Category: Salkehatchie Series

Embracing Mary

Posted on by Wendy
Taking time to remember that we are all called to play a part in somebody’s village, could change how we see everything.

I was reluctant to sit down and write this post. I have so many things going on at the moment. My family is heading to South Carolina tomorrow for our Salkehatchie mission trip. There’s laundry to be done. There are suitcases to pack and where did I put my work gloves?

But, even as I yearned to get my to-do list checked off, I also felt a quiet voice which told me that I needed to take a time out and prepare myself spiritually for my trip as well.

It wasn’t loud or bossy. It was gentle, but persistent. It reminded me that quiet reflection time with Jesus trumps all we can physically do every single time. So I shushed my inner Martha for a little while at least, and attempted to embrace my inner Mary.

As usual, when I obey the calling of Christ, I was not disappointed.

I was reminded how life changing this particular mission field has been for my daughter. This will be her 4th trip. When she went the first time, she was so quiet and shy that she just did her best to scoot out of everyone’s way. It earned her the nickname Scooter. Everyone there calls her that. It’s a name she wears now with pride, one that she will treasure forever.

This year, she has been asked to bring her guitar and lead all of our worship songs in the evenings. She’s been practicing for days, which makes me give thanks for Vanda, her guitar teacher for seven years. Vanda’s time and love contributed to a gift that my daughter will carry for the rest of her life.

It’s so amazing when we have those special moments when we can look back on what has been and we can see God’s fingerprints all over our past. I’m so very thankful for the mighty village that God has gifted both of my children with.

I am reminded that we all have the opportunity and the calling to be a part of somebody’s village. We have the choice to make a positive kingdom impact on everyone’s lives that we touch. We have no idea the difference that a word of encouragement can make for someone or for that matter, we have no idea what kind of difference just sitting with someone and listening to them can make.

There are even times when a silly little nickname can change someone’s life forever. I’m glad I took a time out. Perhaps you need one too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

PS Due to the fact that I will likely spend much of next week on a roof in South Carolina, I won’t be posting next week. But, I’m super excited to see how God will reveal Himself on our trip and I look forward to sharing with you back here. My family would appreciate your prayers.

The Beauty of Christian Community

Posted on by Wendy
Christian community is an incredible blessing.

Over the holiday break, my family and I made a trip to South Carolina to visit our Two Rivers family from our summer mission trip. It’s always so good to see that faith family that God has so graciously placed in our lives. It was well worth the three hour drive.

Besides the food and fellowship, I was privileged to hold a baby that was on the way last summer. She happened to be the same baby that I got a call about asking for prayer, because there were complications late in the pregnancy. I prayed without ceasing and when she smiled at me that day, I saw Jesus. I saw answered prayers. I saw God’s work firsthand, as I often do when I’m with these people.

That’s the beauty of Christian community.

I also saw my friend who had lost his grandson in November. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry for his loss, and that I had been praying for him, but I struggled to find the words. Would I upset him? Would my words make him think about it? I just didn’t know what to say and so I said nothing.

Have you ever been there?

Thankfully, someone else did say something and then I expressed my condolences. It turned out, he really wanted to talk about it. His grandson didn’t just die in a car accident. He died trying to clear a huge piece of debris from the roadway so no one else would get hurt. He was only 22.

He went on to share that his other grandfather had given him some life changing news. Not too long before the accident, he had committed his life to Christ. He and his girlfriend had been attending church. That information made all of the difference to a grieving grandfather who now knows that he will someday be reunited with his precious grandson.

When I told him I was still praying for him and his family, he shared that the prayers from Facebook had really kept him going.

It turns out that there really weren’t any wrong or right words; he just needed someone willing to enter into his grief with him.

That’s the beauty of Christian community.

When my daughter shared with another mentor there, her concerns about a friend who is making some bad decisions, he quietly listened to her and reminded her that all we can really do is plant seeds and maybe give a little water. The rest is not up to us. He encouraged her to be there for her friend, but to remember that she can’t fix it.

That’s the beauty of Christian community.

I had my own struggle when I arrived there. I had seriously been praying about whether or not I should keep blogging. I have so little quiet time these days. I had yet to receive any answers. When we went to visit one of our homeowners, we went back over to the cross we had placed in the yard, to take a picture. We didn’t get one last year after we cleaned up, because it was raining.

There, at the cross, two different people said to me how much they enjoyed reading my words and I had my answer. Why am I not surprised that I got it at the cross?

That’s the beauty of Christian community.

I sometimes forget how important and empowering Christian community can be and what an incredible gift it is. A trip to South Carolina reminded me.

Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Prayers for Peace and Understanding

Posted on by Wendy
Only God can lead us to peace.
Only God can lead us to peace.

Yesterday morning, I was tired. I stayed up too late waiting for election results. When I checked my Facebook feed, hoping that the brutal election language was over, I was very disappointed.

My conservative friends were gloating. My liberal friends were acting like the end of the world had arrived and both sides had to state their opinions in several posts. One was simply not enough. There were even people who had to list the reasons why they voted this way or that way, as if anyone really cares at this point.

As I took a few minutes to scroll through the noise that still populated my feed, a post from a dear Salkehatchie friend, caught my eye. He is one of the kindest men I have ever met. He’s a retired engineer and he works tirelessly in the summer heat to help Christian teens help others who are in desperate need.

I stopped scanning and read his post. He doesn’t post much, so I always take the time to read what he has to say. His message took my breath away. He asked for prayers for his family from his Facebook friends. His oldest grandson had been killed in an accident. He asked specifically for prayers for peace and understanding and ended with a simple thank you.

My eyes filled with tears as I said a prayer and my heart broke for him. I wasn’t surprised that he got many prayer replies and I wasn’t surprised to see that quite a few came from our Salkehatchie family.

This election has sucked up enough of the air waves. The division it has caused has been stunning. I don’t believe for a minute that it’s the end of the Republic, just as I don’t believe for a minute that a savior has been chosen.

In a couple of months, all of this ugliness will have died down. In twenty years, people won’t even remember the hateful words spewed from both sides. But, there’s a family who will always remember what happened to them on election night 2016, something far more important than whether a Democrat or Republican was elected.

He asked for prayers for peace and understanding which are the only things, along with the grace of Jesus, that can heal my sweet friend and his family. Come to think of it, those are the only things that can heal America too. I humbly ask you to join me in praying for both.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Roof Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
Just like a roof protects a house, our spiritual coverings protect our hearts.
Just like a roof protects a house, our spiritual coverings protect our hearts.

Last week, I got a message from my friend Amy, who is the director of the Two Rivers Salkehatchie mission camp that my family attends in the summer. I’m always happy to hear from her and anyone else from that camp. She wanted to check with me on some dates for next summer. It’s only October and she’s already at work planning next summer’s projects.

Amy, along with all of the people at Two Rivers, have become family to my family. We talk about them often. We are better people when we work side by side with them helping people who cannot help themselves. Even though we only see them physically, once a year, they have become part of our village.

We are prayer partners with each other. We are warriors for each other. We work together on the physical and the spiritual. We are all aware that our faith requires us to do both.

One of the many lessons I have learned from working on Salkehatchie houses is the importance of roofs. We talk a lot about foundations in our faith and they are very important. A house with a solid foundation can withstand just about anything that gets thrown at it.

Christians with good foundations are equally as strong. When we are rooted in God’s Word and our hearts belong to Jesus, we can weather any storm.

But, we also need to consider our roofs. When a roof springs a leak, it allows water to come in that causes all types of damage and destruction along with other things like mold and rot.

As Christians, we too, have to watch our spiritual coverings, our spiritual roofs. What are we allowing to seep in that may cause damage? If we aren’t covering ourselves with prayer, if we aren’t covering ourselves with scripture, if we aren’t covering ourselves with strong Christian community, we may be allowing small leaks to form.

When we aren’t careful, we can find ourselves doing things like giving in to anger over the trivial, or choosing to be hurt instead of letting offhand comments go, or choosing to believe lies about ourselves or others, whispered to us by our enemy. We can become active in gossip and tearing others down. We can become jealous of other people’s success.

Those are all leaks that over time, can cause some serious damage. They can cause a type of mold to grow in our hearts. When we keep our spiritual roofs in good shape, the bad stuff just rolls off. It has no place to seep in.

Working on roofs at Two Rivers has taught me a lot more than just how to use a nail gun. It’s taught me the importance of staying spiritually covered as well.

A Facebook message from a friend reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

See You in Heaven

Posted on by Wendy
I will always treasure the lessons I learned on my mission trip.
I will always treasure the lessons I learned on my mission trip.

There’s a man who has been a leader on both of my Salkehatchie mission trips. He’s a retired navy fighter pilot. He’s completely white-headed and a force to be reckoned with. He’s tough as nails, just as you would hope one of our soldiers would be. He loves Jesus and he loves working with and sharing his faith with teenagers.

The kids have a deep respect for him as do I, even if they are a little intimidated by him at first.

