As expected, October went by very fast, and the next thing I knew it was the middle of November! People are asking me what I want for my birthday, and I am finally just getting a little breather from the activities of October and early November. Wow!
Everyone wants to know how my new job is going so here is my synopsis thus far: I like working for the casino, and I like my new job. I am making enough right now to make it worthwhile. I think the restaurant has a lot of potential, but a few things need to get straightened out before we will really get on a roll. It seems the kitchen management, the restaurant management, and the customers all have a different idea of what the restaurant is meant to be. This is creating quite a mix up and a lot of confusion. I can only hope that we can at least get the kitchen and restaurant managers on the same page. That would help tremendously. Once that happens, then this job will really be great. The hours are different...most of the time I leave for work around 3pm and get home anywhere from midnight to 2am. I'm almost finished adjusting to the new schedule. Becca is still working on that aspect.
It was great having some of my family here in October. It was very nice to see them and spend some quality time with them. It makes me sad that I will be unable to see them this holiday season.
Becca and I have both decided to go on mission trips again next year. Becca is going to go to Ghana again, and I will return to Guatemala. This time the trips coincide, so no one will be left at home by themselves. I think that will work better for us. However, that makes the trips a little more of a financial burden. However, we have always had great supporters, and the Lord always takes care of His own. We should be sending out letters to notify everyone once we have finished putting them together.
October is looking to be an explosive month. I will finish my time with Triamp helping with the installations. I will start my new job as a fine dining server at Terra Vista (Inside Snoqualmie Casino). I will decide whether to quit Red Robin. Our Flag Football team is playing the two hardest teams in the league back to back. My family is coming to visit. Our worship director is having a baby, so will be inactive.
All this in one month. It is looking like a very busy month. If it ends up being anything like the end of September, I will be exhausted by the time November gets here.
The Lord's will be done.
Well a lot has happened since my return from Guatemala. A lot. My first week back was a weird one. I worked very little, thought a lot, solicited work, and caught up with my wife.
Two days before I left for Guatemala, I took my car in for a flat tire, and was reminded that we need four new tires. A bill, I was not excited about. I decided to let that decision wait until my return to the country (and purchased only the one tire I needed at the time). Now that I am back, I have had another flat tire, leading to the purchase of the other three tires. Woo! Some decisions make themselves. None the less that was an expense I wasn't looking forward to.
The week I got back from Guatemala I wrote a couple emails out to different people. One to a friend that I know that works for a large real estate company, and one to the AV company I work with. I also had scheduled an interview at the casino that is being built just NE of where I live. I went in to interview for the fine dining server position. While I was in the parking lot I ran into a couple guys from the Installations company I have worked with before. They are doing the installation of the 150 televisons, and 175 speakers going into the casino. They offered me full time work through the end of October. Later that day I got a call from the large real estate company that my friend works for, and I checked my email and the AV company had offered me about 10 shifts over the next three weeks. Needless to say I didn't feel too worried about my finances/job situation for the next couple months. However, there were a lot of decisions to be made.
I got hired for the Fine Dining Server position at the new casino. In the mean time I am working full time with Installations company until the training starts. I am excited about the opportunity, and curious to see how it will go. I have been offered full time hours with benefits. I just want to see if I can back up the benefits with the cashflow we need. The job starts training on Oct 15th.
My parents and sister Sara land on Oct 16th. That will be an interesting week. I will work for the installations company Monday and Tuesday. The restaurant wants me to train the rest of the week. I'm hoping I can work something out with them as I don't get to see my family much. I am very excited to see them and am glad they are coming.
Red Robin has been a big dissapointment because they really didn't embrace me. I never felt like they wanted me there after the second week. Oh well. That leaves me to job hunt some more, and look where I am now.
Flag Football started last week. It is something that I am really enjoying. I'm glad that my family will be in town for a game, that should be fun. Our team is not as together as they seemed last year. I hope we can come together some more before we get too much further.
I am working on sending out my thank you letters for those who supported me on my trip to Guatemala. I have been waiting on a few pictures from some others who went on the trip. I dislike waiting on others when it comes to things like this. I would have preferred to mail out my letters two weeks ago. Thanks very much to each of you who helped me to go!
Well that is enough rambling for now. God bless you all.
I'm learning a lot about leadership and decision making on this trip. I am finding I have plenty of room for growth. I will admit this trip has different dynamics than the typical trip. On this trip we are working with missionaries that we are not used to, and Clark and I are bouncing back and forth as leaders. It has been a challenge for Clark to step back and let me lead. It has been a challenge for me to step up and lead when Clark is around. Fortunately, God has worked ways for this to be easier than either of us expected.
I'm getting to understand and work with teenagers a little better. It is a process because of the differences. However, it has been good for me. I look forward to the remaining days as there will be much more change.
For continued updates on our missionary events please visit the Real Missions Blog at : www.2008guatemalateam.blogspot.com
We arrived safely in the town of Canilla on Tuesday. It is a long and tedious drive, but well worth it. We got to meet the Fickers, and they are an amazing family. I will write more about them later, but I'm sure you can imagine a little of what it takes to be a family that moves to Guatemala when you don't speak Spanish and sets up a camp and outreach....and then stays for 15 years!
Yesterday we got to visit a small village (aldea) called Chicoxop. This aldea is of Mayan decent. Most of the people there speak Quiche which is a dialect of Mayan decent that has mixed a little with Spanish, but mostly is very distinct. Needless to say, we had to communicate mostly through hand motions and facial expressions. When we did try to translate, we had to speak, then our translator would repeat what we said in Spanish, which our aldea translator would then repeat in Quiche. Quite a process! By the end of our time there we had put on our VBS with some games and crafts, done two dramas, and a couple funny skits. We loved every second of it.
From a leaders perspective: It is great to watch as the youth we brought here begin to jump into their roles and begin to find their purpose on this trip. You can pick out which ones are 'helpers' and which ones are 'leaders' and which ones are great with the kids. I look forward to assisting these gifts to grow and encouraging these young people to continue to stretch.
I'll write more when I can next. We leave for another Mayan aldea today. Pray for our safe travel, a great welcome, and the Lord's love to be communicated.
-Philip
I'm sure you can guess that I am excited about the upcoming trip. It is 'in my face' already as we get all the last minute stuff done in preparation to leave on the 18th. Since I am leading the trip, there is a lot more of that to do than I am used to. I hope you all got my letter and that you are visiting to keep up to date. Feel free to send me a private note with your email address so that I can update my database.
The team is pumped up and ready to go. We are all expecting really great things. I believe God is going to do some neat works while we are there. I know we are going to be willing vessels, and God loves to use willing vessels.
The Fickers (the long term missionaries we are working with) are very excited. We have received a fresh batch of medical supplies to take for them. We have put together the VBS that we are taking down to use with the children, and the dramas all look great! This Sunday we will be prayed for and launched by Real Life Church.
This will likely be my last post until I am in Guatemala, so please pray for the following:
Safe travel, health, unity, good communication, love to be shared, pray the devotional time is intimate, pray the young people we are taking are all changed forever, pray the people of Guatemala meet Jesus.
Blessings and peace upon you, I thank God that I have such loving and supportive friends and family.
I will be leaving for Guatemala on August 18 very very early in the morning. We will return around August 28th. This is going to be an exploratory mission trip for us, as we are starting a new relationship with some local missionaries in the San Andreas area. They are a team of physicians who have setup a base of operations there and lived in the area for many years now. You should check out their website at: www.adonaiinternationalministries.org
I am excited to go because this will be my first trip leading, and my last step in being released to organize and lead trips in the future. The team that is going is a great team, and I look forward to working with them. We will do local Vacation Bible Schools, a drama, show 'Facing the Giants', medical outreach (two of our team members are in the medical field), some work projects and general evangelism. Every trip is unique in its own way, and I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do through this one.
Please pray for all the finances to come in. Pray for our safe traveling and health. Pray for team unity. Pray for a great start to our relationship with Duane and Leslie. Pray that I do a good job leading, and make the right decisions. Pray for salvation of people, and for them to get connected to God and a local church that will take good care of them. Pray for signs and wonders.
I look forward to sharing with you all that happens when I return. I will update this blog when I can. Thank you all for your support and prayers.
Yes, I love mission trips and I know that God has called me to work on the mission field, but I love coming home. Flying over Seattle, looking out the window make me feel so good.
Seven years and my dream has finally come true. It was so much more that I ever expected it to be! The people of the Mo tribe are so kind and welcoming, they have beautiful faces and warm smile. I can't describe to you the feeling I got the first time I was swarmed by the kids...and when I say swarmed, I mean swarmed! They learn English in school so we were able to talk to the kids a little, but they younger ones were really shy as they are still learning to speak English. The older kids were a big help in communicating. They love to touch our hand and skin because we have hair on our arms and our skin a softer...mostly because we don't have to work with our bare hands from the time we can carry things.
We saw a women carrying a log on her head...a real log about 5 feet long. They carry everything on their heads so we tried to but didn't do very well.
I put in the video that Philip edited for our mission trip. Please take a look at it.
Thank you all for your support and prayers!
Becca
I just finished my Tukwila Police Department interview. I think it went pretty well. Much better than the one three years ago. I will find out officially within the next 10 days, probably sooner.
Becca is doing fine over in Ghana. If you haven't heard, you can check up on the teams progress at:
www.realmissionsghanateam.blogspot.com I am looking forward to her return on Saturday.
Her business is really picking up, which I believe is just God blessing her for being faithful to go. In the meantime, I am continuing to look for a more permanent position. It may be that we just have to push her business forward a bit and try to go big with it. Time will tell.
I'm so looking forward to the weather changing. Hopefully it will change soon. I really like the summers around here. There is some interest in going caving again, and hopefully we can coordinate a team to go.
Becca is heading off to Africa, I'm interviewing with all kinds of different companies, the sun is starting to come out, and missions season has begun. After about six months of living on partial 'retirement' it will be an interesting transition to move to back to working a lot of hours. Well, who knows what might come if it. It all depends on the job that the Lord opens up for me.
I'm reading this book called 'The Four Hour Work Week' by T. Ferris which has changed a few of my perspectives on life. The main points I am working on wrapping my head around are: take vacations while you can still enjoy them, and work towards your dreams now, stop putting them off. Good things to consider, I'm eager to find out what happens over the next six months.
