ok, that was easy

If you ever want to go to the Domincan Republic here is what you do. You talk Ronnie and Linda Tyree along with Chris Hughson into picking you up at the church at 2:30 and driving all the way to Nashville. This is after they help divide over 110 lbs. of books among your members and weighing them hoping that the bathroom scales and the offical American Airline scales weigh the same.

Then you get in line and find out that Sherry isn’t in the system, oh wait yes she is or is she? Then you get all your bags weighed and find that two of the Tyree/Hughson bags weigh in at 49.5 lbs and 50.0 lbs. (The official weight limit)

You get on the plane and fly and fly and set on a plane in a thunderstorm for an hour and then fly some more and go through customs and pay the man the money he wants and find your bags and finally set down and eat that great Dominican supper and it is brought home again to you how good God is.

MOMMA’S AND DADDY’S REPORT……
      Jennifer loves flying. Jennifer did not love it when we feel out of the sky the last 3 feet of our landing in Miami. To tell you the truth I wasn’t that crazy about it myself.
      Paige was asked to carry the digital video camera for me. I found it in the middle of the floor in the MIami airport. She had already boarded the plane. She is really enjoying herself.
      Beau laughed when we fell out of the sky. The kinda laugh a guy laughs when he doesn’t want to scream. The same kinda laugh I think I had.
      Kristen had a little motion sickenss. Took all the proper pills at the proper times and didn’t have any problems.
      We can’t find Trent. 🙂 Just kidding. Trent is doing great and glad to be back.
      Scott pretty much cried everytime our plane took off. Just like last year. 🙂
      Maegan is really enjoying herself so far. 
      Amanda is an old pro and knows how to get around this time around.
      Sherry has her hands full with me.
      I have having a blast!

So that is the quicky report and here are a couple of pictures of what it took to get us here.

Harod

l

Battery running low….. more later

two thirty is really early

Well, if we don’t have it by now it most likely isn’t going with us. That includes a decent nights sleep. I guess I will run on caffeine and adrenaline tomorrow. I spoke with some of the GO gang tonight by phone and by im and they are ready for us tomorrow. I am really looking forward to seeing them again and everyone in the DR who are so fortunate to get to work with.

There is a very good possibility according to those in the know aka Tim Krauss, that we will be doing construction in “The Hole” this week. What a blessing. I can’t wait to run over all those wonderful kids with my wheel barrow. Just kidding kids….

Here are a few photos of the incredible people we may get to hang out with while building on their church – two story I might add.

chowing down at the feeding center in "The Hole"

 

entrance to "the hole"

Well we will try to post from Miami but if not we’ll see you in the DR

Harold

One Day Away

I am so ready for tomorrow morning to be here! Everything I have done today has been a big blur because all I can think about is the trip…I guess that’s a good thing 🙂

I want to thank everyone for all of the encouraging words, messages, cards, and money.  I have never felt so blessed in my entire life.  I am such a lucky girl to have so many caring people who love me and take care of all of my needs! I’m lucky enough to have a great church family at Aberdeen and also being plugged into MCC who treat me just as if I’m there every Sunday! Thank you all so much!

This was really just a thank you blog and I don’t have much else to say besides….I’M READY!!!!!

A very special thanks

Hey guys, just wanted to take a moment to tell each of you from MCC that I and the whole team thank all you guys so very much for all the support and prayers you all have given.  As you heard today we will be very busy this week doing Gods will.  Thanks for the prayers this morning.  I cant speak for everyone but to see you guys gather around us all, well it just reinforces that you all truly cares about each of us, and the mission trip that we are going on.  As Harold said this morning its not just us going we take a part of each of you with us.  And as the plane takes off down the run way Tuesday morning and i am freaking out because i am not comfortable at all flying, well if you start to get nervous and your stomach starts to feel upset for no apparent reason its most likely me passing my fears on to YOU!!!! Love you all              

Scott Cox

Scottc4u2

Second time around

Well this will be my second trip to the Dominican, and i am just as excited this time as i was the last.  I know that i will be doing some of the same things that i did last year, but the thing that really gets me excited is know that maybe just maybe i will get to see some of the same faces from last year.  To see some of the kids who’s faces i still see every time i think of my last trip.  That truly gets me excited.  Also to known that i will get to travel this year with some new guys that have never gotten to see first hand how they can do GODS work through missions.  It is sooooooooooooooooooo exciting.  Paige, Kristen, Beau, and Megan, you guys will never be the same i promise you this. 

