Kingston VBS '25, pt 2

 Friday, July 4th, I hit the number I needed in order to make the trip to Canada. My plan was to take Saturday easy, and on Monday, to do several more deliveries to have a buffer.

That weekend, I was dog-sitting. I stretched out in the grass to read a book while the dog raced back and forth across the yard, letting out his energy. He was so happy to be out of his pen. Unfortunately, one time that he raced by me, he got too close, and his head collided with mine. I was a little dazed, but the poor dog seemed to be more disoriented than I. I went about my day as usual.

On Sunday, I was inexplicably tired. By the evening, I was developing a headache and feeling dizzy and nauseated. I joined the Albertsons for a snack, but continued feeling worse. One of them ended up driving me home, because my vision was becoming distorted. By Monday, I couldn’t check my car’s side mirrors because it was making me black out. Wednesday, I visited the chiropractor, who told me that I had a concussion. Wednesday night, I left the service because the noise and lights were causing me to nearly pass out.

There I was. Barely functioning. Couldn’t drive. Couldn’t go outside (or even turn the lights on) without sunglasses. Couldn’t even braid my hair (the weight was too much). Couldn’t think straight. And in less than 48 hours, I was supposed to be driving four teenagers out of the country to teach VBS to a church full of loud kids and bright lights.

God knew that if I didn’t go to Spring Creek youth camp, I wouldn’t meet the Grillos. If the Grillos couldn’t go on the trip, James couldn’t go, either. I would’ve had no helpers and no driver, and I would’ve had to cancel the entire trip. But God worked it all out.

There’s the rest of the backstory. Stay tuned for the real excitement.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2025 Recap

While I regularly have thought about updating my blog, but I regularly have not listened to myself.  It's been more than a year since my last post, and too much has happened to detail.  The stories that are truly worth remembering can be expected to come soon! (and not a year-from-now soon) Buckle up.  I've got a lot to share, and the ride you're on will be chaotic. The past year was full of missions!  In January, I traveled to Chiapas and Oaxaca in Mexico to visit two missionary families our church supports.  In February, I stayed home, and the missionaries came to visit us!  Our church held a missions rally to encourage and connect with the Native American missionaries in our region.  The dormitories were packed, and I enjoyed meeting and learning from several new missionaries. In March, I toured with our school's quartet.  (We jokingly called ourselves the "Alpha and Omega Quartet," because we figured it would be the first and last time the sch...
Read more

Kingston VBS '25, pt 1

For the past three years, I have traveled each summer to Kingston, ON, to hold VBS for my friends, Andrew and Suzie Manley.  Each trip has been a unique experience, and each time, I have left with interesting stories to tell.  This year's experience was far beyond unique and interesting:  it was possibly the most impactful experience of my life. The story begins in early June.  I wanted to organize a group of young people to join me for the trip because having extra hands is a tremendous blessing for VBSes, and because I love involving young people in outreach.  It's so fun to watch them learn to do new things!  The previous year, I had brought along Janna, a young lady from Indiana.  So I reached out to her and made plans to pick her up along my route. Although I had prayed and asked around, I could not find anyone else to go who was both willing and had a passport.  James (from my church here) wanted to go, but he and his parents weren't convinc...
Read more