On our last trip, we were finished up on our work site and we were headed out for milkshakes at a local restaurant called Rush’s. We were in three different vehicles. As we loaded up, he said, “I’ll see you at Rush’s or I’ll see you in Heaven.”

I kind of laughed and I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he went on to explain that he always tells his wife that when he leaves home. He tells her he will see her when he returns or that he will see her in heaven.

I thought about that statement long after we finished our milkshakes. I thought about the faith behind the words. I thought about the dangerous job he had has a fighter pilot and then as a commercial airline pilot. Those are both jobs that I would think, would take great faith to engage in everyday.

But, I also thought about how we are never certain which day on earth will be our last. We could all go at any time. No one knows when tragedy will strike. But, my friend’s words are such a beautiful reminder that none of us are permanent residents here. We are all just travelers.

When he says confidently to his wife, when he leaves the house, that he will see her when he returns or he will see her in heaven, it serves as a daily reminder who he is, who he belongs to and where he is headed. It reminds him to make his days count, to make his actions count, to make his words count.

It reminds him to tell the ones he loves that he loves them.

The words are not morbid or pessimistic. They are a promise that when we belong to Jesus, something better awaits us. If we don’t make it back to our earthly home, today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year, we are assured and our loved ones are assured, that we will see them again. We will one day be reunited.

They are words of hope that I feel blessed that he shared with me and I felt led to share here. See you next time or I’ll see you in heaven. I think those are words worth repeating.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Master of Preparation

Posted on by Wendy
Prep work may be boring, but it's so very necessary.
Prep work may be boring, but it’s so very necessary.

Last week on our Salkehatchie mission trip, when it the time came to paint Miss Annie’s house, we had to do some prep work. Her front porch was screened and if we didn’t cover the screen with some sort of protection, the brand new paint would have dripped on it and ruined it.

Our best intentions would have caused damage.

Some of the teens got a little impatient with all of the taping and cutting and hanging. It took some time. They just wanted to paint, but those of us who were older and hopefully wiser, insisted that we get the porch covered before we painted. I am happy to report that not one drop of paint got on her screen.

Our painting prep project reminds me about the massive amount of prep work that went into the entire experience last week. I have thought about all of our lunches and dinners that our director Amy, set up for us through different churches, and one town hall. I have thought of the many hands that prepared each meal for complete strangers, simply because we were helping members of their community, members many of them didn’t even know.

I have thought about our breakfast angels who got up at the crack of dawn every morning to prepare and serve us breakfast with a smile. They had to plan for a week’s worth of breakfasts for a lot of people. We wouldn’t have been very productive if they hadn’t done all of the work way ahead of time. A pop tart wouldn’t have kept tummies full for very long. Those ladies did a bunch of prep work.

I have thought of the site leaders who had to plan in advance for the materials we needed to work on the homes. They had them delivered to the work site so we were ready to go on Monday morning. Because of the prep work, the teams were able to immediately get to work and bonds and relationships were quickly formed.

I have thought about the Holy Spirit at work and how each person there was either personally convicted to come or their parents had been convicted to send them. There were a few who didn’t come by choice and didn’t really want to be there. But, by Friday, each one of them said they would be back the next year.

God knew where they needed to be and He prepared their hearts along the way, for something magnificent. They didn’t miss it.

I have thought about my own family and our convoluted story of how we ended up there and how God was preparing three years ago, for my entire family to attend this year.

Our Salkehatchie trip literally takes my breath away when I think about all of the prep work God did through so many people, to make it happen.

Ephesians 2:10 keeps coming to mind. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God is definitely the Master of preparation. He really does have a plan. I can’t wait to see what He will do next year.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Witnessing Everyday Miracles

Posted on by Wendy
We often pass over everyday miracles because we fail to look closely.
We often miss everyday miracles because we fail to look closely.

On Thursday of our mission trip, our work site finished up. It was early. There are normally small tasks to do until the very last minute. But, this year, we got it done early. Our site leader shook his head and said it was a first for him in his many years, like twenty-plus, in working at Salkehatchie camps.

The two men with big trucks and trailers had a discussion of whether or not they should go ahead and pull their trailers out or wait until the next day when we returned to place our cross in the yard. They went back and forth, but eventually decided to go ahead and break everything down and pull them out.

As a bonus, they dropped them off at the church and took the entire crew out for milkshakes. We were all thrilled. Later, after we got showers and got ready to go to dinner, a storm rolled in. We were thankful that we weren’t caught out in it and didn’t think too much of it, initially.

Right before we left the church to go to dinner, our homeowner, Miss Annie, called our camp director, going on and on, about how lucky we were that we had pulled our trailers out. Apparently, the storm that came through at her house had taken down a huge limb right where one of our trailers had been parked and the wind had turned over our porta potty.

