Beachin' It!

I have not disappered again...I just happen to be at the beach with my family. I plan on posting again soon..it has just been real busy!!! And, i don't have my computer that has all my photos that I have been blogging on recently...Stay tuned!!!!

Have you ever wondered?...

Have you ever wondered if it would really make a difference for you to go on a mission trip?Maybe you can read between the lines here....

A dirty poor country

A place to find God....

Language barriers..

Active communication..

      Different food...

                Real taste of culture..             

Sweet compassionate Dominicans...

My brothers and sisters in Christ..

Litter everywhere,

Crazy traffic,

  Beautiful children...

One sweet boy I fed a banana too...

The face that still makes me smile..

The reach of a little girl's hand...

A touch of a grown woman's heart...

Three simple words...Lasting effects...

A simple relay race at VBS...

A whole day full of laughs!!!!

Barren land... Bright starry skies..

Homes shattered by despair...

 

Hearts healed by a hug..

Kids running after a van...

Me not wanting to say goodbye..

One simple, "Ok, I'll go....

Incredible change.

Servants and a good 'ol Footwashing!

One of the nights of the Leadership training dealt with being a servant. Now, sometimes people just automatically assume when you are in church leadership that you have it made! But, that is not always the case. Being married to a pastor I know all to well that you get dirty! God does not call us to be served, but for us to serve others. I will say that Hilton and I love serving others. It's not always easy, but God never promised that our life would be easy. Sometimes you get hurt, criticized, mocked, betrayed and burned out from living a life of servanthood. But...we just pick our self up when that happens, and start over.

Anyway, during our training there was a portion of the service where our team "served" the leaders at Iglesia Bautista. We did a good 'ol foot washing service. In America, that is almost unheard of to do. But, oh my goodness..I wish that it would be incorporated again. I personally did not partake and wash another woman's foot. I took pictures that night. But it was so emotional! It was a beautiful moment.

My fellow mission team got on their hands and feet and washed the feet of these humble men and women of God. Just like Jesus did to Peter. See being a leader doesn't mean that you are above everyone else and you are too good to get down and dirty. In fact, being a leader in church means the opposite. We are to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus. He didn't come to this earth to be served. But, he came as a lowly servant and died for our disgusting sins...He got down on his hands and feet..and washed..the disgusting..feet of his disciple! Wow! I personally believe that if you want good followers that there leader will set the example.We can't expect our members at our Bethel church to do as we say...but we know that if we tell them to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal the sick...go on a mission trip...THEN WE MUST DO IT FIRST! I would much rather follow someone who has.. BEEN THERE,DONE THAT....

I was so moved by the service! And the Dominican's who were there that night were so touched as well...
I love this picture. If you don't know this is a picture of our leaders...Hilton(pastor) Bryan(he is at Bethel,and is being lead into the ministry), Gregg (our worship pastor) and Jonathan(a deacon in our church)They are washing the feet of some brothers in Christ. This picture speaks volumes for me. Wow! Our leaders on their knees...serving...What a blessing!

Phyllis washing Daihanna's feet. What a humbling experience! What a beautiful moment!

At first, Julio didn't want Bryan and Hilton to do this. The Dominicans were so humble during the foot washing! They just couldn't believe what we were doing! Huge smiles were upon their faces.

This was such a sweet moment. Gregg washed the feet of his dear friend, Vladi. Vladi is so special to him and I know it meant a lot for him and for dear Vladi! We received such a blessing for serving!

Amazing how God can move in a service that required a few handtowels and a bowl of water! Thank you Lord for showing the perfect example of how to serve others!

Prayer

Sorry folks, I had to take a short break from posting about my mission trip to ask for you all to pray. As we were so focused on getting ready for our trip to the Dominican Republic, little did I know that before we left I would be faced with a huge test in my life..I believe in prayer so I am asking you to help me..please join with me and pray for the healing of my parents...
Here is how it all began...

