We made it!

Hello from Grenada!

I'm excited to be writing you from the restaurant in the Lexus Inn in St. George Grenada. God has blessed us with a safe journey and good stories of how we got here.

Lost in Translation

As most of you know, Jim and Marie Sullinger moved here to Grenada for 3 years to work with the local church. To help them move, several of us checked moving boxes full of their household supplies to save the expense of shipping them here separately.

What we didn't know is that last week, a new "summer traveler" rule went into affect forbidding bulky baggage such as these and the lockers containing the medical supplies (and my luggage). While some of us had no problems checking our boxes and lockers, the airline raised a red flag and wouldn't allow any new boxes & lockers go through. Moreover, the ones that were already checked couldn't go through.

After some prayers and negotiations, the lockers were allowed to go through but the boxes were "unchecked" and were sent via FexEx. Some of the regular luggage didn't make it through either. Hopefully, we'll receive everything soon. I think this is par for the course.

31/32

While we rejoice in the 31 that arrived safely, we ended up with one "lost sheep". Katie Phillips had accidentally washed her passport. While functional, it was rejected by the airlines and she was not allowed to board with the rest of us. She will be missed.

Becks are in the house!

Happily, we have Caleb, Jenny, and little Adin with us. They are back from Rwanda and were able to join us on the mission. I look forward to picking their brain about their work in Africa and where they see God leading them.

Kindred Souls

Speaking of Africa, guess who we saw at the airport coming back from D.C.? Brian and Christy Dollinger. While God blessed us with this happy coincidence, this wasn't our only encounter:

• I met 1st Baptist Garland pastor and his family on the shuttle from express parking. They were heading to Vancouver to work with a sister church their.
• A security guard at the airport asked us if he could come to our church. He currently goes to Calvary in Irving.
• We met a group from the Still Water Community Church in Rowlett. They were heading to northern Peru to plant 16 churches.
• In addition to our 31 from Greenville Oaks flying from Miami to Grenada, we had 2 other church groups coming to work with other local churches.

What a blessing to know God is working in so many lives on this big blue marble.

Who is being ministered to?

I had a short talk with Gaylon about why we're really here. We expend a lot of energy on logistics. We're lucky to have such a fantastic organizer in Michelle! She and Tim have the spiritual gift of organization and are putting it to full use.

While we talk a lot about accommodations, food, heat, etc., let's make room for some God talk too. Seeking God's direction in prayer is essential. Just as important is to not keep what God is showing us individually to ourselves.

As the week progresses, I'll be sharing the works of God with you that I see. I hope you return the favor.

I'll be honest, I go on mission trips for myself. I love to travel. I love to see God working in cultures outside the Bible belt. I love the way God pricks my heart with the message he has for me in people I've never met. As Gaylon put it, "steel sharpens steel".

May God bless you, the words conveyed here, and His work here in Grenada.

Until tomorrow ...

Mark