Skiles Drama at its Greatest

So this evening I was innocently checking Facebook in my room in the basement. Rebekah was in the bathroom down here dying her t-shirt, Susannah was upstairs on the computer, and Abigail was out in the garden. The rest of the family was out harvesting. Well, I heard this crash and then these frantic tweets and the fluttering of wings.

*Let me take you back for a moment to last summer, when Rebekah and I came home from school to an empty house. I was going down to the basement room when I heard this shrieking sound coming from this little black mass of something on the floor. Rebekah and I, amidst lots of random screams and nervous steps down the basement stairs, discovered that it was a nest full of Chimney Swifts that had fallen down out of our chimney onto the floor. Our basement isn't quite finished yet, see. That was quite the experience.*

So this time, I knew it was the birds again. But...they were big this time, and they were flying.

*Let me take you back again to when I was little. My uncle had a parakeet named Buddy (that was supposed to be a boy but kept laying eggs...so apparently not) and sometimes it would fly around the house. I remember screaming and hiding under my aunt's bed because I was so scared. I like little birds chirping outside and I like shooting pheasants and dove and quail and eating them, but I do NOT like birds flying around in small places where they might hit me in the head.*

Okay, back to the story. So I took a few tentative steps toward the commotion and at the same moment I saw a bird flying into the porch door upstairs and one flying right toward me! I screamed pretty much at the top of my lungs and bolted for my bedroom slamming the door behind me. I could hear the bird flying into things outside. I yelled at the top of my lungs for help over and over again and finally my sisters came around. Rebekah, totally oblivious, came out of the bathroom to the washing machine, when suddenly the bird flew right toward her. SHE shrieked and dropped to the floor in a heap, then pulled the laundry basket over her head. By now the poor bird was behind the washing machine, apparently quite stuck. Abigail and Susannah climbed on top of the washing machines to try to dig it out. You should have heard our dialogue:

Me: Why don't you get a net? Do we have a net?
Abby: I have my fish net, but it's like "this" big.
Me: Oh well. Maybe if we got a hoe. Do you think? (I'm still peeking out from behind my door)
Abby gives up and climbs down, then Rebekah puts the laundry basket down and braves the task.
Rebekah: Here, birdy, birdy. Come on. Ah! (wings fluttering)
Me: Is it out?
Rebekah: No, it just moved. Stop moving!
Susannah: You WANT it to move, Rebekah, you're trying to get it out.

So Abigail leaves, I'm not sure why, because she was the bravest one there. I decide to go look for some sort of tool and bring in a rake. Suddenly the bird flies out of where it is hiding and slams right into the light, and dive bombs into a pile of cardboard boxes. Of course, we're all screaming while it's in flight, ducking and running. And then we were quoting Pete's Dragon:
"And then, he smiled at me."
"Well, did you smile back?"
"I didn't have TIME to smile back! I was too busy RUNNING!"

We all three tentatively start picking away at the boxes, calling for the bird and even whistling for it. I suggested we find some birdseed and lure it out, but you know, that wasn't really considered as a valid option.

Then, we found it, sitting askew on a board. We didn't know what to do, although we considered scooping it into a box, but we were afraid it would fly again. So we called Abigail and she came back downstairs and scooped it up in her hands and took it outside. She set it on the slide and it flew away. End of story. At least it was a happy one. We were afraid it broke itself when it hit the light.

Abigail: It's just a poor little bird scared to death.
Me: IT'S scared to death? What about me? It flew into my head!

So how many Skiles girls does it take to get a bird out of the basement? Abigail, apparently.

So, that was camp

For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth.

The Lord truly did great and wondrous things at camp. And most of them revolved around revealing His truth to the girls I was with. It was really beautiful.

The week I counseled high school girls, one of the speakers shared about "toxic faith," or lies that we believe as truth. It fascinated me that this very thing is what the Lord has been trying to teach me this past year, and it was so good to see the Lord open my girls' eyes and show them the very things He has been proving to me - that they are beautiful, cherished, and loved. We had lots of good talks complete with tears and thank-you prayers. The Lord also gave me the opportunity to teach the girls afternoon Bible study for the week! I got to share on Thursday and Friday, and just shared about Hannah and Leah, two of my current favorite Bible women, and all that the Lord did for them and in them. It was really cool. I am always so thankful for any chance to teach, since it's kind of in my blood, but this time I was just really humbled by the fact that the Lord opened the door for me. It was so kind of Him. A girl in my cabin trusted Christ, too, after years of pretending to be a believer. And I got to spend time with one of my favorite boys in the world, who trusted Christ when he was 13, a few years ago, and is doing really well spiritually. He has the hardest life of almost anyone I know, but he is pressing on to know the Lord and it's so cool to see.

