MO5 "This Is Life" Video from Mountain Christian Church on Vimeo.
Here is the video that my church put together, as a sort of collage of all of the trips that were going on at once. Look closely, and you'll see a familiar face a time or two (and some bright red hair as well!). And thanks for being so patient with me. I am not only still recovering from jet lag, but also trying to process my 're-entry' back into my regular life after mission.

The enemy is at work!

Only 4 more days until departure!

This past weekend, I took my kiddios to my mother, as I have done for the past few summers.  My children are the oldest grandchildren on both sides, and because we live so far away, they don't get alot of grandparent time.  My mom lives in Michigan and their other grandma lives in California, so summer is a great time for them to hang out and enjoy their time away from school.  As usual, I plan to take one day to drive there, stay the night and then drive back the next day.  Everyone knows the plan for me taking this trip, and we've been working on communications: making sure grandma's computer has Skype, making sure my oldest son has Skype on his PDA phone, and discussing times when I'll be able to contact.  The kiddios have also been helping in preparations for my trip.  Because the Mudrik's children are around the same ages of my kiddios, they've taken great interest in them.  My daughter's fifth grade class held a mini-drive, and collected books and a few pairs of brightly colored (and seriously cool!) socks for the girls, since that's the big style here.  The boys have a video game that they are sending to the Mudrik's son from their own collection.  I appreciate their hearts to want to give, and be connected with a family of believers that they may never meet, from way across the world.

Anyway, I got to mom's and was able to spend a bit of time with her and my brother, even stopping by my brother's house to see my neices.  Then we went back to mom's house so I could get some sleep before heading back out on the road the next day.

The past few times I've visited mom's house, I've started to have minor allergy issues.  Itchy, runny eyes, runny nose, even some itchy skin.  I am allergic to only a few things that I know of: Ibuprofen, Cinnamaldahyde, and my mom's dog, Benji.  (That last thing is the sad one, since Benji is the only dog in my life that I have ever really liked...and up until she moved into her new apartment, I could be around him with no problems).  So when it was time for me to go to sleep, we made sure the dog was out of the room, and closed the door.  After trying for awhile to get to sleep, I found I couldn't, because my eyes were hurting.  I went to the bathroom to wash my face, and realized that my eyes were swollen.  At that point, I was just tired, so I told my mom not to worry, I'd just go sleep in the car.  My daughter brought a pillow from home, so I used that as well as a blanket from my trunk, and tried to settle in for the night. 

(This is not me, but this is what I looked like...well, maybe not the lips, but the eyes for sure!)

That didn't work.  When I looked in the mirror, I realized that my eyes were almost swollen shut.  I called my son on the phone, told him to let mom know I needed to go to the hospital, because I was having an all out anaphalactic episode.  My mom helps run the Emergency room unit at the local hospital, and got me there as soon as she possibly could.  My face was completely numb, and my nasal passages had closed, so I was breathing through my mouth.

I don't remember alot of what happened in the hospital, but boy am I grateful for my mom!  I guess she'd been talking to me the entire car ride there, because she told them everything that was wrong with me.  It also helps that she has close relationships with the doctors and nurses there, as their coworker, and I know I received the best care possible.  I was given a cocktail of an IV, and drifted off into a medical stupor.  I don't know how long I was asleep, but a nurse came in, and told me that alot of the swelling had gone down in my face, so I could go.  I was given a large dose of a steroid (of which I am still taking, and weaning off of), and discharged right then.  What seemed to take all night really only took about 3 hours, from when I first noticed until discharge.  I remember my mom asking me on the way back to the house if I wanted to check into a hotel room...I said no, I'd just go sleep in the car, since a hotel would be a waste of money (I planned to be on the road by 9am).  I did just that...I think I was so done in by the medicine, I could have slept on concrete!

It's funny the way the enemy works.  Satan seems to know exactly how to hit each and every person...for me, it was anaphalaxis.  I remember my mom feeling bad on the ride home...she remembered that she had cinnamon scented candles in the room where I was trying to sleep.  Candles so old that they probably didn't even have scent left in them...between those candles, and Benji being free to roam the house as he pleases, I was stuck in a histimine haven! 

One week from departure, and Satan tries to stop the work that God has planned out.  It was written before I ever thought about it, and this trip is God's will.  He has a plan, and has chosen me to be one of the people to help Him in this case.  "Here am I; Lord, send me." (Isaiah 6:9).

On another note, on the way to work this morning, I prayed.  For guidance, for patience, and not to worry.  My local Christian radio station then began playing the song that helped me name this blog, and I KNEW that everything would be alright.  God's hand is all over me, this situation and this mission trip.  4 days, and we will be there.  Let's go!

