Sun, Surf & Sweat

Week one of our Journey to Florida is officially over. Well, officially it was over yesterday morning but we stopped alot on our way back to Orlando. Hello Daytona 500, World's Largest Harley-Davidson and Orlando Science Center! Woot!

I started this blog with the intention of telling you everything about our mission trip to Daytona Beach. But, I've found that words cannot describe how the 23 of us left feeling yesterday. These kids, these wonderful, fantastic, awesome kids have been changed tremendously by now fault of mine. It's all God here. He has worked miracles. Changing a group of 18 strangers into a family (who talks & bickers like they've loved each other for years!) So, ultimately, I'm not sure what to say to convey the truth of this trip so far. I suppose the best way to say it is I better buy nametags 'cause parents aren't going to recognize their kids!

But now, I better get ready to wake up the children. It's the first time they've been able to sleep-in this week so I can't decide if I want to wake them up gently or by my oh-so-lovely rendition of "The Birdie Song"...

Waaaaayyyyyy UP in the sky, the little birds fly...

What was I thinking?!

Ever hear that country song about the little white tank top and the dad with the gun? Yeah. Love it. It's about being completely out of your mind... but loving every hood-sliding-like-Bo-Duke minute of it.

My "what was I thinking?!" moment? Two weeks in Florida. In July. With 18 teenagers. Wow. Don't get me wrong, I'm really very excited. I'm especially excited that [most] of my kids are excited. They're going to experience their first mission trip ever. My memory of my first trip (to Alaska, nonetheless) was extremely impacting. Not only that, they're going to experience the greatest of all great National Youth Gatherings. The 1998 Gathering is completely to blame for my choice of career changing from money-making-architect to money-less-DCE. (Well, you know, the Gathering and God... but whatever!)

Lots of loose ends to tie up considering we leave Friday morning and I'm having the other adult leaders over for dinner and booze (cough, cough) tomorrow night. Must. Go. Pack.

Oh. And I turn 25 Friday too. I'll be spending the entirety of the day in airplanes. Happy Birthday to me.

Personality?

As far as personality tests go, I have my doubts. Out of all the ones I've taken the Myers-Briggs assessment is the best (INFJ, baby!) but this one is pretty good too...

Lurking & Daemons

When I was little I read a lot of fantasy books. No, not that kind. Think sci-fi-esque fantasy books. I fell in love with "The Hobbit" and the Narnia series, both of which have recently been made into a movie or a series of movies. Now, I'm very excited that another one of these books has been made into a movie: The Golden Compass

In the book one of the most fantastical parts were the Daemon's that were basically a person's soul living outside ones body manifested into the form of an animal. When you're a child, your Daemon's form changes but as an adult it settles into a single form. Mine is below-- see if you agree:


Admittedly, I only found this 'quiz' by lurking in friends of friends blogs. Thanks, Jo for helping me find my Daemon! And I know there are lurkers out there reading my blog so I don't feel so bad for lurking on others :)

oh wheeeere is my desk?

{Name that song!}

I write to you today from the only 2' square section of my desk I can actually find. The rest of the seemingly large desk has yet to be found. With Vacation Bible School (VBS) happening last week, the whole "organized office" thing went to H-E-doublehockeysticks. And now that it's back to the grindstone, I have to reorganize this mess before I can start/finish work on my newsletter or the quickly approaching trip to Florida.

All in all, VBS went well. For us doing it in the evening without sending a community postcard, I'm pretty happy with our attendance of 60 kids and 70 volunteers. (Good ratio, huh?) I had fun. The volunteers had fun. And, most importantly, the kids had fun. They learned a lot about who God is (REAL! WITH US! STRONG! AWESOME! IN CHARGE! WAHOO!!!!) so I'm satisfied.

I've got lots to organize for our 2-week trip to Florida. Most everything is done I just need to make packets of information for my adult leaders and a phone list for all my participants and their parents. I need to buy tickets for SeaWorld and our "SURPRISE" destination. I need to finish counting the change in the Nalgene bottles, track the last of them down, wash them and stuff them with goodies. Not to mention the fact that I need to find clothes to wear down there. But I'm confident it will all come together in these 17 days we have before we leave.

Maybe come mid-August I'll find my desk.

PS I've decided I'm the dullest blogger ever. I don't tell funny stories and I'm not witty. Perhaps it's the Z-Pack I'm on for my bronchitis... is loss of sense of humor a side effect?