First Time In Eight Years!

If you know me, you know that I go ever where with my kids. Well, I had the privilege of going somewhere with out them. Until this past weekend, I had only left my kids once over night. Steve had a youth staff retreat that we both got to enjoy. I have been on every youth retreat and youthstaff retreat since we got married. The kids have always been with us, but thanks to Daniel and Michelle we got a taste of what one would be like without the kids.

The weekend was great! I met people, stayed up late, stayed on the 16th floor, watched cable TV, ate meals someone else had cooked and got to see my husband in action! The best part was getting to know my small group. At the first of the retreat, we were put into groups. On Saturday, we had a task to complete. We were given 40 dollars to go and serve the kingdom. It could be as simple as passing out water to people which some groups did. We had only 1hour and a half to perform this task.

We decided that we wanted to buy children's books and go and read to kids at a hospital. So, our group split up. One would buy the books and the other would find a hospital. Oh, did I mention that the best group project won Starbucks cards! We found out that you must have background checks to read at most hospitals. Standing in the middle of Target trying to figure out what to buy, I got a little hyper. I was worried about running out of time. So, we decided to buy one gift bag and some notecards and just go and write notes of encouragement to some sick children.

We drove up to Children's Medical Center. This is the same hospital that the Siamese twins were separated at. It is a wonderful hospital for kids but it is huge. Steve dropped us off, because parking was crazy. We met up with the other half of our group. As I walked in, I thought that we probably were not going to perform any kind of acts of service. Okay, I am totally a skeptic. We got in and a guy in our group who had been a missionary went around the corner. He came back and said I found a kid. A small cute kid in a wagon pulled by his mother and followed by his father came around the corner. This little boy had been bitten by a copperhead snake the night before and was airlifted in from a town about 2 hours away. The family was from Maryland just visiting relatives. We gave him a gift bag. His parents were amazed. We had a neat conversation with them. They were certainly open to hear what we had to say.

God amazes me all the time. As I walked into that hospital, I thought well I wasted this 40 dollars. He showed me that faith can go a long way and that He will work it out for His glory not mine! He also showed me that even though I may not have a plan-He will have one for me!