On our drive to dinner, I shared the information with the group of teens in my car. The younger ones riding in the back, weren’t particularly impressed. But, the eighteen- year- old, riding in the front with me, who was a veteran of Salkehatchie, and had helped out for years, got quiet a minute and grinned as the news sunk in.

He told me that in all of his years helping that he had never known a crew to pack up and pull out trailers on a Thursday and asked me wasn’t it amazing how God was at work?

I was amazed myself and also amazed at the wisdom of this teenager, but then, when we have our kids do God’s work regularly, then I suppose, we shouldn’t be surprised when they recognize Him at work too.

We stopped by the work site after dinner to see the limb. The tree had actually split and the trailer that had been underneath it all week, that was full of tools and already scheduled to work at another Salkehatchie camp in a couple of weeks, would have without a doubt, been crushed.

But, God had a plan for that trailer and its contents and for the family who I am sure desperately needs it in a couple of weeks, and so He intervened.

After seeing it, I think my doubters in the backseat were convinced as well. Miss Annie was also amazed at the protection God had provided. She told us that she knew that God was working for us.

I am still filled with awe at the miracle we got to witness. I’m so incredibly grateful that God chose to show His face in that way, to a bunch of teens, still fairly new on their faith journey, so much so, that I wanted to share it with you too.

I pray that you are amazed and moved as we were.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The View from Our Knees

Posted on by Wendy
It's amazing the difference that a group of Christians can make in someone's life in five days.
It’s amazing the difference that a group of Christians can make in someone’s life in only five days.

On a recent mission trip that my family attended, we toured two houses in need of repair. My daughter and I felt drawn to one and my hubby and son felt drawn to the other. This, as it turns out, was not by accident.

This was my hubby’s and son’s first trip to a Salkehatchie mission camp and they were not particularly excited about it in the beginning. My daughter and I had talked about it regularly since the year before. Our experience had filled us with such passion for returning and helping others that we found it difficult to contain it.

It’s kind of like when people first come to know Christ and they can’t stop talking about their newfound faith. Those of us who have walked with Jesus for a long time, can find ourselves getting annoyed, if we’re not careful about it.

My hubby and son were growing a little weary of hearing about our mountain top experiences and about the amazing group of faithful servants who we not only worked with, but had come to think of as family.

I prayed all year that God would provide a way for us to return this year and that the men in my family would be as moved and inspired as my daughter and I had been.

Well, you know what they say: “When you pray for rain, you better get an umbrella….”

Orlando, the homeowner, on the work site that my hubby and son were on, had spina bifida and had spent his entire life using arm crutches. He had inherited his house from his parents, but it was badly in need of repair.

It was very dark inside. The carpet was decades old. The kitchen was a loss. There wasn’t a working toilet in the house and the house was covered in years of grime.

Orlando had been waiting for help for years and he was clearly depressed. He didn’t have much to say at all, when our group came through the first time.

But, although he thought he had been forgotten, God was at work.

In the span of five days, his life was changed. A crew came in and scrubbed everything from walls, to floors, to furniture. A new toilet and vanity were placed in his bathroom. He got a washer and dryer and new floors. His counter tops were replaced and walls were painted. He got new carpet.

My hubby headed up the carpet crew and got to spend a lot of time with Orlando. He was incredibly touched by his story. He was moved by the way that Orlando brightened up each day. He was amazed at the way Orlando took more and more pride in his home as the week went on. He was thrilled when Orlando accepted the cross necklace that he offered him.

At the end of the week, each person who attended and worked, was asked to stand up and share with everyone a symbol that demonstrated how God had shown Himself that week.

When my hubby shared his, he began by saying that he had spent the entire week on his knees, dealing with carpet. While on his knees, he saw God in every staple and every tack strip. In short, while on his knees, he saw God everywhere he looked, including in Orlando’s newfound smile.

I don’t think he could have said it any better. Perhaps we should all try it. He’s already talking about going back next year.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Being the Ears

Posted on by Wendy
There are many ways to serve God, some more active than others, but all are important.
There are many ways to serve God, some more active than others, but all are important.

Last week, my family attended a mission work camp in South Carolina. This was my second year. I was no longer a rookie. I went in with skills and confidence that I didn’t have the year before. When we visited the two houses we would be working on, only one needed a roof. That was the once I chose.

I had learned a fair amount about roofing the previous year and I was ready to go. Monday, I got up on the roof and got busy and we got a lot done, so much so, that it was decided to rotate some newbies to the roof on Tuesday.

