Back2Back Mission Trip....now on to Nigeria!

As many of you know I went to Monterrey Mexico with a family group from our Church this June. It was the most amazing time of my life and I left my heart in Mexico with all the wonderful children. The fact that we got caught in Hurricane Alex only added to the experience, appreciation, and realization of an area in need of love and support! I have been blessed to be going back to Monterrey over Thanksgiving with a group from Iowa. Thanks to many of you my trip was funded 100% down to the dollar. It is amazing to me how God provides and I thank you all for your prayers and support.

Through the Monterrey Mission trip in November I will be going on another Missions trip with Back2Back Ministries (for more info check out their website at www.back2backministries.org) , but this time to Nigeria. When presented with this opportunity to join the trip to Nigeria I initially was not convinced it was something I really wanted to do. Mainly because of the cost, but as I prayed about it in the next several days God keep bring to my heart Comfort vs. Character. The more I prayed the more I realized I was choosing Comfort over Character, so I agree to join Back2Back during my sabbatical and spend 2 weeks in January. It is a very small group (4-6 of us) and we will be in Nigeria Jan. 3-14, 2011.

Now, all I need is the money to get there. We will be involved in fundraisers to earn money, however, I will need sponsors. Right now I am looking for people to sponsor me for $20 toward this once in a lifetime experience. This will go towards my Back2Back mission fees, VISA, donations and Plane ticket to Nigeria. However, I realize that this amount may not be possible, so any amount that you might be able to give would be greatly appreciated. I am currently taking the 2 trips mentioned above, also I will> be leading another trip to Mexico next summer, and God willing headed back> to Monterrey with PCC next summer. Since there are several different trips Back2Back has asked me to help keep track of the donations for them. If you are sending a check, please make it out to Back2Back Ministries or to me and I will forward the money onto them...if you would like my mailing address please email me at princessrk23@gmail.com and I will send it to you. (I didn't figure it would the best thing to post my address on a public website) :-)

I understand that some will feel more comfortable just sending a check directly to Back2Back if this is the case just make sure my Name is in the Memo line so they know who it is for.

The Mailing address is:
Back2Back Ministries
P.O. Box 70 Mason, OH 45040

I believe that with prayer and God's help my financial need will be met.
In addition I am currently donating all my earnings from Scentsy sales to my> mission trip from now until October 31st. Just go to my home page https://rashellkinard.scentsy.us/Home and click on the "Buy from party" Next to the Monterrey Mexico Party or Nigeria under Open Parties. All free items> earned from this party (full sized warmer, bar, and Hanging fresheners are already prizes) will be raffled off to people who participate. I will continue to update this event as fundraising opportunities are announced. I will do the first raffle the end of October and for Nigeria the raffle will take place the end of December

Please pray for me as I prepare for this mission trip and while we are there. Pray that people will see the love of Jesus through us and will be touched in some way. My prayer is that these trip prove to be life changing for the people of Monterrey and Nigeria even more than for myself.

Thank you for letting me share with you what will be one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. If you cannot help in a financial way, please help support me with your prayers. I mainly want to share this season and what God is doing in my life. I will keep you updated as events continue to unfold and thank you so much for your prayers and support!

In His service,
Rashell

Many have ask how much money I am trying to raise and I just got the following email
from Back2Back:
For your 10 day trip, the B2B fee is $1357.50 per person and includes everything while you are in Nigeria (one night hotel cost, housing, fo...od, projects, insurance, and ground transportation). In addition to that is your airfare, any immunizations you need, your Nigeria visa, and any personal spending money you want to bring. Currently, airfare from Cincinnati, Ohio is about $1300.

My first Video...needs work, but it I have to start somewhere

Be the Change you want to see happen....

One of my Managers told me this a few months back and I thought "yeah right I am only one person." Then today read Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Then about the same time I heard this song on Pandora:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7M7cJ4DydQ

And as I read that verse and listen to the song the thought came back to me "Be the Change you want to see happen..." I can either contribute to the problem which is usually the easy route, or I can smile at the person walking down the street I don't know, open the door at the store for the person behind me, or what ever little thing thing it might be. So many people choose comfort over Character and I don't want to be that person. When I think of this in the big picture it is easy to sign up to go on a mission trip to a third world country for a week, but how many of those same people that go on the mission trip turn their nose up to the homeless in the city they live in.

