OSC--Guanajuato 2010

So, today I’ve been to the store 4 different times to pick up team supplies that we need.  I still have one more trip to go, as well as meeting a parent at the U-Haul rental place to pick up a trailer…all before 6pm!  Oh, and I haven’t put a single stitch of clothing in a suitcase for myself :)  What a day!!!

Devotional booklets are printing out as I type this…I am very excited about these.  Our focus on the trip will be a devotional entitled: Continued Closerness.  It is a credit to the man and the legend, Brian Hodge.  In case you don’t know, our youth group is named One Step Closer.  One of our goals for this year in the ministry is not to simply rest at taking One Step Closer (to God, to each other, to whatever!) but rather to continually be drawing nearer to the One who has redeemed us!  In that spirit, we have coined the term continued closerness to describe our continual, constant coming together :)  We will spend time all over the Scriptures while we are in Mexico, from the Psalms to Samuel to Ephesians and Joshua.  I’m pumped to see what God has in store!

Yesterday I spoke with Alex.  He is the MTW guy down in Mexico.  We chatted for a long while about what they need down there, how things have been going, things they’ve learned from the first couple of groups (one group forgot to have their team bring water bottles…yikes!).  I think we are well prepared for the trip and trust that whatever God throws at us we will be able to roll with and just enjoy the ride.  I am experienced enough in these things to know that all the planning and preparations we have made are simply our best efforts to be prepared for what WE THINK God is going to do while we are down there…I know better than to assume that our plans will end up matching God’s plans this week!  After speaking with Alex I got a sense of peace and excitement about the trip that I hadn’t experienced before.  Alex reassured me that we are prepared and something about the way he and I interact puts me at ease.  We think the same way, express things similarly, and anticipate the same issues.  Working with him for a week is going to be WAY fun :)

I’ve been checking facebook today as I’ve waited for things (devos to print out, laundry that I thought was clean but wasn’t to wash and dry, breakfast to cook, etc) and I’ve noticed a lot of the same status updates: “packing for Mexico, see you in a week!” “only 7 more hours until Mexico!  WOO HOO!” etc.  I think the youth are getting pumped too!

This disjointed collection of rambling thoughts will probably be the last update you get while we are still in the states (perhaps I’ll put one more up tonight before head out but no promises).  Please pray for us while we are gone.  God is great and He has something great in store for this group of young people.  I can’t wait to see what He does.  Check back often to see whats happening and what God is doing and how you can pray for us!

Prayer Requests:

• Traveling mercies and safety…driving to the airport, flying, and then getting to the camp!
• Group Unity—pray that God would knit our hearts together as a team and that we would come back closer than when we left.
• Open hearts—both on our team and with the people we meet in Mexico.  Pray that God would be preparing all of our hearts for what He wants to do this week.
• Our Families—we will miss them and love them lots!