Our crew was a little larger than we actually needed and all of the grown ups, me included, believed it was better for the youth to be busy at work on the roof, than the adults.

I was grounded and a little bummed. I had been waiting for an entire year to serve as the hands and feet of Christ and now I wasn’t even on the roof.

But, God had other plans for me this year.

Our homeowner was named Miss Annie. She was disabled from years of seizures. Her body was week and she had to use arm crutches, but her spirit was strong. Everyday, she had one of the teens staying in her house to escort her with her wheelchair, outside to our work trailer. She would then sit down and visit for a couple of hours.

She had a heartbreaking story to tell and she really wanted to share it. She told of a family riddled with mental illness. She told of the death of a disabled grandchild, right there in the house we were roofing. She told of the death of her mother, also in that house and of the stroke that left her daughter disabled.

She talked about poverty and the inability to afford physical therapy, but she also talked of hope.

She said that when her roof began to leak, she bought buckets and she sought help. She said for three years, she had been passed over; and the rains kept coming, so she bought more buckets and kept praying.

She told me that she hoped to get stronger so that she could volunteer at the hospital to visit with people who were up there for days on end like she had been with her granddaughter. She said that people who took the time to visit with her had been the only bright spot some days.

She told me that our group was an answer to her prayers.

Miss Annie made me laugh and she made me want to cry. Some of her stories were hard to hear, but she needed to tell them. She needed for someone to sit with her and listen. She needed for someone to care about her journey.

God used Miss Annie last week to teach me that the ears are just as important to the Body of Christ as the hands and feet are. He taught me that sometimes we can do just as much good planted firmly on the ground as we can high in the air. He taught me that attentively listening to someone can sometimes accomplish the same amount of repair as a hammer can.

We all have a part to play. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Embracing the Call

Posted on by Wendy
Please pray for us as we embark on a new adventure with Jesus.
Please pray for us as we embark on a new adventure with Jesus.

This week, my family and I are embarking on a new adventure. We are all participating in a Salkehatchie mission camp and as usual, I am amazed as I look back at how God was working to get us there.

A few years ago, at my last church, a family moved into our area from South Carolina. The father in that family, had participated in Salkehatchie for many years and was always more than willing to talk about it. Honestly, I never gave the mission trip idea too much thought. My kids were younger then and I was called to run Vacation Bible school.

A couple of years passed and at the last minute, our youth leader decided that the youth summer mission trip would be to a Salkehatchie work camp. They are all over the state of South Carolina and they had no idea which one they would attend.

In the end, only three teen girls, the youth leader and a college student attended and my daughter’s life was changed forever.

I’ve no doubt, looking back, that it was no coincidence that the place they ended up was a smaller church. Some of the camps have over a hundred kids. This one could only take forty. It was a community. I also have no doubt that God was behind separating my daughter from her two best friends that she took with her, although at the beginning of the week, she was devastated.

She ended up forging beautiful brand new, Christ centered friendships with the people on her work site. She ended up helping to lead praise and worship, playing her guitar. And since she had to actually be the hands and feet of Christ out in the world, she ended up growing her faith.

She came home talking about her experience constantly. If I’m honest, we kind of got tired of hearing about it.

The next year came and she wanted to go, but we had changed churches and no one would commit to go with her. She wanted a buddy. But, those servants of God, at that camp, kept reaching out to us. They would text her and message me on Facebook.

I was willing to go with her, but we hadn’t really saved up for two of us to go. The leadership there was undaunted; they offered to scholarship one of us. I didn’t have a Vacation Bible school to run; I felt perhaps God was calling me to a new ministry.

We both returned talking non-stop about it. I prayed about the money to go the following year and what do you know? God provided.

This year, our entire family is going. I shared here, a few days ago, about how my church’s attempt at VBS this year, didn’t get off the ground and how I was disappointed, but not discouraged. I received so many sweet comments about the passion that others had seen in me for that ministry and how they too, were disappointed for me.

But, last year, at Salkehatchie, those people were shocked that I felt called to work with young children at VBS. They felt like I was definitely called to work with teenagers in service to the community.

And that’s why we have to keep our eyes on Jesus on this journey we call life. It’s not about what we think we want or do best. It’s about embracing wherever He has called us to be and whatever He has called us to do, right now in this season at this moment.

It’s about glorifying God with every little bit of our passions and talent. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

This week, I will join with other Christians to repair the home of someone who is desperately in need and I won’t be posting, but I can’t wait to share all of the many ways that God will show Himself to us this week.

We appreciate your prayers. Meet you back here soon.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