My favorite thing....

The sights are beautiful.

The food has been amazing. (Too amazing....)

And the work has been rewarding.

But I have learned an important lesson about myself:

It does not matter if I am in North America or South America....my favorite thing is the people.

In a barrio outside Colon, Argentina with my new friends, Ariel and Lorenzo.

The precious ladies who prepared all our meals in Colon -- they gave so much of themselves!

More little friends in Colon.

I made some sweet friends at our sister church in Buenos Aires -- as I served away from the rest of the Phoenix team I was the only English-speaker. This dear lady stuck to my side, translating for me when I didn't understand and loving me through it all! Thank you, Sol.

One of the young men who served with me as well -- Christian. We had a language barrier but I still understood his dear dear heart!

With Ana Clara and Sol -- Ana Clara runs the ministry to the homeless that we worked with. She came to me early in the trip dragging Sol with her to translate -- "I have fallen in love with Benjamin!" she said. And I smiled, because my boy loves people, too!

We will say many good-byes today at church and then tomorrow will have a team day to de-brief, buy some souvenirs and then board the plane to return home. (We won't arrive until Tuesday, though.)

There is much much more to tell you -- I am sorting it out in my head. We have had a wonderful time. We have had a hard, challenging time. But mainly, we have loved and been loved. And honestly, there is nothing that blesses me more.

Quick update

I have so much to type....but we are just home from high school worship and my eyes are too heavy to form the words. If you would like, you can check out my quick picture post here and trust me, I will be back with so much to say....as soon as I catch some zzzzzs.

In the meantime, we are at the point in our trip where good-byes are so hard and yet, we are also missing our loved ones at home so badly that it hurts....would you cover us in your prayers that we will finish strong? I appreciate you more than I can say!

Blessings, mi amigos.

Leaving our comfort zone.

We knew that leaving home and flying to South America was going way (way way) out of our comfort zone.

We knew that we could not even formulate expectations because life in Argentina was a complete unknown to us.

We knew that leaving Benjamin's power wheels behind was a faith step far outside what he was comfortable with.

We knew our only expectation was that we could not formulate expectations.

Ah.

But we serve an awesome God. He has not been surprised by one minute of this trip. Not only that, but He paved the way and wrote these days in our life before He even spoke us into being.

The fact that we met two girls -- from a set of triplets -- that we have been able to interact with who have Cerebral Palsy was not a coincidence. It was God-ordained. Benjamin shared his testimony to their class. Please pray it spoke truth about their worth in God's eyes to their hearts!

Benjamin playing with our new friends.

 The young Godly men from our team -- and that we have encountered all over Argentina, eager to push Benjamin's chair, load Benjamin on and off the bus, assemble his chair and do it all again multiple times a day -- NOT a happenstance. Again, God-ordained.

Making new friends. Growing in God. Having fun. All because He ordained it.

Claire staying with a family that needs her encouragement as they face possible special needs of their own -- NOT a coincidence.

Claire and her new "sisters" from her host family.

Me and my table of primary students -- they practiced their English over lunch and laughed mightily at my spoken-with-a-southern-drawl-Spanish!

Serving God in a rural barrio four hours north of Buenos Aires without modern conveniences -- oh, such a God-ordained chance for us ALL to experience life far outside our comfort zone.

Just outside Colon, Argentina.

I looked up to see my girl on the back of this moped, grinning from ear to ear!

Mason hard at work.

Sigh. I see Jesus in this open window with "rays" bursting forth...

Holding a turtle...not something this boy would normally do.

With the finished sidewalk and wall to the new clinic in Colon!

No matter how far outside our comfort zone...you can count on us to wear our maroon!

We are being stretched -- sometimes uncomfortably. We are growing -- in beautiful ways. And we are serving -- and being served.

The temperatures have dropped and I am desperately trying to keep everyone warm and free of sickness. Benjamin has reached a level of exhaustion that is hard to battle and though we are loving our new friends here, we desperately miss our family at home. Would you please cover us tonight with prayers?