Comfort vs Character has been on my heart a lot because it is hard for me to smile at the stranger I don't know on the street, but maybe if I did this more often I would be making someone feel just a little bit brighter. When I go to the City and have a nice dinner why do I not order an extra soup and bread to go and give it to the person lying next to my car? Yeah it is only one person but in being the change that I want to see happen one less person may not got to bed hungry that night. Being that example to the 4-6 people who are with me at dinner maybe they will follow my lead and the next time they go out with friends do they will do the same thing influence more people.

So even if I only make one person's corner of the world a little brighter if only for a minute I am going to put aside the "yeah right I can't make a difference" attitude and try to be the Change I want to see happen

Lily Grace Kinard

Lily Grace Kinard blessed us all coming into the world on her Grandpa Chuck's Birthday 18Aug10. She weighted 8lbs 9oz and was 21 inches long. I am so looking forward to the spoiling I am going to get to do as her Auntie! I am still in California, but as much as it is killing me it is probably best I wait to see her. My brother and sister in law are not getting much rest and he has to leave next week to go back to their home. I told the new mom I would fly back to the East coast with her which could be super interesting because I hear she has a set of lungs on her.

Thanks for the Many Blessings!

Today as I walked out of work I thought to myself Why do I always let the "you disappointed me speech" always get me down? Even when I have done everything in my power to not disappoint?
I was asking these questions in reference to my Job, where I had spent the last month working my butt off and I had no more to give. Yet even at the end of the day all that I had wasn't good enough. As I drove home I wondered how I would feel if I didn't realize even though I had disappointed someone at work I didn't let God down? Wow no wonder everyone is so depressed, because no matter how hard you work here on earth somebody is always going to want just a little more.
When I arrived home I received donations for my trip to Mexico, so I sat down right away and got the Thank you cards in the mail. Feeling overwhelmed with love and support with this trip I thought "I get it! This is what it is all about" I forgot all about that speech at work and remembered why I am here in the first place. Working is a means to an end, but serving God is the means to Eternity with him!
It was freeing and I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. Thanks for the encouraging words and prayers through out this process. Also for taking this journey along side me and seeing where it all leads!

Blogging for the sake of Blogging

As the smell of the fire stove has now left the afghan my mother knitted me out of my great-grandmother's yard summer has come to an end. I remember being a child and summer would last FOREVER until it would finally be time to go back to school and see your friends, only to want summer break again almost as fast a school started. Anymore I just feel like life is passing me by. I am not sure if that is something that happens with age or if it really is passing me by. There always seems to be another deadline, a to do list that never gets finished, or a trip you keep putting off taking.

With the anticipation of my Niece being born any day now if feel like that little kid who wishes that summer would come to an end. It seems as if we have been waiting on her arrival FOREVER, sometimes to the point I still think "is this really happening" On that note I can't even imagine what my brother is thinking....he probably weights about 140 LBS. right now. For those of you that don't know Kyle he is 6 foot 2, so it really isn't health for him....Then my mind races to another family member and then then next family member. At that point I have to stop myself and realize I will never be able to fix everything, life will go on, and at the end of the day it is the end of the day. God's plan has played out regardless of the fretting and/or worrying I have done through out the day. His plan is definitely bigger and better then I can ever imagine and the proof of that comes with Miss Lily Grace Kinard!!!

Do we need Social Media Detox?

This was a question I was asking myself when this Wednesday night a coworker/friend that needed help from me at work off hours, didn't have my cell phone and thought that he might be able to catch me on Facebook. It was then I had to ask myself if I spend too much of my time on Facebook, texting, emailing instead of engaging in life and the joy of Human to Human interaction and conversation?

This lead me to a conversation with a different coworker talking about "The top 10 ways you can tell if you are addicted to Facebook" So of course I did what everyone in today's society does I went and googled it. I was amazed people really live their lives through Social Media I was dumbfounded....check out this article! http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/23/ep.facebook.addict/index.html This seemed crazy to me!

Then I started to think about it... you are not really required to talk to anyone anymore if you don't feel like it. All conversations can happen electronically in fact there are times when I sit at work and IM with my coworker who is sitting right across from me. It made me kind of sad.

In a world were Social Media has made it possible to keep in contact with relatives and friends from long distances have we lost are ability to live interactive lives? This will make me think twice before I text, email, or Facebook. Maybe I should call, Skype, or even have a party...