S.A.V.E.

Back when our kids were in high school (they will be 34 this month), I was able to go with them on our church’s youth choir tour each summer. Those trips hold some of my favorite memories. This morning, I was looking through a drawer for a toboggan that hubby has misplaced and I found an envelope. I pulled it out and read it . . .and remembered the day with 2020 vision (not 2020 the year but 2020 as in perfect clarity). Our choir director always tried to schedule at least one mission activity into each summer’s tour, along with concerts in churches, and a “singing of the national anthem” at a baseball game! We even sang on the field at Fenway Park! (another story for another day) One year we traveled to San Antonio, TX and our mission project was a day with SAVE – San Antonio Volunteer Experience. Even before COVID-19 hit, I was a bit of a germaphobe. My husband would say I am an over the top germaphobe. We arrived for the day and I was assigned to work in the daycare with a bunch of germy children (I wasn’t a grandmother yet!!). The day was a life changer. At the end of the day, we had a time of decompression and we were asked to write a letter, put it in an envelope, address it to ourselves, and turn it in. They mailed those letters to us at Christmas that year. Here is my letter:

Dear God,

I couldn’t decide whether to write this letter to you or to myself because I want to remember it ALL. Then I thought, of course it should be to God – To God be the glory for an awesome day.

Lord, I never want to forget Esperanza and her sweet face when she looked up at me at lunch and said, “I used to have a home.”

Lord, I never want to forget that.

Lord, I never want to forget what it felt like to see white, black, and Hispanic children all together all in one room.

Lord, I never want to forget the sweet group of 4 siblings (3 little girls and a brother) and what they sounded like as they sang “Jesus Loves Me.”

Lord, I never want to forget how our kids – Jon, William, Marty, Timmy, Anna, Lindsey, Lydia, and Ashley – taught those homeless kids “you are mighty, you are holy.”

Lord, I never want to forget how a cup of jello was special to a 5 year old!! Nor how they ate their food without complaining.

Lord, what an awesome day. We went hoping that they would see Jesus on our faces and there YOU were – everywhere I looked.

Lord, thank you for loving me.

Y’all – as I typed those words, I felt the emotion of the day. I could see pictures in my mind’s eye of the area outside where we played, of the room where we sat around the table. I could hear the sweet voices singing and talking. I don’t know about you but sometimes I need to slow down and be thankful for all of the things in my life. I need to remember that God shows up in the most unexpected places.

Thanks be to God.

Just a few pictures of scrapbook pages from that trip:

our son playing the guitar - far right

our daughter was one of the singers (can't see her)

As a chaperone, it was so fun to get to know

other adults from our very large church. After

you spend a week on a tour bus, you feel like

you know people really well! Haha!