The second week was quite a stretching one. I was speaking at KBC for the girls grade school week. I had never been the only speaker at the week of camp, for morning and evening messages, and I must confess, that was pretty hard. Coming straight from school to working at the cemetery and then straight to camp two weeks after school, I definitely didn't feel as prepared as I would have like to have been, but that's okay, because the Lord had important things to teach me about dependence on Him and not on my own ability. Frankly, after I teach (anything, English, writing, Bible) I can generally feel like, "Yep, that went pretty well." But this week I didn't feel that way very much at all. One of my close friends who was counseling said that sometimes she did find it hard to follow the messages, even. That was pretty humbling. But the Lord used them - and even to teach the girls what I felt the Lord wanted as my objective. One girls said she learned more about Jesus' sacrifice for us, another about God's great love, another about the fact that she herself was special and loved, and one told me, after an especially difficult message, "Ms. Liz, that message was for me." So, the Lord was reminding me that it is His work and He only calls me to obey.

I was reminded one evening that it's actually kind of silly that when we have a hard week we talk about dependence on the Lord, when in reality we have to live every day depending on Him. It's true. But He does use those hard days to remind us, oh so vividly, that we have to trust Him for everything.

Thank you for praying. God did prove Himself strong and victorious through the two weeks of camp, and I'm thankful. It's back to work now. I'm not sure I'm ready to face the rest of the summer on a lawn mower, but it's again that daily dependence on my Lord. He will carry me through. :)

My Daddy

Daddy, I’m scared.
It’s ok, honey. It was just a bad dream.
No, Daddy, it was real. There were big bad guys. They were gonna get me.
Well, Daddy’s here now. It will be ok.
Can you stay here with me, Daddy?
Sure, sweetie. Daddy’s here. Let’s just tuck these covers up...there.
Daddy, I don’t want those men to get me.
Don’t worry. Daddy will keep you safe.
Do big men ever try to get you, Daddy?
Sometimes, but they’re not like the ones in your dream.
What are they like?
They’re kind of sneaky. They’re called problems. They come in all shapes and sizes. They tell me stories that aren’t true about my life and about God.
Do they scare you, Daddy?
Sometimes.
Who chases them away for you?
My Daddy.
Who’s your daddy, silly Daddy?
He’s big and strong. And He’s your Daddy, too.
Who, Daddy?
Well, He lives up in heaven, but He’s right here with us, too...
It’s God! Will I have problems like you when I’m big, Daddy?
I’m afraid so, sweetie.
Why?
That’s just what life is like, hon.
Will you keep me safe?
If this daddy can’t, your other Daddy will.
Why?
Because He loves you. And He’s even bigger and stronger than me. He takes care of His little girls.
Always, Daddy?
Always.
I’m glad I have two Daddys.
Me too, hon. Goodnight.
‘Night, Daddy.

Lovely Summer

Here I am again, blogging. I know, it has been ages. Truthfully, it has been a long time since I've felt like writing. I just haven't been up to it, so I haven't written. But summer is here now, and I'm planning on resting a lot, even though I'm working full time. Trust me, mowing a cemetery 8 hours a day is resting compared to sitting in a classroom for 21 months in a row (two years at Emmaus with a summer of classes in between). Yes, I am working for the city of Pratt, keeping up the cemetery there, mowing, trimming, etc. The Lord so graciously provided this job for me and I feel very thankful. It pays minimum wage, but 40 hour weeks even at minimum wage adds up. There are a few things I'm hoping to be able to buy after I pay off this year's school bill (although that bill is very small indeed, since the Lord has provided so amazingly for me), like a laptop battery (Delton - his name - has needed a battery for at least 7 months or so), a nice-ish camera (my old one bit the dust), new glasses. Then hopefully I can make some advance payments for next year, but we'll see where the Lord directs me to use the money.
Where was I? Oh, yes, mowing. So I'm doing lots of it, and enjoying it so far. The hours are long, but I'm so thankful for the job and I enjoy the time alone with the Lord, so it is good. I'm quite sunburnt and my hair is turning red again, which makes me happy. I feel quite pale and sickly being inside all year at school. :)
I'm also planning to go to camp for the first two weeks of June. First, I'm counseling at Sooner Bible Camp, Lord wiling, then speaking at Kansas Bible Camp, for the grade school girls week. Speaking of which, I need to go work on my lessons, so I'm heading off. But hopefully I'll be updating more this summer and just blogging in general. :) TaTa for now!

