God has a sense of humor

At our very first bathroom stop on the Sunday we were traveling to Pearlington, we had a surprise. The bathrooms were "Under construction" and the business had brought in port-a-pottys for their customers to use. These were very post port-a-potties. There were large - three or four people could fit into these with no problems. There were sinks with paper towels and they were heated!!! The kids loved these.

Once we were back to the van - I told the kids that they would not have port-a-potties like these in Pearlington. Some of the kids learned that visiting the ones in Pearlington at 3 AM was a very cold adventure.

The weather in Pearlington, upon our arrival was cold - temps were in the 30's at night and the frist few days in the 40's and 50's during the day. Larry Randall accused us of bringing the cold weather with us. "It is never this cold here," he said. I just smiled and said that we wanted them to know what we live with for 5 months of the year. He laughed and said, "Be sure to take this with you when you leave." By thanksgiving day - it was warm and bright with sunshine.

There are all kinds of critters in Pearlington - some that you like to see and some that you wish would just go away. I now know what I would do if an unwanted four-footed, furry creature tries to snuggle in with me for the night. Praise the Lord, I didn't scream, I just hit the thing really hard out of my bed. The biggest fear was that I knocked it into my back pack - which didn't happen. Thankfully it never tried again!!!

We Have Arrived

We are all tired - but safe and were greeted warmly. Laurie remembered us and was very excited to see Giovanna.

When we got the vans up near the school - there was an older couple that greeted us and helped us unpack the vans, get things set up in our room. It felt like they had been waiting for us. Later we found out that their names are Mr. Cabe and Miss Betty from Memphis. While we were getting dinner ready in Pearl's Cafe (It was so much fun to stand on the floor we had put together in March and all the ktchen things in place!!!), Cabe came down to the kitchen and shared that they had read about us coming down. He and his wife didn't have any real plans for Thanksgivng and decided to come to Pearlington. Our team, he said was the inspiration for them coming to Pearlington over Thanksgiving week.

God is already doing things with this group of kids. I think He has plans for us this week.

24 Hours Until Pearlington

"Calm down Courtney!"

These are words of wisdom. We leave tomorrow. Right now I'm mentally running through the million-object list to make sure I've packed everything. My mind is cluttered with mental notes, my desk with sticky ones. I'm hoping Dakota's doing ok. I'm worrying about missing classes. French phrases are running through my mind. I smell like horses. I have kissing and clucking commands in my head. It's been a long day.
To make it worse, we had small group tonight. I went. It's been a late night.
Needless to say, I'm frantic and stressed. But even though I may not feel ready, God's got everything in control. He knows if I'm going to forget my toothbrush (which by the way is packed). He knows what the weather's going to be like in Pearlington (debate in my mind: flannel pajamas? No, too hot. But it was March when we last went. Warmer then. Long-sleeved nice shirt? No, too cold for that. But it's November now. Colder now...). He knows all my fears and worries. I'm so glad. I couldn't take it without him. He'll take good care of me. He sees the big picture, when I only see a little piece of it. He knows what he's doing. I can't wait for Pearlington. (Posted by Courtney - Team Member)

The Pearlington Team - November 2006

Twelve People - Three Families

One Body

United to Serve as Christ leads us

Eight Days dedicated to serving our Lord

Eight Days of spending time with the Lord

Eight Days of journaling what God does in and through us

The team may not be complete - there are still some considering coming along - Please pray for them to make wise decisions - only God knows what is best for them. We would love to see them join us, if that is what God wants as well.

Some other prayer requests:

*These three families are making a sacrifice - some families will be separated for thanksgiving. Pray that this would be a growing time in the Lord and that marriages would be protected during this time apart. As one of the team members put it, "Yes we are sacrificing thanksgiving traditions, but my prayer is that this sacrifice would be seen by family and co-workers as being done to bring the good news of the gospel to people in need."

*Pray that we would be a fragrant aroma to those we meet, work alongside. My personal prayer is that we would bring joy to those we work with and that it would be hard to see us go, because they see Christ shining through us.

*Pray that we would be joyful in all that we are asked to do - no grumbling or complaining. If we do not know how to do something, help us to be humble in our asking for directions

*Pray that we would be generous with our time to those who just need a listening ear and generous in our hugs. It has been about 15 months since Hurricane Katrina hit this area. Many are still in FEMA trailers - they have been in a marathon and may just need some TLC.

*Pray for safety and for our trust in the Lord as He is sovereign in all that He does, even if that means their are injuries.

Some thoughts on leading a Team

When first asked to consider leading this team to Pearlington, I thought no big deal. I have gotten our family ready for many road trips - adding a few more people didn't seem like a big thing at the time. However, I found out that there are a lot of decisions that one needs to make as the team leader - t-shirt designs, color of t-shirts, travel dates, hotel reservations need to be made, setting the budget, to name a few. When someone has a question, I am supposed to be able to answer it. I have felt overwhelmed until I was reminded that God brought Gary and I into this role and He will continually give the strength, wisdom and direction needed - when it is needed, not before or after.

As we near the departure date, my living room is beginning to fill with things for the trip. The living room has always served as the staging area for our family trips and will do so again for this trip. I have watched God pull together some wonderful things. The excitement is building as the kids realize we are one week away from our departure. In some ways this trip feels like going home after a long absence, a reunion with old friends and a time to make new ones. There is one thing that I have asked the Lord to do for me for this trip - one was to have Canada Jon come to Pearlington while we were there - God answered this one - he will be arriving on Thursday. I can't wait to meet this man that I have heard and read about, have exchanged emails with and now will get to meet in person. Only God can orchestrate such things. There is one more thing that I have asked - we will see if He will orchestrate this one as well.

As we near the departure, satan's attacks have also increased. This is always the hardest part of any trip - knowing that satan does not like what we are about to do and he does his best to derail us. However, God will get us through those fiery darts. Pastor John said in his sermon this week that the determining battle in satan's demise has been fought on the cross. Therefore these temporary battles are nothing. He knows he has been defeated - just unwilling to admit defeat.

God has been good in all of His dealings with this team. He has put together a team of 12 that will work together in service to Christ. This is an exciting time to be a Sunday School team leader, taking members from my class to a place that I have been to share an experience like no other. Pray that God will change us from the inside out - to become more like him in all we say and do.