Thankful Tuesday on Thursday - Mission Trip Experiences

Since my Tuesday was so busy, I had to move the Thankful Tuesday feature of the blog to Thursday for this week.

Since I'm currently in Kentucky on a mission trip, I thought I would focus this week's list of thankfulness on mission trip experiences, specifically this mission trip.

1. I'm thankful for a 1o year old who has the boldness to ask an adult he's just met if she knows Jesus.

2. I'm thankful for our evening devotions and hearing about the experiences of my team members and how God is moving in our group and in this town.

3. I'm thankful for rain showers, even if they force us to re-evaluate our plans for the day.

4. I'm thankful for the relationships I've built with other members of the team. I'm thankful for the barriers that God has broken down so that we can all serve together.

5. I'm thankful that we all have different gifts and strengths. I'm thankful that we are all members of one body. The "body" truly does need all of it's parts to work!

6. I'm thankful to get to see God's glory revealed in seemingly impossible situations.

7. I'm thankful to get to witness the concept of transformation in the physical sense to understand the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual sense and the command we all have in scripture to be transformed, not conformed.

8. I'm thankful for Jim and Nancy Ramey who are such fearless and capable leaders! Their giving spirits and love for God is so evident in everything they do.

9. I'm thankful for Danny and Donna Petty for making sure we are so well fed this week. I've never been on a mission trip where we have three full course meals each day! They truly are serving God this week!

10. I'm thankful for the odd experiences you never expect:

• Seeing bears


• Walking a drunk woman home around midnight because she's convinced she saw bears...don't you know, the bears are everywhere!


• Seeing the emergency crews of a small mountain town respond to an explosion down the street from our home base for the week...and boy did they respond!

11. I'm thankful for late night conversations in rocking chairs on the front porch. We've solved some of the world's biggest problems out there.

12. I'm thankful for the missionaries, George and Robin Lewis, who work tirelessly to help the people of Eastern Kentucky. They minister to needs and share God's love in word and in deed.

13. I'm thankful for Rick and Christy Hunter, the missionaries who devote their days to the upkeep and management of Solomon's Porch, a wonderful retreat center that provides our team (and countless others) with a safe, warm (and cool) place to sleep each night. They help us feel right at home!

14. I'm thankful for the opportunity to just listen to people...to hear their stores...to realize that we all struggle but that we are all dearly loved by God, the one thing to help us through those struggles.

15. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve God by serving others. It really is a humbling experience and one I wouldn't trade for the world. I am so very blessed. I take so many things for granted. I serve an amazing God who consistently does amazing things. I serve a loving God who loves us in spite of our failures. I serve a faithful God who is a sure refuge, his coming is as sure as the dawn (Hosea 6). I serve a patient God who keeps on making a way. I serve a majestic God who creates beauty beyond my wildest imagination. I serve a holy God who chooses us to walk along beside Him. I am thankful most of all for the opportunity to serve this God, the one true God, this week in Lynch/Cumberland, Kentucky!