Now on to something a little different.  Lets talk about the people who are behind the scenes, the ones that are involved but never leave the soil of the United States.  For example the families of those of us who are traveling this week.  I will use my wife and kids for this entry.  As many of you know MCC funds for missions are raised through fundraisers, and they can be very time consuming.  So much so that a lot of the time i know i have put them in front of things that i need to be doing at home, and with the family.  Yet Barb and the kids support me 100% in missions work.  They know it is what i love to do. Its my calling in life, just hate that it took me 35 years to go on my first trip.  But guess that was Gods plan.  Im sure everyone on the team has made sacrifices time and time again to make this trip a success  I just wanted anyone who had a role in our efforts direct or indirect how very much we appreciate it.  Without the love and support of our family and friends this would not be possible, and tuesday morning just another morning, we would most likely still be sleeping at  2:30 am, not meeting at MCC and getting ready to travel.  So Thanks so very much.  Barb, Austin, Allie, and Aleigha, Thanks for letting Daddy leave for 8 days and thanks for supporting me in this ministry.  I love u all so very much.  And to all you other guys who helped in any way in the lime light or behind the scenes, thanks so much love you all.

better focus

My first trip to the island of Hispaniola was a real eye and mind opening experience. I thought I had things figured out to some degree. Let me tell you this, you can watch TV until your one hundred and not know about a place until you actually visit. The same was true for me and San Francisco but I digress. I will not try to explain all the sights and sounds and feelings because as I just said it would not do any good if I tried. You just cannot get it unless you experience it for yourself.

I do however still believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. With that said I would like for you to look at the picture below and imagine what you think you see. I will help you out with the easy part. For those of you who are from Morgantown or go to MCC you are correct if you guess that the left side of the picture is the back of Renee H. with slightly tasseled hair. Renee had just entered Haiti after a dirty hot walk from the Dominican border. What you might not pick up on quite as quickly is the two young men in the tree on the right. If you look closely you will notice the foot on one of the young men doesn’t look exactly right. You see, he only has one foot but to protect it he normally wears the left shoe from a pair of rubber boots as he plays. The tree they are in is in the middle of the orphanage where they live. It was explained to me that the parents of most of the children there are still living but had to abandon their children due to imperfections with the child. The cost of raising a child that cannot contribute by working is something that most Haitian families cannot bear. These young men are the lucky ones. They were taken in by a local Haitian church who allows them a place to sleep, feeds them and tries to help them with an education.

 

That story is sad enough and you think I would place the picture here and wait for your comments. The problem for me that day was the story did not end here. Just a few minutes before this picture was taken one of the missionaries from G.O. traveled back across the border to purchase our supper. I opened the carry out box similar to something I might run by and get from Sharon at the Farm Boy but when I opened it I noticed a definite difference. The box contained fried chicken and fried plantains. Both of which I am sure were a real treat to anyone in Haiti but to my sensitive American palette it didn’t go down too well. I ate enough to be polite in the stifling heat and then closed my box and took it towards the trash. Before I could dump it in the trash the same missionary who was so kind to go all that way and purchase this meal grabbed my hand and stopped me. He politely asked if I had finished and then opened the box containing my plantains and chicken and began to tear them into pieces. I immediately began to look for the small dog which had obviously been hiding around somewhere but no dog appeared. Instead these two young men in the picture came close and began to eat my scraps, being handed the food one small bite at a time. The food that I had deemed not good enough for me. I immediately began to choke back the tears and that is when the world came into much better focus. At that instant, I had a much better understanding of the haves and have nots. If you are reading this I promise you, you are a have, not a have not. My good friend Pete Wilson puts it this way.

This year as you consider Christmas or birthdays for the kids or that impluse purchase at Wal-Mart I would ask that you think of these two young men and remember how blessed you are and how much responsibility comes with that blessing.

Harold

I 110% KNOW

Four days now, wow!  It doesn’t seem real at all.  Last year I was so concerned with minor details but calm all the way from rasing money to departure.  But this year….haha, this year has been nothing short of a race for finances, a sprint of fund-raisers and recently more geered toward work at least it seems more than last year.  Maybe my being a year older, very slightly more mature has made me look at the reality of the trip’s expenses more closely.  Regardless, with four days left now and feeling secure with what we’ve accomplished, I’m beginning to regain that sense of peace and confidence I had last year.  It’s overwhelming, the power of this peace is unlike any other it is truely being passed straight from God’s hand. 
 
Although my emotions are much the same now comparing to this time last year, my expectations of this trip me have changed conciderably.  I haven’t shared this clearly with anyone yet and this blog probably won’t get the point I’m trying to make either but I’m going to try and perhaps save some other first timer a little heartache ; ).  Let me explain.  Going last year I had never felt more in “God’s Will” (I use this term loosely because so many people take it so many ways, but this isn’t a blog on Biblical Theory so to be continued….)  but I had never felt more in God’s Will simply because I 110% KNOW that God wanted me to go last year.  I wish I had more of an explanation for this but I honestly don’t, I felt something that I had never felt before and for all I know may never feel again. It was far more than emotions or guilt but I’m way off my point so going back…….Last year was different, I went on the trip knowing I was suppose to be there but not sure what I was suppose to do, I mean I knew God didn’t want me just to go and see a third world country there was a reason for me to be there, understand? Looking back I feel that I went about it all wrong I went expecting to do whatever it was that the team and G.O. wanted me to do obviously but I went with an expectation for God. There are times tons of times when you can expect something from God, more specifically when He says He is going to do something; like how Noah expected protection form the storm, Moses expected God’s voice, but I was expecting God to speak to me just because I was doing what He wanted me to be doing for a week! I was sort of a bartering with the Almighty. I saw my listening to the Lord for a week as payment for Him unvieling my life plans or whatever other big thing I was expecting for God to give me.  Still following?  I’m not saying I didn’t hear from God last year in the D.R. that couldn’t be further from the truth He reveiled things to me that I so badly needed to see and things I will never forget.  In conclusion to this over-summarized Novel of a paragraph I see now that I can’t grow closer to God by doing works, no one can from works alone.  I can’t expect God to show up and work exactly the way I want Him to when I want Him to.  God isn’t a mall santa or a genie in a bottle…..bay-bae! LOL   But really He isn’t!    We should never think, “okay God talk to me,” (like I did) that may not make total sense at first but stay with me here…. When Paul says in 1 Thess. “Pray WITHOUT CEASING” He is serious about it  But think about it, praying WITHOUT CEASING?!?!?!  Only if you’re Harold McKee right? LOL  but really Paul means this literallyif we’re ever going to accomplish this task we can never be able to say…. “Okay God now talk…”  “Okay Santa I want…..” Is where you’re putting God when you say this! Prayer as I’m sure you know is not simply saying words in your head or muttering them outloud, it’s a conversation, you speak but you also….wait for it…… LISTEN so if we pray without ceasing or stopping we must always be listening never to have the moment of disconnect followed with, “Okay God now talk.”
 
