All those Juicy Details

If there has been a week that has been crazy, it's been this one. Beside working around 30 hours this week (where I got all kinds of cuts and bruises), I put together my newsletter*, finished the folders I had been working on, made a million copies of my dvd. I also did translation for parent teacher conferences at an elementary school, and continually tweaked the message I'll be giving tomorrow.

*Usually you put these in at the end. But, I would like to add an important detail to the newsletter that was supposed to make it in there. I'd also like to thank Connie S. for putting in a good word at Macy's. I'm going to try to mention that tomorrow morning. But she should be mentioned as well.

Ok, so, let's get to those details I won't have time to mention tomorrow morning:

When I was 15, a freshman in high school at North County Christian School, Kathy Pugh, who was my Spanish and Bible teacher at the time, showed our class a video right before Christmas break. I know at the time she had no idea what God was going to do through that video. It was from Teen Mania, and I can tell you that I’m pretty sure that not too many people were paying attention, but I was hooked. Everything was blurred around me as I watched about missions trips taken to Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe where God was changing the lives of countless souls.I left that class, almost with a hangover, and I said to a friend in the next class, I have to go on a missions trip next summer. She was like, ok, whatever.

Over the course of the next couple of evenings, I scoured, very intently through all of my materials. I had attended a couple of Teen Mania events called Acquire the Fire over the past couple of years. I eventually found them, and along with it, there was a magazine that I hadn't really gone through beforehand. It was about the summer Global Expeditions trips.

So, like a good 15 yr. old, I wrote a very nice letter addressed to Mr. Luce, and asked if it were possible, if I could go on a missions trip. I printed and signed it.

Before I could mail it, I got in the mail a magazine with that coming year's missions trip.

Imagine my surprise!

I looked through, read all of the details and carefully approached my mom about it. She kinda blew me off the first couple of times, but then I sat down and showed her the magazine and talked to her about wanting to go.

After talking for a while (she probably saw that I was insistent and wasn't going to let it go), she finally came to the conclusion- Fine, if you get the money, you can go. I was like, ok! That's all I needed. This was a huge step. I filled out all the paperwork, and got her signature and sent it in as quickly as possible.

Ok, everything is mailed in and then came the hard part. Waiting. I was up every single night in excitement thinking about going to India. I hoped, I prayed that they would accept me. I even called them to check on the status of my application! Ha!

I finally got the packet in the mail with the video about Teen Mania, a tshirt, brochures, and a series of notes about how to prepare for the trip.

I was SO excited, and by this time, my mom had become excited too.

Over the next couple of months, I went through so many fundraising events. People could pay a $1 an egg or $1 per cup of flour to pour over me. That was a mess, and I ended up with egg shell scratches all over. The next day I sported a hankerchief over my hair. Donna R., our youth pastor, if $200 was raised, volunteered to become a human burrito and then hosed off outside. The youth couldn't resist that offer.

What else did I do? Oh! I collected change in different classrooms and in gas stations! That made some money, and teachers would make kids add change to the bucket if they were late. Another teacher helped organize a baseball tournament where teams had to pay to enter. Kids could wear jeans and tshirts to school by paying $1. School was even changed to a half-day for the event! Looking back, I can't believe it!

We hosted a spaghetti dinner where entry was purely by donation.

My dad's employer paid me to clean his house and gave a $1000 donation.

Between it all, money was raised and I was so excited to go. As you know, it was an incredible trip, where many people got saved, many were dramatically and miraculously healed and the Spirit of God moved in India and in our lives.

It was a trip that changed us completely. It was a trip that changed me completely.

If I get responses, I'll post some of the miracles that we saw take place on the trip. But for now, I need to get to bed.

See ya'll tomorrow!