final prep for Mexico

I've been thinking lately about how truth is truth no matter how I feel or what I believe or how I act. God is faithful and good, no matter how He answers our prayers. He is right and just, no matter what He does. I am thankful that He has opened so many doors for our team going to Mexico, but even if He chose to shut them all now, before we even go, He would still be good and faithful and nothing can change that. He IS who He IS regardless of what happens in my life!

Well, we're down to our last week before Mexico! Thanks so much for your prayers and support. The Lord has been providing overtime for our team and we feel overwhelmed at the answers to prayer. In a world that is shaking financially and economically, God has proven to us that He is well able to provide. At this point our team has an extra $1100 above what we planned on needing. We're curious to see if something will happen that we're not expecting that we'll need more money for. But if nothing else, the extra will be given to the believers in Leon and Guanajuato (Gwon-a-whotoe), especially the people whose homes we'll be staying in and the elders of the churches. So thank you for praying and sharing! :)

Some people may be concerned about our safety with Mexico being in the news and all. Just to reassure you - we are flying straight to Leon (with a change of planes in MX City), which is in the middle of the country and away from the violence at the border. It should be quite safe. Of course, the Lord is our protector in any case. :)

Things are coming together well. The Lord provided a van and a driver to get us all to Chicago early this Friday morning. We are performing one of our skits/mimes in student chapel Tuesday morning so the rest of the school can have an idea of what we're doing. Both of those are answers to prayer.

Things to pray for:
- Health of our team - it's a dangerous time of year and several of us haven't been feeling the greatest, flus and coughs, etc
- Continued growth as a team - that we would continue to be unified and build each other up in love
- Boldness as we are in Mexico
- Many opportunities to share the gospel
- Salvation of many people
- Our hearts to be changed
- God's glory to be evident to everyone around
- The churches there to be encouraged to step out and evangelize, too

Updates, Lord willing, and possibly even pictures will be available on our blog: www.missiontriptomexico.blogspot.com. Please, check it out and read about our team and our plans. :) (my profile is on there, on a page of older posts - link at the bottom of the page). Do look it up. :)

Thanks again so much for praying! I'm looking forward to writing you in a couple of weeks when we're back and sharing how much the Lord has done.

Mexico Blog!

Ivan created this blog for our team! Check it out! http://missiontriptomexico.blogspot.com/

more about Mexico

Hello, all!
I hope this finds you all doing well and rejoicing in the Lord today. He has won the victory in life and death and just by believing Him, we are on the winning side! No matter what is going on in our lives or in the world, we ARE the victors in this battle if we believe in Jesus. The spiritual world is a real one - and we are made to be like Jesus and glorify God in our bodies and spirits, which sometimes means that we face even more trials and struggles because those things make us realize more and more that we cannot fight on our own and NEED HIM even more!

"Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1 John 5:4-5

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers for me, and especially for this Mexico trip. This is going to be a long update, but some of you have requested it, and if the rest of you don't want to read it, don't feel obligated. :) Just know that plans are going well and the Lord is being glorified in real ways already. He's pretty amazing.

Guess what? We bought our tickets on Sunday! So, barring some natural disaster or the Lord's return, we're planning to leave Friday, March 6 from Chicago! The Lord provided them for about $100 less than we planned for originally back in December. We - Naomi, Victor, Tom and I - got together on Sunday with the couple who were letting us use their credit card and spent a good deal of time in prayer, then started looking for flights. Tom and I have been keeping tabs on them for a while now, so we had somewhere to start. It was a little stressful, because you can't really order 12 tickets on the same flight on the same purchase online, at least not in an ordinary way. So...we ended up getting on the phone with AeroMexico, and then I gave the rep all the information over the phone, which was rather intense, making sure we got all the info right. :) It worked, though, and we got the tickets for an average os $470 each! Praise the Lord! It was really cool to see Him work everything out.