 I’m so excited about this whole experience and this year I’m going back with one goal in mind  ” spread the kingdom ” <another story within itself but  I speak for the team when I say we plan on accomplishing this goal through service of any form. This is where ministry of any kind starts!
 
Last thing I’ve never been more excited for anything in my life I think I just said that o well….  This is such a great oppourtunity I’m so glad to be going. Very last, I am nothing short of honored to go again with such a great group of people I know this word iscalloused to say the least and worn out as my bandana but I mean it from the bottom of my heart!
 
 

a la paz,

 

TrrENTalina

getting closer

I’m not much of a blogger, I have actually gotten away with the past couple of months without having to write one…but Harold can wait no longer lol.

It’s Wednesday afternoon, and on Tuesday at 2:45 am I will be departing Morgantown for my farthest travel yet, the Dominican Republic. It has been years since I first started dreaming of going on a mission trip. This year my opportunity finally came. Ever since I got the final permission to go, this trip has consumed a lot of my life. From the daydreaming to the fundraising, it has been a part of my everyday life. This week I have started sleeping less, I don’t know when my excitement will finally peak, but the closer we get the less amount of sleep I am receiving (and I don’t mind)!

I am 17 years old, and going into my Senior year of highschool. One of my goals in life is to spread God’s Kingdom, and it is also a lot of other christians’ goal. Another big goal in my life is to inspire people. In the Dominican, our team will be spreading God’s Kingdom, and that’s great, our goal is to help and be a shining light to reflect the glory of God. That’s a pretty awesome thing, but I want more. Not only do I want for our team to be a success, I want our team to inspire the people at home. I want people to realize that they can go out and make a difference, whether it’s locally or in a foreign country. God gave us all gift’s and talents, we just need to figure out how to use them to help in the spreading of his word. I know that MCC’s Mission Team will be making a difference in people’s lives next week, including all of our own. So I ask for prayer, prayer for our team, prayer for the people in the Dominican, prayer for people at home, and prayer for anyone we may meet along the way.

satan hates mission trips

I find it very predictable that any time I am preparing for a trip of this nature that satan gets really involved in my life. It seems like appliances are a favorite target or automobiles. Anything to drain my money and attention. This trip is no exception although he has been more creative.

This year, although we have had appliance problems, it is my day job. Over the past week I have been working many 12 to 18 hour days. A nice twist compared to previous years. I have come to see it as a right of passage for the trips. A kind of badge of honor if you will. Don’t get me wrong I would gladly not have these things happen but it has become a kind of sign post for me and Sherry to know that we are heading in the right direction. Our own personal “count it all joy” kind of thing.

Wouldn’t it be better if all of a sudden money just starting showing up around the house in unexplained ways? That’s a sign post I could live with.

Give me a comment and tell me what has satan done in the past as you prepared to do the Lord’s work? Please don’t tell me it’s just me.

Harold

No words can describe.

I cannot believe that I am going to the Dominican Republic in exactly one week. It seems so unreal. I never thought I would have such an AMAZIING opportunity to travel to another country with a GREAT group of people to fulfill our calling to spread God’s word and further His kingdom.

This is my first mission trip and my heart is feeling everything excitement/nervousness/anxiousness/impatience/ but more than anything blessed. Thankfully God hasn’t allowed me to worry much yet about my safety. I keep thinking that everything I am doing is pleasing to the Lord and that if anything were to happen to me, I would be doing his will and that is all that matters!!

 
But, I have worried about my effectiveness. I am worried that I will not be able to make a difference in the lives of those people. I know I will impact their lives, but I want to be able to lead someone to Christ or help a believer grow in their relationship with the Lord or teach other non-believers in their country the Word of God. I am praying about this often and just leaving it up to Him!
Mainly, I just can’t wait to get outta the States and be in the Domican and begin this awesome experience!
-Paige