Here are the lyrics that inspired the title of this blog: from the song "I Refuse" by Josh Wilson:

I can hear the least of these, crying out so desperately

And I know we are the hands and feet of You, oh God

So if You say move, it's time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

And show them who You are

I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I refuse

So now, as I finish my packing, and prepare to depart with my team, I ask that you stay tuned.  We will be blogging from Prague, and updates will come from my team members as well as myself.  I look forward to this experience, and thank God for the opportunity to Go and Do, and Refuse not to move!

Thanks for being faithful readers, so far!

Dekuji!
~yonna 

Retreat Day!

So, I am supposed to be napping right now, but I am too excited to do so.  So I figured I'd go ahead and post this blog while everything is still so fresh in my head.


Today was our MO5 Pre-field retreat, where all 5 of the teams come together to build as teams, learn a few things, and continue preparing for our trips.  My team chose to go as a unit to the morning session (we had our choice, morning retreat, or afternoon), which was a great choice for us, since 6 of the 8* were able to make it.

Team Red, L to R: Liz, Jeff, Me(Yonna), Phil, Theresa and Sherril.

We arrived by 8 this morning, and immediately got to work.  After a few small housekeeping things, we began the morning with team builders...but since the other teams weren't all in attendance like Team Red was, we ended up counting off, and splitting up that way.  We had different tasks/games to complete, and the team with the most points in the end won a prize.  One game was a ping pong ball toss, where 2 'blind' people tried to toss the balls into a basket across the room,where 3 'blind' people were holding baskets.  No one tossing or catching (was supposed to) talks, but there was one open eyed guide who would tell the tossers how to throw.  Our team, the green dots, did REALLY well on that one!


The next game was a scavenger hunt, where all of the team members were arm in arm.  That last person in line was 'blind', and was the only person who could grab and hold the items found.  Once we got our list, we kind of planned out where we'd be able to find our items, with a 10 minute time limit.  Luckily, I had about 5 items right in my purse, to our benefit.  Not so much to my benefit, I ended up being the blind person.  It was quite interesting, not only being blinded, but completely relying on others (some, strangers!) to guide my way to picking things up, and almost running around the church.


The third game was the alligator pit, where one person was to act as a verbal guide to the rest of the team who had to cross an area littered with clothing without stepping on anything.  I was the first person from our team to make it across, and then ended up being the guide after that.


We then debriefed, and talked about how we were able to take risks, and trust one another, something we will most certainly need to do once we get to our mission fields.  AAAAnd my team won, so we got a chance to pull from an assortment of travel sized gifts...I chose a sewing kit, since I always seem to be in need of a safety pin!


We then did a few more exercises, figuring out our personality types, which my team will discuss further in detail later.


Then it came time for lunch...the World Meal, as it was being called.  Our host walked around the room, and everyone chose a slip of paper from a basket with the name of a country on it.  There was a beautifully set table for 2 set in the middle of the room, and we made a circle around the team.  Then, the people who pulled USA and the UK were invited to have their meal at the table.  The table was set with wine glasses, china and silverware.  They were offered sparkling water, sweet tea, an amazing salad, an entree of chicken, rice, rolls, butter, and fruit, as well as a pastry dessert.  Next called was Czech Republic, who were offered chairs (no table), glasses of tea, chicken, rice, a banana and 2 slices of bread on fancy paper plates.  Mexico was offered a linen table cloth on the floor, hard plastic cups of tea, chicken, rice, banana and a slice of bread, with a plastic knife and fork.  The rest of the groups were served as follows:


Brazil: vinyl tablecloth on the floor, hard plastic cups of water, plastic fork, rice, banana and a slice of bread.
Thailand: thin plastic tablecloth on the floor, red plastic cup of water, rice, half a banana and a slice of bread.
India: a square of napkin to sit on, small cup of water, a slice of bread.


I was in this final group, which was Kenya.  We were told to sit right on the cold floor.  We were given a small cup of dirty water, and a half slice of bread.


So many things ran through our minds.  I actually thought that we'd end up getting the scraps from the table, especially since they didn't finish all of their food, and had it packaged to go...but no such luck.  I guess that really IS they way of the world.  How sad...the rest of the world watches as we in the USA eat when we're not hungry, waste food, 'save it for later', feed it to our pets...instead of sharing it.  I thought about it...even when we give for food drives, we usually give whatever we have that we aren't eating,or what we have had the longest - we reach into the very back of the cupboard, and dust off a couple of cans to give.  We aren't giving our best to help our neighbor...and in doing this, are we also revealing our hearts for God?  Hmmm...


Just a little something to think about...


Next time: Team Red's Skype chat with the Mudrik family!



*We are now down to 8 members.  Due to familial situations, 2 of our members made the decision to withdraw from our trip, one of them being my beloved partner, Becci.  I know that for her, it was not an easy decision, but after much discussion and prayer, she decided that this was the best thing to do for her family.  While I am sad to see her go, I am happy that she is at peace with her decision.  I will miss her while I am gone, but look forward to our growing friendship.