Well another week down and 6 more to go! I'm getting excited just thinking about the trip. Even the van ride will be fun. By the way, are you guys praying for our ailing vans?? If you don't like long walks, you'd better be.
Just a few updates:
Bev has decided to give away blankets to the kids who come to VBS. She is hoping to buy 150 of them so we can give them away on one of the VBS days. This was something she wanted to do on her own and she is currently raising money to buy the blankets. The last time I checked with her she had already collected enough money to buy 15 blankets - not bad for having just started this project.
Ericka is my box lady and I SO love her for it! She unloads the truck at her job on Thursdays and unpacks the boxes according to which boxes would be best for our trip. Gotta love that girl! That is NO small job gathering boxes. Of course, we're not taking advantage of that and leaving it all up to her - we're still box hunting too but she has been a big help. All of you just try to picture her breaking down BIG boxes and trying to squeeze them into her little Miata. That would be funnier than trying to get them into my Jeep. I think her daddy even made a special trip to help her get the boxes home.
Brian is working on getting the cement materials together. It is looking like we will be pouring cement 2 days (Mon. and Tues.). That will complicate things a bit when all the kids come for VBS, but I guess we'll deal with it. The plan is to pour early on both mornings so it will be somewhat set up by the time the kids come at noon. When we do play time we'll just have to post some of us around the court to try to keep the kids off. We do have the construction fencing too which will help to deter them. It will most likely just present a challenge to them that they will feel inclined to take on, but we'll try do to our best.
Cody is getting ready to leave next Monday and is getting really antsy. At our backpack packing party we'll pray him off. Once he arrives on the rez he is SUPPOSED to call home frequently so I'll be posting updates from the rez on a more regular basis.
As of yesterday we also have all of the school supplies and all of the backpacks! Phyllis has been running herself ragged trying to get the school supplies together. Give her a thank you when you see her. She was able to get Walmart and Biggs to donate some of the supplies and was even willing to buy several of the supplies herself if need be. I'm just blown away by the way people are so willing to help out.
And last but not least, we've received another check from an online friend from the National Association of Christian Recovery. I am just amazed. I certainly never expected to have such support from people who have never even met us. We have put both checks from the people online toward buying things for the kids on the rez. We have been so blessed with support of all kinds. Putting this trip together has at times been a real pain in the butt, but it also has some unique blessings. I get to be in a position to see the generosity of so many people. Some in our church have paid the way for others to go, some have bought supplies for us, others have given VERY generously toward the cement and STILL went beyond that and sponsored team members. I sat down and added up all that we've saved as a team because of the generosity of others and it just blows me away. Our trip would have cost an additional $7000 if not for people who were willing to give. That means that each team member would have been paying an additional $319 per person to go. Just makes you want to say WOW, doesn't it.
What is, is.
Amber
