Operation Christmas Child

A couple of years ago part of our Christmas celebration with Cam's family was to each choose a paper angel - I think it was for Salvation Army. Each angel represented a child in need in that community. We had so much fun wandering through the store searching for the right gift(s) for our 'angel'. It was so exciting, so invigorating, and so fun! For me, it was way better than receiving any gift. I felt so full of love and joy. I don't fully understand how giving can be such a blessing, but amazing life and light shines through this simple act. This is my favorite adult Christmas memory.

So this year I've been hearing about Operation Christmas Child on the radio and have longed to pack a shoe box to donate to the cause but have been held back by the incorrect belief that I would have to take the box to another city where the radio station is located! I don't know why I thought that. So this morning I had a eureka moment when the dj announced that by simply going to the website I could type in my zip code and find a convenient drop off location near me! Wooo hoooo! First thing I got online and found out that the drop off place is about 4 blocks from my house!! I can't believe it and I'm so freakin excited I can hardly stand it. I want to have a shoe box party or something :)

So the deadline to drop off shoe boxes is Monday and my plan is to spend some time on Saturday doing this as a family and teaching Adi about giving. We've already sent our sponsor child Nomsa a Christmas package and now we get to make shoe boxes full of love and gifts that a child somewhere would not have had otherwise! I can't think of a better way to teach Adi about giving. If you want more info about doing the same you can click on one of the links above or visit Samaritan's Purse website. May this be a season full of giving, life and love.

Mazatlan Video

Flickr Photostream

We posted all of the photos of Cam's trip (and a few of Adi opening her "surprises" from Daddy upon his return). You can click here to see them.

Cam's Home

Cam got home at 3:30 am on Friday and is safe and sound. Well, mostly. He's had some stomach issues since his return but is feeling better. The trip was really wonderful for him and I'm sure I'll have more time later to post some of the stories and more photos but for now I'll just post a few.

On the way there:

Clinic:
The beach:
A Colonia home:
The team (Bill, Stephen, Cam & Katie):

More Blogging About Mazatlan

Since the info I get about what is going on in Mexico is pretty minimal I thought I would post a link to the blog of one of the mission leaders, Katie Iverson, for all of the friends and family that don't already know about Katie's Blog: http://www.iowaiversons.blogspot.com/

Katie tries to blog as often as she can about the goings-on of the team and their mission in Mexico. Enjoy!

Off to Mazatlan

Tomorrow Cam departs for his first mission trip to Mazatlan, Mexico. This is a huge deal for him as he's felt it on his heart to do mission work for the past year or so. In many ways this is a dream come true for Cam. He really wanted me to go with him, but for a number of reasons it didn't work out:

1. Money is always an issue (the trip costs $900 and Cam put all of his birthday money toward it and a few others helped out as well but the rest came out of our pockets. If you are interested in helping fund this mission trip you can visit First Giving to donate. If you've visited before you might notice that the total raised off-line has been significantly reduced - that's because we had previously included the amount we had saved on our own and I've updated it to reflect the total that has actually been donated.)
2. Though I'm on my 3 month contractual leave from work and don't have to try to get time off, we weren't able to make arrangements for someone to care for Adi while we would be gone
3. In addition to finding someone to care for Adi we would have needed to find someone to care for our 2 cats, Bella & Mojo as well as our dog, Ihry and all our little fishes
4. I'm completely paranoid about both of us traveling together and the plane going down, therefore leaving Adi with no parents - it's the truth
5. I still hope to be pregnant some day and as we planned we weren't sure if it would be safe to travel to Mexico while pregnant if God blessed us with pregnancy by the time of the trip, which He has not (we're still waiting on you, Lord)
6. To be perfectly honest I would do better on a mission trip with a different mission. I'm not a huge fan of Western medicine, and while it certainly has it's time and place, I don't think pharmaceuticals offer a long term answer to many health issues people are afflicted by (for example: heartburn). I believe that God created perfect nutrition to achieve perfect health... eating that way is the hard part. So honestly, I'd rather share God's love in other ways, by praying, teaching, and loving those in need. I know that's going to sound super snotty to many people and honestly I've never been there so I don't know what these people are afflicted by or how easily they could acquire proper nutrition so ultimately I'm at a loss here. It's just how I feel. This is where Cam is probably cringing at my honesty and thinking I said too much!

So today Cam and I were completely moved, blessed, and encouraged in a way we hadn't previously known possible. We decided to enjoy some coffee at the Java House to spend some adult time together while Adi was at preschool. A friend of ours from church was there and before this friend left, out of nowhere, they handed Cam $50 to use as he saw fit on the trip. It felt like such a big deal, someone handing over their hard earned money in the name of Jesus to support the mission.

It didn't end there. When we got the mail there was an envelope from one of Cam's co-workers. She's a single woman who lives simply and modestly on her own. We expected to see a note of encouragement, which is precisely what we received. What we did not expect was the $150 check she included. She felt God asking her to bless Cam with this money (which felt like such a huge sum considering her circumstances) in order to encourage him on this mission. Let me just say that both of us cried. Yes, we did. Even Cam. We tried to smooth it over a bit because Adi didn't know what was going on so I had the opportunity to teach her another life lesson about how sometimes we cry when we are so incredibly happy.

$200 in one day may not sound like a lot to most, but it was a big deal to us. It was God's provision in a way we've never experienced it before and we were at a loss for words. Only praise for our Lord and the path he's leading Cam on. Maybe someday I'll be on the same path.

More About Child Sponsorship

I realized that I mentioned sponsoring a child in Africa in honor of our lost one but I didn't expand on that at all.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty.

If you are interested in learning more about child sponsorship you can visit their website: http://www.worldvison.org/. You can even browse the waiting children and choose a child to sponsor or give a one time gift.

I'm so impressed by what World Vision is doing and I can't wait to do more. I know who's getting my birthday money this year!



"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:40