In 2006 Kim and I decided to move our family 2,000 miles away from our family. A year after we moved, we decided to go on our first mission trip. Since then I’ve been on 2 other trips to the Dominican Republic, and Queretaro, Mexico, and as you can guess by the title, this summer Kim and I will be going to Venezuela.
We’re both very excited about this because we will both get to serve together abroad once again. The last time we went on a trip together it brought us so much closer, not only as a couple, but to our Heavenly Father and we really got to know how amazing God works even across cultural boundaries. We also realized gifts we never even had! I think when you are put out of your “comfort zone,” with nothing to fall back on except Him, you really learn about yourself and exactly how God works through you.
I sure wish I would have written about my experience back in ’07 and ’08. Good news is, I was able to capture the Mexico Trip and I will definitely be writing about this one.
Again, we will be going to Venezuela which is a first for both of us and for Kim and I, this decision did not come lightly. We have a ton of money to raise and we have to make sure everything is planned out perfectly (babysitters for a week!). Believe me we will definitely be asking y’all for support, but I’ll keep that for another post 🙂
Anybody else thinking about going on a vacation with a purpose this summer?
My wife and I went on a mission trip to Haiti in April of ’09. Here’s a cool story about God working through people… We went there to build a chicken coop for an orphanage, so that they could raise chickens to eat and to sell, so that they could be self-supporting. That was April of ’09. January 2010, a massive earthquake strikes Haiti. The one building still standing at the orphanage? The chicken coop we had built the previous April. So these kids from this orphanage ended up moving into a 16’x32′ chicken coop for several months until they could get some heavy-duty tents set up. It was just really cool to have been a part of building something for them for one purpose, and then seeing God use it for an entirely different purpose.
We’ll be praying for you and Kim as you journey off to Venezuela this summer!
Wow that is amazing, AND inspiring! Thanks for the prayers Joe!
>>Anybody else thinking about going on a vacation with a purpose this summer?
Vacation with a purpose? That is a sneaky way of saying missions trip, isn’t it? LOL! Nice.
My mission field is less exciting. It is covered in snow, freezing right now, and populated by snooty and arrogant God-haters and liberals. I call it my hometown. Others call it Bethel, CT.
LOL yeah, our church used that strategy for the short-term mission trips a few years ago and I thought it was awesome.
Ben, that is awesome. I’ve been on a bunch of short term mission trips before, but would love to go on one with my wife (since we’ve been married). Funny, we just talked about that on Sunday.
I went to Venezuela twice in high school with my church. It was awesome! We served in this small college town in the mountains called Merida.
Lastly, you’ll definitely want to get some Arepas. They are these corncakes stuffed with something (like cheese). SO GOOD. 🙂
Oh man, the experience alone is awesome, but with your wife… nothing can compare.
Arepas? I’ll definitely keep my eye out for those. Man, I LOVE trying new foods out from different countries, although I’m not a fan of some filipino dishes (grandparents tried to feed me dinaguan and balut… yuck!).
Filipino?! My wife’s half filipino, so my MIL cooks pancit, caldereta and eggrolls all the time… that stuff is goooooood! 🙂
Ha! Awesome, now that we’re in GA we NEVER have pancit, it’s not until we visit family in AZ that we get it, but growing up in CA we lived just south of Daly City and close to San Jose, where a ton of relatives lived and we would have frozen lumpia (eggrolls) for days.
I don’t think I’ve ever had caldereta, but I can kill some adobo!
Awesome. I’m from CA as well (southern though). Ahh, adobo. Even though I just ate lunch, you’re making me hungry!
I grew up in so-cal for my first 12 years in El Cajon and Santa Barbara with a 1 year stint in Pomona (boooo), then it was off to Nor-cal.
Wow, small world!
That is so awesome!
Will be praying for you and Kim as you raise money for this mission/vacation.
I definitely want to do this in the next year or so. Hopefully to Mexico as my wife speaks Spanish and works with Latino children as a teacher.
Thanks! We will definitely need it.
I was in Venezuela for a missions trip when I was younger. Actually, it’s the only time I’ve been out of the country (other than Canada). Great experience!
I am excited about this trip and the impact it will have on the people we share with in Venezuela as well as the impact it will have on our own lives.
It was great to meet you and Kim this afternoon. I look forward to getting to know y’all and serving with y’all this summer.
-Peace
Same here Allen, thanks for visiting! Our team looks solid and I’m glad to have the opportunity to serve with you guys too.