A MISSION TRIP TO JOPLIN?? ARE YOU TEASING ME, GOD??

I know God doesn't tease

but, these last couple of months

have been a merry go round,

so for just a moment I cocked my head...

I have spent hours trying to find a woman's
shelter that would allow Skyler
 and myself to come in and

teach some art project
for a couple of days.

Everywhere I turned I was turned down
because we didn't have the
criminal background checks.

I totally understood where
they were coming from

but, it was very frustrating.
(Misunderstanding God IS
frustrating, isn't it!!)

So, I sat back and waited for God to show me

where he wanted us to go.

JOPLIN.

JOPLIN, MISSOURI.

Well, I did't ignore him,

so I called Skyler

and told her the change of plans.

She was excited about going to Joplin

and helping the people that live there

and have found themselves

smack in the middle of Hell.

I was excited, too.

We can be very effective in Joplin.

There is so much to do.

And, even though God changed "our" plans,

we feel we're still able to help

the children.

We are going to hit every

Big Lots, Dollar General store and

the other dollar stores

and I am going to buy every

coloring book and crayola product

I can find.

In our hotel at night

we are going to stamp lunch sacks

with precious stamps

and fill the sacks with

the loot I am able to gather!

We're going to fill hundreds of sacks

(that's my hope)

and find the Salvation Army when

we get there because I've heard that

they are keeping the kids

during the day while their parents

work on putting their lives back together.

Isn't this just the best thing??

God is so good. He knew all along

where he wanted us and we're thrilled

to follow his lead!!

Do you still want to help?

You can send checks or

coloring books, construction paper,

glue sticks, kids scissors,
glitter sticks

and crayola products.

Your help would be such a blessing
And, remember, we're leaving
June 24th!

And, if you've already sent me

tags, don't worry about them being used.

You know what else God have let

me know??

He wants me to volunteer at the

woman's shelter here, in Kerr County.

I can do general work

and I'm hopeful that I can teach

art projects to give the women

a break from worrying about their future.

Isn't that just the best??

I love God!!

So, if you want to help with

our mission trip, send donations to me at:

Jan Vermillion-Thomason

5720 Hwy. 27

Center Point, Texas 78010

Can't help with donations??

We need lots of prayer and that

would be a huge gift.

Thank you, God bless you,
and I think you

are absolutely wonderful!

         Jan



MY MOTHER, MY FRIEND

I've been wrestling all day with sharing some things with y'all - before I get into all of that, look at this photo. It's my mother. She has always thought that she looks like a boy in this picture, but I think she looks like, well, like 'her'. And, look closely - you can see that she's holding the locket on the necklace around her neck.
Of course, I love this picture. I adore it.
What I've been wrestling with is sharing with y'all how bad yesterday really was for me. I have been skimming over my feelings about all that has happened to my mother when posting because
I am quite aware that I'm not the first one to deal with an elderly (she would kill me for using that word! LOL) parent's health issues.
So, why should I give what I'm going through credence by blogging about it, by telling y'all?
I decided that I should because, first of all, there are those of you that haven't dealt with aging parents and health issues and maybe what I'm going through can help you in some way.
And, also because this is my blog, my diary of sorts, and I can write about what I want to write about - ewww, a little attitude caused by stress. LOL

Yesterday was hard in that it was another day of watching my mom act like she's on morphine.
Which she is, I know that.
I'm not THAT stressed.
Watching her doze, see things that aren't there (a bug - oh gosh, if there really was a bug there, please let it not be a june bug), doze, refuse to eat, doze, drink very little, doze, and for some reason, yesterday she had to go to the bathroom (or felt like she did) at least 12 times during the day.
It was an exhausting day though not that unusual of one since I got here on Tuesday night.

So, when the night nurse got here at 10:30, I went to bed very willingly.
I read for a long bit (Water for Elephants - it's soooooo good), crunched my nightly glass of ice as I read (pure heaven), finished reading, turned out the light and settled down into the soft bed under the fluffy comforter (remember, I'm in Michigan where it's already winter).
Ohhhh, it felt so good.
I said my nighttime prayers which I usually fall asleep saying and laid there thinking about the day and all that my mom had been going through.
It was then that I started to sob.
I just started sobbing. No warning. No toilet paper.
I cried for what seemed like forever, but, in reality, just long enough to soak my pillow, puff my eyes completely closed and impact my nose with snot.
I was so sad.
It hurts me so badly to see my mom not be my mom. Does that make sense?
And, I am well aware that I'm not the first, nor will I be the last, adult child to go through this. . . .so, when your best friend, or a person that goes to your church, or a neighbor, goes through something like this, pray really hard for them.
Pray for them, cook for them, why aren't you cooking for me?, help take care of their family, hug them, and do favors for them without having to first be asked.

Y'all have been so wonderful to me - your post comments and your emails.
Thank you for caring enough about me to care about my mother.

love,

MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008

MOM UPDATE:
mom is doing so much better today! she actually did quite well yesterday, also. She's been eating some (praise God), focusing, watching a bit of television(we just finished watching The Price is Right - it reminded me of the boys when they were young - they loved that show.), visiting, had a bath, and is wearing clothes instead of p.j.'s today!
I'm so excited about how she looks and is acting.

Praise God and thank you for praying.

And, after I finish this post p.s., i'm going to find that paper and glitter i brought with me! woooooooo hoooooooo!!!
I am so blessed with my family and friends. All y'all have been so darling. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers. Just keep on prayin'!

xoxo, jan