Thursday Thirteen

Before I went to Puerto Rico, everyone in my family took a minute to write me a letter. I was instructed to read one letter per day. I started each morning with one of them. They made me laugh, cry and give thanks for my wonderful family. My sweet sisters even included some "green"! Knowing how much I love to blog, Alice created a Thursday Thirteen called:

13 Reasons I love mission trips...

1. There will be an automatic bond for the rest of your life with your teammates.
2. You think you are the one going to help and try to bless other people and you are always the one receiving the blessings.
3. God will speak and reveal things to you in a way that He could not do at home.
4. Laughing, crying and praying together.
5. Falling in love with the people you go to minister to.
6. Understanding we are ALL God's children
7. Sleeping on the world's most uncomfortable beds, but feeling like it is the Ritz Carlton
8. Playing practical jokes (the frog still lives!)...Peggy...wiki wiki :)
9. Memories that will make you cry even years later
10. Seeing what God can and will do when we are willing to be used by Him
11. Learning how small our world really is...
12. Developing a new appreciation and love for your "world"-your home, your job, your family
13. Knowing your life will never be the same.

Sister, I couldn't have said it any better. I indeed will never be the same. Thank you to all my family and friends for holding the ropes for me while I was gone. There were times during the day when fatigue would begin to set in and all of a sudden there would be this burst of energy to keep on going. I know there were people praying for me in these very moments. I can't wait for the next time I can ask you to do the same again.

Alice, I have my "picture"! Thanks for sharing that with me!