Thursday, June 2, 2011

My Heart Aches

In exactly one week, my hubby, Mr. McGoo and seven others from Central Church will be heading out of Memphis to travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to work with The Forsaken Children's partner ministry, Onesimus.

This journey will the 3rd for Mr. McGoo in twelve months time. I am unable to go this time due to my school schedule. Mr. McGoo is leading the team this year and I'm excited to see what God does in and through them on this journey.

It's finally starting to HIT ME that I'm not going. I'm sending this time rather than a GOER, and that is how God intended it to be. Although I'm excited for the eight making their way there, my heart also aches a little in sadness of the faces I will not see, the hugs I'll be unable to give and receive, and the laughter I will be unable to hear.

I came upon this photo from our journey in December, and smiled as the ache in my heart settled in. This is Nati, often nicknamed Naughty, but my buddy regardless. Look at that smile on his face?!



I long to be there with my friends. I long to go, but am confident that God gives an opportunity to serve the ones I love and care for all the way from home. I can advocate for them. I can raise money for them. I can pray for them!

And I so look forward to the stories and photos to come...

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Memorial Day Wknd

Memorial Day weekend was adventurous and fun. Although we had lots planned on Saturday, the remainder of the weekend was open to whatever might come our way. We ended up always having something to do, usually happening on a whim, and having a blast while doing it. Mr. McGoo and I definitely enjoyed the extra time together.

Here is a fun little breakdown of the 2 major events from our long weekend.

Friday night we laid low, prepping for the weekend ahead and mostly recovering from the previous week. A good night with the hubs, a home cooked dinner together at the house, some Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution watching, and somewhat early to bed!

Saturday we had the opportunity to volunteer at our church's Special Needs Ministry FUNDAY. Once a month they host a "funday" from 10am-1pm for the kids and families of special needs at the skating center. They provide opportunities for the kiddos to skate, ride on little scooters, do arts and crafts, get their faces painted, and overall a time for the parents to relax, hangout with other families and let the volunteers tend to the special needs of their children. Mr. McGoo and I had a blast. I got into roller skates for the first time in uhhh... YEARS... and rolled around pushing kids on scooters and entertaining them as best as I could. We had some great conversations and lots of laughs and smiles were had all around. It was a blast.

Roller Girls - Vicky (regularly helps with Special Needs Ministry), Me, & Rachel (our Connecting Points class first lady)
 
Can you tell how proud Uncle Kelly is?
Sunday afternoon we were able to hang with our niece, Grace. We hungout with friends, swam, ate good eats, and made our way home. She spent the night with us so that we could take her to our church early Monday morning for the Camp Tsungani departure! Early is an understatement, the alarm sounded at 540am (ON MY EXTRA DAY OFF), but Mr. McGoo and I both were excited to wake Grace and get out the door for camp. We woke Grace about 6am and after breakfast and a little prep, we hit the door about 630am. At 7am we pulled up to the church and were greeted by 6 large charter buses - one for each tribe/color. We found the Seminole (green) bus and got Grace registered and on her way.

To be honest Mr. McGoo and I are a little jealous of all the fun we know our niece is having this week. We remember the good times we had a summer camp many moons ago! We're praying that she has a blast and encounters Jesus in a big way.

Before she went on her way, Mr. McGoo gave Grace 3 objectives for the week:
  1. Have Fun
  2. Make Friends
  3. Learn about Jesus.
I'm positive she's accomplishing them all. We can't wait to hear all about it on Saturday. The camp sent this info out today: 
This week, we are learning how to be equipped to face the Ultimate Challenge – to be the best God made us to be. We are learning how to be strong in the Lord and trust Him to lead us, protect us and help us with whatever challenges we may face.


Car ride to church... prepping for camp departure. She's pumped!
Loading onto the Seminole bus - full of kiddos who just finished 3rd grade!

In addition to these two events, we ate with friends (multiple times), swam, hosted a small group get together from our Sunday School class, and cleaned house. A good weekend!

Ps. Why does the short week after a long weekend always seem to go sooo slowly?