As we were preparing to go home in Dec. 2009 to spend time with our families, we get a phone call from mom on Christmas. She explained daddy was in the hospital and couldn't stop vomiting. We rushed home and seemed relieved that the doctor thought it was a bowel obstruction, and in a day he would be home...Whew! What a relief..so we thought. So, he did seem to be a little better, but in Feb. while on a visit with us here in Virginia daddy didn't feel well and everything he ate made his stomach feel bad. Leading up to spring, dad's symptoms grew worse and after having a CAT scan done, we were told that he had to have surgery quickly because his bowel was about to burst due to obstruction. On May 19Th, 2009 daddy was all prepped to have surgery and the doctor made us feel real confident that he thought dad had a hernia that was choking his intestine and he was going to be all better after surgery...
Little did we know..that...our life would never be the same...Dad was diagnosed with having a rare cancer in his small intestine. It is called adenocarcionoma...we were hopeful though because the surgeon felt like he got it all. But a body scan revealed that he had a spot on his liver and on the intestinal wall where they removed the tumor. He will shortly begin chemo to hopefully eliminate the cancer. Please pray for him as he begins his treatment. Pray for our family. Though we are not a perfect family, we are a close family. Pray,pray,pray...


Now, unfortunately this is only the beginning of what has been going on for our family. As soon as we landed in Miami after our mission trip to the Dominican Republic we found out that my mother was diagnosed with MS. She also had a stroke that we didn't know about. It was a small one and had healed up and looked to have happened about 6 months ago. Thankfully, she met with her neurologist and she likes him. He was very positive and help to shed some light on her diagnosis. She will start taking medicine and hopefully this horrible disease will never rare it's ugly head again. I worry about her though. Daddy and her are so close...high school sweet hearts...and as long as I have been their daughter I can remember several very hard trials that they have overcome in their life. But I worry about her strength for this battle. She is fighting for dad so hard. Since day one of his diagnosis it has been a war with the insurance company that covers them. She really does not need any added stress in her life as it is not helpful to MS. Again pray,pray, pray...

I know heaven is an awesome place, and if we love God one day we will be there. But in my human fleshy self...I am being selfish when it comes to my parents. I know God is not punishing me, or my parents...He knows our pain, prayer, worries, hurt, anxiety...I know that ALL...ALL things work for the good to those that love HIM...but my heart...who has always had the comfort of knowing that her parents would grow old together, watch my daughter's dance and cheer and play sports, watch my son play baseball, see all the grandchildren graduate and get married and have kids that they can play with...well, it has been threatened! I am only human...and I am being selfish 'cause I want my parents to be here with me much longer. I am praying for healing and that God will heal in the way that is my and my families desire. I am not sure what tomorrow will hold but I do know that God is good, God loves us, and God will be glorified through this. And..I am trying to accept that it may not be my will...but I sure am hoping so...

You see...my kids...well,...they love them...and my parents love them so much...It breaks my heart to think that they may have to see mom and dad fight this battle...but I know my mama and daddy fight hard and they will overcome...
Here are my parents..Debra and Ricky Warren. They live in NC about 6 and a half hours away. They enjoy life and absolutely love spoiling all the grandchildren....Kaitlyn, Kyndal, Caleb who are my three think that there is nothing better than to go to the Meme and Gran Gran's and eat,drink and play what ever they want... Tre' and Braiden, my brother's kids think the same thing. My parents have rarely missed a dance recital, has made at one or two ballgames that the kids play in, school events,etc...They are always there...
Mom even takes up for Hilton even when I think he is the one in the wrong..heehee! Whenever we have a problem with something broken in the house or the car..Hilton and I don't call a repair person...we call dad who is 6 hours away. I believe that man can fix anything and get you through strange towns that your GPS system didn't even know existed. He is a walking GPS system. Whenever one of the kids has a strange cough, look, strange mark on them, we call mom...mom should have been a doctor because my brother and I think she has a answer to all medical problems...
So please Pray...
Because....
I feel like our kids deserve more play days on the beach with them...

They need more time to help gran-gran build things, and cut the grass with the big lawnmower...

They need to know that Meme will be in the kitchen with them coming up with more recipes to cook with them years to come..

Gran-gran is Caleb's "besfran" as he says. Whenever gran-gran is around...no one else exists. He even sticks his tongue out like my dad does when he is concentrating on something. All the gran boys do...one day maybe I can get a pic of all of them doing it...When Caleb gets hurt he cries for his gran gran...

Caleb is an all Gran gran boy..now he loves his meme...but when Gran gran is around Caleb wants all of his attention Even when gran gran is not around, Caleb talks about him. He loves riding in dad's mustang with the top down!