We have finally got a pretty solid schedule for our itinerary worked out, which is a big relief to the guys leading and really exciting to our whole team. Of course, this is subject to change if the Lord switches our plans up - we're quite flexible. :) One of the guys on our team, Ivan Mungia, is actually from one of the towns we'll be working in, and he has helped plan the schedule with his church and such, so that has been really helpful.

So, how about a trip summary? We are going to Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico, north of Mexico City (safety should not be a big problem, considering it is not on the border or in Mexico City). We are flying straight to Leon. Our first four days will be in Leon, working with the church and going around the city door-to-door with gospel tracts and information about Bible studies and also doing street preaching. Then on Wednesday we'll be moving the team to a nearby town, Guanajuato, where Ivan is from, and we'll be doing the same thing with the church there. On Wed. night we'll be having meetings with the three churches from the area. Almost everyone on our team is going to have an opportunity to teach a session with the believers. Lord willing, I'll be teaching a women's class. All the sessions will center on different aspects of evangelism and sharing the gospel. We're pretty excited about that. It's also rather humbling and a little daunting. :) We'll have a day to hang out at a water park and some time to sight-see, but mostly we'll be doing evangelism. We'll be staying in the homes of believers from the area, which will be quite a new experience. :) So, that's basically what we're doing.

Our team. Wow, it's been cool to see how God has brought our team together. There are several that I don't know very well but I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better so we can build each other up in love and work together well. I love praying together already and I'm excited about growing in that area.
Victor E - sophomore whose parents are missionaries in Japan; he's studying elementary education here at school with the plan to return to Japan as a teacher and missionary one day, a natural teacher - people naturally follow him wherever he goes
Tom M - junior from Buffalo, NY, a quiet, serious guy who is studying Bible and computers here; he has a passion for sharing the gospel with others
Naomi S - sophomore from KS, one of my best friends here at school, who loves Jesus and telling people about Him and plans on being an overseas missionary eventually
Samuel O - sophomore from Vera Cruz, Mexico, an international student studying Bible here; his family are not believers and he has a passion to preach the gospel, especially back home in Mexico
Ivan and Laura M - a couple from Guanajuato, Mexico, who live here at the school as Ivan finishes his Bible/computer degree, planning to return home when Ivan's finished; a fun, exciteable couple who are just a huge encouragement to all of us
Laura K - sophomore from TX, a sweet girl who loves the Lord and is wanting to grow more bold to share her faith with others
Jessica P - freshman from IA, who is super excited about going, as she went to Mexico once before and would like to possibly work there in the future; she is one of the people I don't know well but am excited about getting to know better
Rebekkah S - sophomore from CO, in the Intercultural Studies major here at school; she has wanted to be a missionary for as long as she can remember, specifically to Columbia, South America; she is very passionate about her beliefs
Ben M - sophomore from WI, who is quite the unexpected sort of guy - he seems quiet but he's really a ham and is quite fun-loving; he loves people and wants to be stretched and learn more about communicating through sharing the gospel and teaching
Daniel R - sophomore from IA, a quiet, gentle guy who loves life and loves Jesus and also wants to be bolder about sharing Christ and whose coming is a great answer to prayer, because he was unsure for a while due to other commitments
Michelle V - freshman, who I don't know well at all, but she's a gentle, lovely girl who also was unsure for a while whether or not she should come, but we're so thankful she is coming; I'm looking forward to getting to know her better
Celina S - a graduate from Emmaus who came to Peru with us and is meeting us in Mexico! She is a gentle girl who loves Jesus and people so much and will be such a blessing to have with us
Willy T - a middle-aged guy who is a graduate from Emmaus who still lives here in Dubuque; he's what Tom calls an "absent-minded evangelist" (and Tom knows him the best of all of us :), but he's a lot of fun and knows his Bible almost more than anyone else I know

Okay...that was long, but, there it is. :) That's our team! Thanks again, so much for praying and backing me up as I follow the Lord's leading to Mexico next month.