Volunteering for Compassion

I've spent a lot of hours volunteering for lots of different things in my life, but never have I helped anywhere for something that I am so excited about and that was so much fun.

Compassion seriously is an exciting organization that God is using, not only as an avenue for poverty stricken families to find hope, but also for YOU to interact on a personal basis with a child and change a life. Every child counts and each child needs someone who is willing to spend that dollar a day on them and take the time to write to them, telling them that they matter and that they are special to not only you, but to God.

The Alive Festival is sponsored in part by Compassion; volunteers are there at the booths to help people who want to sign up.

Lots of people had trouble choosing a child when there were so many waiting faces spread out on the table, so some times we would try to find something in common. Twice I saw people wishing to share a birthday with the child they sponsored and both times we found them children with matching birthdays just from the fifty packets lying on the table. For one older gentleman we found a little boy who had a matching birthday and first name!

To top off the excitement of seeing kids get sponsors, we got to listen to a special speaker and two musical groups, the last one being the Newsboys. Yep, I really got to hear God's Not Dead live in concert!

A portion of the crowd :)

Just before the Newsboys played, a man spoke on behalf of Compassion. He is an artist as well so he started out the first minute of his talk by drawing this picture.

Then about twenty of us spread out in the crowd and as he told about Compassion, he told them to raise their hand if they wanted to sponsor a child and then we ran through the crowd to bring them a packet. As the concert ended, there was then a mad rush at the table as lots of those people came back with their packets to fill them out and find out what all they needed to do.

The best part was the last couple who stopped by the table. They were a middle aged couple with two boys. They had heard about Compassion for many years, but just now decided it was time to sponsor a child. They raised their hand for a packet and were handed a girl. The lady came up to the table with sheer excitement and announced that they now have a daughter! Both their boys were there at the festival with them and they'd already taken a family picture while holding the picture of their "daughter".  That little girl is going to feel their love!

Relaxing: Our Style

Friday night Blake took me to see the Parade of Lights. We'd always heard about it after the fact other years. This year we heard earlier and remembered, so just about dark we hopped in the truck and headed to where they were ending so to be sure to catch the whole parade. 

A picture taken by news reporter :)

There were approximately 130 trucks, all with lights, horns, and jake brakes. Big trucks are cool :)

Saturday night we went to hear Dierks Bently sing. No country concert that I've ever been to has ever quite topped Joe Nichol's concerts!

Sunday night we went out to eat with Marvin and Audrey, Blake's sister. That was quite notable since my husband chooses to pretty much never go out to eat. We went to East of Chicago. Delicious, but fun nonetheless! It's a blast having siblings who are no longer single and want to go do stuff with us. Kinda like double dates, you know?!

We've slept a lot lately, and yesterday we even just decided not to go to work at seven. We got there at eight thirty and the guys had been plugging away quite easily. 

Life is nicer with sleep. 

Activity other than at work is really nice! 

Rent Your Clothes

Who ever came up with the idea was a genius. I'm guessing they are making out like bandits because they have found so many people who, like me, are shocked by "how cheap" they are!

There was a time when I preferred work over cost. I now have enough work. I prefer to pay someone else to wash my husband's jeans. It's going to be lovely. Besides, doesn't he look adorable in this  striped collar shirt?!

Now when morning rolls around and all his jeans are dirty, I can say "That guy didn't bring clean jeans!" But hey, that's not supposed to happen cuz, after all, what am I paying him six bucks a week for anyway?!

I feel bad to make these poor guys pose for my pictures and I don't want them mad at me, so I snap really quick pictures. They probably will end up mad at me when they look at the pictures I post of them!

There is one little problem... from a distance or from the back, they all look the same. 

I will have to pay attention to whom I hug! 

Communication

Perfect Peace

The last few weeks- the last few months- have been killers. 

Killers of time, of energy, of mental stability, of health, of sanity, of my peace. If we were quitters, I seriously wonder if we would still be doing this.

Numerous people call to get their truck scheduled and I tell them that I'm not scheduling anything for three to four weeks out. Mostly they all say "Ok, better get me on the schedule". I feel like sinking with despair. I do all the scheduling and so that should mean that I can just say no or that we can organize it accordingly, right?

Wrong. 

First it's hard to schedule jobs. In the past couple weeks we've had way too many bad jobs: a simple u-joint that ended up needing a rear axle rebuild, an oil change and a simple tune up that ended up needing a new engine, and a water pump that turned into a head gasket job. Each of those things as scheduled are simple, but those kind of changes drastically effect the schedule as a whole.

Secondly we have been very short handed. For most the month of May, we had only one mechanic working. Blake doesn't normally work in the shop as he keeps entirely too busy with phone work, customers who stop by, and the overseeing of what is happening and what needs to happen next. I have told more people that he will just have to try to call them back and consequently there is a whole clipboard full of phone calls to return, just waiting for Blake.

Third our shop is crowded. It's hard to organize when there just is no space to put anything and it's hard to work when there is too much stuff. It's also hard when there is only one bay per guy. If he has to wait on parts for his project, that truck has to be towed out and the next one pulled in until the first one has the parts to complete that project. Needless to say, the shop is becoming less and less efficient.

Last week was our first week of being back up to three guys working here. They are hard at work and trying to work fast, but we still go home late, dropping into bed after a quick plate of extremely simple supper.

 I feel discouraged, I feel frustrated, I feel tired.

"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You: because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

My life is the storm right now; Christ is my calm.