Kaitlyn who started out as Grangran's little girl has recently become more close to Meme...she loves working with her, cooking, and baking...and she thinks that no matter how old she is, she will always sleep in the middle of the bed with them. She is the first grandchild, so in my parent's eyes..she does no wrong! LOL!

My sweet Kyndal loves being outside with her Gran gran and when we go home he has to stay in the same room with her. She loves snuggling up to both Meme and gran gran at night with her little thumb in her mouth.

Braiden , my nephew, loves being outside with his Gran-gran! He also loves anything to do with racing just like Gran gran. But I think secretly Meme has the way to his heart. This boy will eat anything that Meme makes!

Tre', my nephew, well he is a Meme boy. He loves helping her in the kitchen...He thinks MeMe is the next to the best cook...(He said his mama is the best,."cause she makes the best Hamburger Helper!"heehee)

My prayer:

Memories...my prayer is that there will be so many more memories to be made for years to come...

We are praying...Will you join us??

Seeds...

Seeds were planted this week...

God just calls us to be faithful...He will provide what we need...

Regardless that most of us on this trip could not speak the language..

We stepped out of our comfort zone...

It didn't stop us...

We planted seeds everyday...
We sung praise songs and taught leadershp skills...

We played games that would help us bond with the youth..

And preached without fear...

And 6 decisions were made on this night and...

still after we left the seeds were still coming to harvest..

others have asked to be saved...

One word...

OBEDIENCE...

what if we were not obedient to His call...we would have missed the harvest...

Iglesia Bautista

Iglesia Bautista is the name of the church that we came to serve in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Mike and Anna Doering are the missionaries that are serving with this church. Mike is the pastor of the church. They have three precious kids- Emily, Andrew, and Brett. They were the most wondeful hosts. They graciously opened their home to us during our stay. Anna provided us dinner most nights after our leadership training. They both also served as navigators for us during the day. I especially enjoyed talking to Anna. She is truly the Proverbs 31 wife. I observed her a lot the week we were there and tried to put myself in her shoes. And...I don't honestly know if I could be as compassionate, loving and patient as she is. I do know that she is all of these things and more. She has the patience of Job, she runs her household well, and definetly displays the gift of hospitality. She also is a North Carolina girl!!! And she shares my love for Duke mayonnaise and SWEET TEA!!! Mike is a true man of God and also displays the same virture of having a lot of patience, love and compassion for the people in the DR. Their three kids were also so precious and I was so blessed to be just a timy part of their life during our misson trip. Would you all please add this sweet missionary family to your prayer list. I can't imagine being embedded in a foreign country, and being thousands of miles from family and doing the Lord's work. And I whine and complain about being 6 hours away! They truly love doing what they do in Santo Domingo. I immediately developed a love for this family. Here are a few pics of us with the Doerings and the kids.

Gregg(our worship pastor and leader of the mission trip) Mike Doering, and Hilton
Me and Anna Doering

Emily Doering

Andrew Doering

Brett Doering

Are they not the most precious family?! I am so glad God allowed our paths to cross. The Sunday after we arrived we had children's church that morning at 10 a.m. I was so blessed to observe the kids that attended the morning service. They were all so well behaved and listened so well to the lesson. I watched as older sisters and brothers came in with the younger sibling and took care of them during the service. Some of the older were ones seemed no older than ten or eleven. I mostly enjoyed watching them sing some of the same praise songs that we also sing. But, for some reason I get such a blessing watching children sing about our Lord. After we sung songs, Jessica taught the children's church lesson. She did a wonderful job! It was so interesting to see how God still works when their is a language barrier. Now Jessica can speak and understand Spanish, but during the children's church Anna translated for her. I know personally I was nervous about not knowing the language. But... that did not stop God's will for our mission trip. As I share more with you all about the trip you will see how amazingly that regardless of our shortcomings of not knowing each other's language God still made it where we bonded so well with the people here. I can't wait to share everything that happened on this trip! Please be patient...it will take a while for me to get it all out on here...But I want you to experience just a little taste of our trip.

Can't wait to share on the next post...

Anna and Jess teaching the lesson to the kids during children's church.

Singing and dancing to the music!

This is one of my favorite photos. This little girl could really praise the Lord!

Iglesia Bautista...The church!

Side of the church and painted on it was the list of events that took place at the church.