Fruit Inspection

Tomorrow the kids and I are headed to the Gulf. Unfortunately, Jeremy has to man the store and cannot get away for an entire week. We will be meeting a group of volunteers down there from Lighthouse Family Retreat. I found out about this organization through a friend of mine who attended one of their retreats 2 years ago.

I had been trying to find a way for our family to serve together. To put into action all the things I tell them about caring for other people. Being the hands and feet of Jesus. And just taking time to put others’ needs ahead of our own. Going on an overseas mission trip crossed my mind, but the expense and my irrational fear of flying nipped that in the bud.

This mission trip is only a 6 hour drive. I can definitely handle that! And it involves families just like ours. With one exception. The retreat families have a child who is fighting cancer.

Their lives have been disrupted by hospital stays, sickness and fears none of us can pretend to understand. And once that child is at a point in their treatment where the Dr gives the okay to travel, these families are offered an all expense paid vacation to the white, sandy beaches of Florida. That is where volunteer families, like ours, will be available to serve them meals, do their laundry and clean their condo’s. All so they can just relax and be together. No worries for a while. Just a normal family again.

We’ve been planning this trip since February and I wasn’t sure how much the kids were grasping about what were doing. We have prayed for our future family and asked God to make the little child well enough to go. I’ve also read to them all the literature Lighthouse Family Retreat sent me about preparing for our stay and what will be expected of us while we we’re there. It wasn’t until I saw the email above, written by Savannah to a friend she met at a homeschool event this summer, that I knew she was excited and ready to serve. And that makes me ready to serve!