We started the month out in Phoenix, AZ with our youth group on a mission trip. There were 21 youth and 4 leaders that spent 9 days in the warm city of Phoenix. We helped do a week of Vacation Bible School, a variety of work projects, and just tried to be a blessing to Aim Right Ministries. It was warm, it was exhausting, it was rewarding, it was stretching. One of the highlights for me was watching God work on so many details. We definitely did not go to Phoenix along; He was right by our side. We left part of our hearts there with all the kids we befriended. We also spent several hours at Grand Canyon one day, which by the way, is not enough time.
There's a lot I could say about Anthony and Shaina, our wonderful co-leaders. We have been so blessed to be able to work with them in leading the youth. They have become some very special friends!
This was the group that Shaina and I were in charge of for Bible School. We went with them from station to station each night and got pretty attached to them.
My sweet friend, Dayanida, who is autistic. We became good friends almost immediately. She couldn't talk, but her smile and ornery ways were easy to interpret.
We left our children at home with my sweet and capable niece, Dorcas, and she did a fantastic job of taking care of them. It was the longest we have ever been away from our children and the last several days seemed to crawl. It was really, really good to come home again!
We had a week break before we started VBS at our own church and that week was spent doing a lot of garden work, spending time with the children, and getting ready for VBS.
And now we survived another week of VBS at our church and our planned activities for the summer are winding down. It's been a full, busy month, but such a blessing, too, to be able to serve in so many ways. God has been so good to us and we are incredibly blessed.
Happy weekend.
