I think this will be a great experience for her. (And she's paying her own way, which is cool too! )

I'll be joining the group next week. The trip was originally scheduled for the end of July but got moved up to this week to fit several people's schedules. But we have a city council meeting on Tuesday and since I'm mayor pro temp, I have to be there to moderate as Mayor Fields will be out of town. So I will fly down on Wednesday morning. Which brings me to an interesting story.

Regular readers of this blog (all two of you!) will remember that last year I was blessed to make a trip around with world with Patrick Calhoun, president of Christians Sharing Christ Film Ministries. We literally flew around the world through Japan to the Philippines, then on to Nepal, India and Pakistan before returning across Europe to Chicago and back home. However, the very first leg of our flight from Alexandria to Dallas got cancelled due to weather. We ended up driving to Dallas and American Airlines gave us each a voucher for future travel. Here's where it gets interesting!

The voucher was for $238 for a flight from Alexandria to Dallas. When I checked on a one-way flight from Alexandria connecting through Dallas to McAllen, TX the fare was only $203! And on top of that, my voucher expired at midnight on July 9, the very day I needed to fly to McAllen! Isn't God good?!?! One year in advance He made preparations for this trip. You talk about "all things work together for good!" Sounds like a good note to end on! See you next time!

Blessings,
Nathan

P.S. When I got my ticket in the mail, they only charged me $179, leaving me with a $59 voucher good through next year! God is winking! ;)

No comments: