Peru Rising: Going On My First Mission Trip

So, when I first met Fred, he was preparing to go on a mission trip to Peru! We talked through his entire trip there and man, it was intense. I had never experienced something like that before. I had such a wonderful burden to pray for him the entire time. He really made me feel like I was there with how he described each day to me.

I knew, after we started dating, that we’d probably end up on a mission trip together because the Peru trip wasn’t his first time being in the field. That’s when I decided I needed to get a passport. I haven’t had one of those in 14 years.

Actually, I wasn’t sure when or how it would even happen. I knew Fred’s church was planning on going back again and they confirmed it early this year. I gave the idea a cursory thought, but once I heard about how much it was going to cost, I knew it wasn’t going to be possible so I told him I wouldn’t be going. A bummer, but we knew we’d be on a mission trip together at some point.

Right before the boys and I headed back to Minnesota for Easter, it was brought up again and I just couldn’t really see a way it would work. Fred just asked me to pray about it and I agreed.

I also figured I’d be able to start doing tangible things to see if it was possible to go. First, I asked Fred to talk to the pastor leading the trip to see if he thought it would be a good idea for me to go. If I recall, his response was along the line of “if we can’t do a mission trip together, what were we doing together?” Those aren’t his exact words, but I think that was what he was meaning. Ok, so fine, the pastor said I could go.

Second, I emailed my boss. If I couldn’t get the time off then that would nix it right there. My boss came back saying she was thrilled I’d be able to go. lol Ooook so things were definitely looking good toward going. It was getting hard to think that I might not be able to go on the trip.

So, on our way home from Minnesota, we get on the plane, and I open the magazine they always have in the seat pocket. What’s the first page I turn to? This:

I sent Fred a text immediately and of course, he felt like it was just another confirmation. I mean, c’mon, really? I wonder if God could be any more obvious?

Ok, next, I needed to figure out how to come up with the cash to go. Fred and I talked about how to get that by the first deadline. He had a plan. I didn’t quite understand that plan until quite a bit later. Let’s just say, “God’s ways are not our ways.”

Needless to say, the ticket has been paid for, and the balance will be coming up shortly. So I’m going with the team to Peru. Fred has been giving me ideas of what to expect and after having talked with him and praying with him on his previous trip, I know it’s going to be extremely emotional. I know it’s not something I can really prepare for.

I’m excited to see what God will teach me on this trip: how he’ll grow my faith in him, stretch me out of my comfort zone and how much he loves the people we minister to!

DoubleTree by Hilton #DTourParty Twitter Party!

Anyone who’s followed me on Twitter knows I love a good Twitter party! I’m so excited to be joining TheMotherhood and Travel expert Julia Dimon (@JuliaDimon), who blogs about her adventures at Travel Junkie Julia, will join us for the party. Bring your questions for this travel guru!

I’m sure I’ll have a ton of questions since we recently moved to the VA area and we plan on exploring as much as possible!

Research says 70% of people don't know where they're going when beginning the trip-planning process. Are you one of them?

This month, we're throwing a Twitter party to celebrate with DoubleTree by Hilton as they launch DTour, the first-of-its-kind YouTube channel for the hotel industry, created in collaboration with Google.

DTour offers travelers a whole new way to plan and share trips. It's so easy - simply visit the site to upload a photo snapped on Instagram or a video from Facebook. Users can also explore other travelers’ favorite photos, videos, tips and stories to get inspired to plan the trips they’ve always wanted to take!
To celebrate the launch of DTour, DoubleTree by Hilton is also hosting the DTour of a Lifetime competition—a search for six people ready for the adventures of a lifetime. These six chosen winners will serve as brand ambassadors, traveling around the world, experiencing DoubleTree by Hilton hospitality, and creating their own travel tips and stories for DTour. Join the Twitter party to find out more on how to enter!

When: Tuesday, May 21, at 12 noon ET (the party will last one hour)

Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #DTourParty hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Twtvite: http://twtvite.com/dtourparty

Hashtag: #DTourParty

Prizes: We will award five prizes during the party. Winners will be chosen randomly based on correct responses to trivia questions.

• Q1 – 1 tin of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies
• Q2 – 2 tins of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies
• Q3 – 3 tins of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies
• Q4 – 4 tins of DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookies
• Grand Prize (Q5) – Complimentary two-night stay at any DoubleTree by Hilton location

Hosts: @theMotherhood, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann

TweetGrid for the party: http://bit.ly/15Nrte2

My fellow co-hosts:

Alison, Being Alison - @BeingAlison
Amee, Madame Deals - @madamedeals
Andrea, Moody Mama Says - @simplyandreah
Carrie, Carrie With Children - @CarrieWChildren
Emily, Baby Dickey - @babydickey
Jen, The Mom Reviews - @themomjen
Jennifer, The Dirty tShirt - @Jentifa
Julee, Mommy's Memorandum - @jonbonjovious
Toni, Two Traveling Moms - @ToniPatton

Oransi Ionic Fridge Air Purifier Give Away

*I was provided the Oransi for review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Being at my mom’s has us all sharing everything, including her refrigerator. It’s nice to be in a home with a fridge that isn’t 13 yrs old. lol Trust me, I love my Amana and it served us well while we lived in MN. I had an issue with the “fragrance” that came from it after I made certain foods!

See how inconspicuous it is?

I got the Oransi and decided to put it to the test with my homemade, very “aromatic” salsa. When I used to make it, my fridge would stink for days. And I mean after we had eaten it. My parents had never been exposed to my salsa before. The strong scent consisted of fresh garlic, onion, peppers, lemon juice, and tomatoes. Needless to say, when I have made it before, I would rush to open the fridge when I would get anything else out because man, I didn’t want the rest of the house to smell so…great!

Size comparison

Now, I can’t give you a percentage as to what this cut down on for taking the smell out of the fridge with the salsa, but I can tell you it was significant compared to before we used the Oransi. I only used a bowl and plastic wrap to cover it, which isn’t the greatest idea with this concoction. My mom did make a comment about finding something else to put it in, but after the first day of it being in the fridge, I couldn’t smell it any more. Not kidding! She did, but had she smelled it at my old house, without the Oransi, she would’ve been impressed.



This thing is awesome. There’s no sound and I just have to check it occasionally to make sure the batteries are fresh, which is every 45-90 days depending on it’s use. It really takes care of business in this big fridge!
Now you have the opportunity to win one yourself! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wordless Wednesday: Mother's Day

It's been 25 yrs since I last spent Mother's Day with my mom. It was so nice to spend the day with her and my brothers. I was glad to have the boys with me, but I definitely missed my girls! Fred also gave me a wonderful pot of bulbs.I think he knows I miss my garden! How did you spend your Mother's Day?

Don't forget to visit Alesha at Full Time Mama!

Exploring Skyline Caverns: Travel Guide

We started our exploring today! Fred came down from Maryland and since it was going to be a rainy day, we tried to find something “indoors” to do. Initially, my mom had suggested Luray Caverns, but we weren’t sure that’s what we wanted to do. Then dad suggested The Museum of Shenandoah Valley. Fred and I sat in front of the computer weighing our options and we decided to go to the Luray Caverns.

As we were driving there, which is just over an hour away from my house, we passed Skyline Caverns. Driving past, I said, “should we go there instead?” We were only about 20 minutes from the house! Being in agreement to go there, I made a u-turn and headed back.

I have nothing to compare it to, yet, but Skyline was $54 for all four of us compared to about $84! The adults were $18/ea and Buddy was in their “child” range so both boys were only $9. At Luray, Buddy is considered an adult at 13 and their adult prices are $24/ea and the child ticket is $12.

The tour was about an hour and we had a really lovely tour guide for our group of about 15ish? Thankfully we all brought jackets because it was about 55 degrees inside the caverns. We started off learning about how the caverns were discovered and that was in April 1937. Where we stood at the entrance there was a huge man made fire place that was used to warm the caverns.

As you go on the tour, lights are turned on and off. I loved that they sold spelunking helmets for kids! I wish they’d have had colors that weren’t so “little kid”. If they had red or dark blue or black, I would’ve definitely bought them for the boys, but they were mostly pastel colors.

We would walk a short distance and the tour guide would explain about all the things around us and what she’d point out. I was in awe of everything around me. God’s handiwork is utterly fascinating. I didn’t listen very well to our tour guide because I wanted to capture as many photos as possible and I knew I wouldn’t remember everything she said.

We ended up pulling up the rear because we were taking so many photos. There was another group of 4 in our big group who were taking even more pictures than us! And yes, the rest of the group had to wait every single time for us to finish our picture taking. Whaaaaat? It’s not my fault they didn’t bring their cameras!

I have to say, I was in awe of how everything was designed. All of these amazing formations and the people who discovered it could see “things” in them. Like above, that’s supposed to be an eagle. The wingspan is about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the photo.

Above, in Fairyland Lake, you can “see” the Death Star (hahahaha) in the circle, I Love You fingers,  and our guide pointed out a number of other things that I missed because I was so intent on taking photos. =) This lake is actually only a few inches deep and for the most part, what you’re seeing is just a reflection of what’s hanging above the lake.

For the most part, you aren’t supposed to touch anything other than the walls. The chemicals we emit on our skin causes everything to break down over time. They also use various colored lights because the heat from the light also causes erosion of everything in the cavern. We were allowed to touch this, which is believed to have broken off a stalagmite  a number of feet further down the path. It looks set initially, but it’s amazingly smooth.

It was really cool to watch Buddy taking so many photos. He mostly used my phone, but he took a ton of photos. Doodle on the other hand I think was more interested in learning from the tour guide. Towards the end, I could see him ahead of us, but couldn’t figure out what the heck he was doing. As we got closer, it was clear, he was acting like he was an artifact. Yea, only my kid!

We had a really good time exploring all of the different trails and getting a ton of photos. It took us about an hour or so to get through the entire tour. They also have a mini train to ride. We didn’t go on that because it was raining out and I think you ride around above ground. There’s also an Enchanted Dragon Mirror Maze. Now, it’s extremely small and really quick. It was pretty amusing because Doodle ran into the mirror several times. Let’s just say, you shouldn’t run in a mirror maze. =)

If you’re in one of my Google + circles, you can see more of the photos from the excursion there!