No doubt God has more growth ahead for us. Your prayers surely (surely surely) are a blessing!

Chau, mi amigos!

Suitcases and Calendars...

The countdown is on...we leave for Argentina in four days. FOUR!

This weekend is filled with counting jeans and all sorts of cold-weather clothing for winter in the southern hemisphere! (Quite a challenge for desert-dwellers who do not even own much winter clothing!)

We'll also be polishing up Little Red's calendar for while we are away -- soccer camp, swim team, Vacation Bible School and a few play dates...just to make sure she doesn't miss us too much. (And I'll be hoping they keep Mom so busy in South America that I don't miss HER so much...)

Sadly, Verizon told me yesterday that my phone won't work while away. I would either need to upgrade to the latest iPhone (at about $700) or switch to AT&T....aargh.  But I plan to blog here whenever I have Wi-Fi or you can check out the Team Argentina blog over here where I will try and keep everyone up to speed on our work!

We are so grateful for our team of friends, family and loved ones all over the country who have supported this mission already with your generous contributions and prayer time! (Did I tell you we raised enough  for not only our four but to offset the costs for a couple other teammates as well?? Our warriors rock!!)

So now, if you wouldn't mind spending more time for us....we would covet your prayers for:

1. Safe travels (leaving Phoenix Wednesday around lunch time, arriving in Buenos Aires Thursday morning.) -- Traveling for this long is an unknown for us, please pray for Benjamin's comfort level on the flight.

2. Changed lives (Mason has finished his sermon...pray for impact as he shares; Benjamin and Claire will be sharing their testimonies as well...pray for God's impact through them.) -- for all we come in contact with but also for the team itself!

3. Dad, Cate and Uncle Len holding down the fort at home -- pray they won't be anxious and will enjoy their sweet time together.

Thank you, dear ones. Your support during this faith-filled journey blesses beyond what words can convey. Thank you!

It's like America. But South.

We have begun the countdown. Nine days until four of the Shrader Six pack up and head to Argentina!

Nine days until we head south -- much further south than we have ever headed before.

Nine days until we put our faith into action and step far far far outside our comfort zone to serve the lovely people of Argentina.

The Commissioning Service at Scottsdale Bible Church. It was beautiful.

Nine days. I have no idea what to expect. But that isn't stopping me. I am expecting great things from this group of teenagers. Great big things.

Claire...

Nine days. Will you pray with me for this group? Will you join me in asking God to work in them; and to work through them?

That's Mason...

Benjamin in the center...

Because in nine days....this is exactly what we want to do:

And that will be a big, huge, giant blessing!

On Mission

My husband is in Honduras this week -- a week long Medical Mission Trip! He arrived this morning and the team immediately began seeing children. Surgeries begin tomorrow.

Can I tell you that I want to be with him so badly? See, I am a Garaywa girl -- Camp Garaywa is a camp for little girls in Mississippi that hosts missionaries each summer who speak to campers, interact with campers, and teach campers about their respective countries, work and calling. I went to Camp Garaywa for the first time in 1977 as a nine-year-old, then again in 1978. I returned as a counselor in 1987 and 1988. The missionaries instilled in this camper/counselor a love for missionaries and missions and a strong desire to take the good news of the gospel to any country that God deemed for me -- and if I got to wear a Sari all the better!

To date, God has sent me around THIS country but not abroad. I love the ministry God has given me -- the ministry of leading my little crew to the Kingdom -- but some days, I still dream of wrapping a Sari around myself and sharing Jesus with women in far-away lands.

So this week, I am thanking God for opening the door for Wade to use his gifts to help children who otherwise wouldn't have the surgeries he and his team will provide. And I am asking God to shine through him as he touches the lives of these little ones.

And I might be asking that one day, just one day....I get a chance to go with him. Oh, wouldn't that be such a blessing?