Day 3 Alicante, Spain

Today, following breakfast and an incredible devotional by Mindy, we took in some of the sights and food of Alicante. I love this street. Seriously, so cute. The area here is beautiful. There is not enough room for all the cool pictures of walking areas.

Amy and Heather strolling down the walk on the way to lunch, followed by a trip to the sea by several of us. 

Becky, Shan, and Lindsey braved the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Truthfully, Lindsey in the middle of this group, is seeing the Sea for the first time in her entire life. It was exciting. They don’t have seas and oceans around Oklahoma. Ha,ha,ha

To my mom and Aunt Myrna you will be excited to see I did a little dumpster diving in a foreign county with some of the other girls. Seriously, it was rather fun and free. Ha,ha,ha you can fight over the piece I’m bringing home. This was our activity on the way to our evening meal.

Three sweet smiles to the end of a wonderful day!!

His,
Love you,
Vickie

Day 2 Madrid/Alicante

We arrived in Madrid, Spain this morning (Saturday) at about 9:30 a.m. their time. We were in the airport for almost 6 hours before flying on to Alicante. You think that Nikki is the “Great Thinker” in this picture. But, truth is she is almost in a coma. Ha,ha,ha,ha

Shan, Danielle, and Mindy are taking it in stride. The rest of the team is taking in stride too. They are either laid out on a set of chairs somewhere or are out walking through the shops in the airport.

For me, I had a team member that found me a cup of Starbucks, so I was good for the long wait. At this point of the journey it is rather funny to watch as jet-lag sets in on each of us. Several found that it didn’t matter where we sat: chairs, restroom, etc., we still felt like we were spinning and/or waves were washing back and forth inside us.

We did make it to Alicante, Spain, around 5:15 this afternoon. This view is out of my hotel room. The team got checked in with all our luggage and trunks.

After that several of us decided to go take a walk before supper time. So we did. This was a beautiful shot one of the girls captured. Not all of the team members made that journey to look around. Some decided to stay at the hotel and do other things before dinner, like rest or clean-up.

This was the part of the team that made it out and about. They were so kind to let me get this shot of them.

Please continue to pray for all of us and the ladies that will be coming.

His,

Vickie

Day 1

The team is all together in Dallas getting ready to board for Madrid!

Pray! Pray! Pray!

We will get into Alicante 5:10 pm Saturday, which will be about 10:10 a.m. your time if central time.

His,
Vickie

The Plane Leaves Friday……

We leave the country this Friday. We packed most of our trunks last week and this week we are packing personal things.
 
God has continued to show Himself strong through the body of Christ. All missionaries are sponsored!!! Thank you to each and everyone of you that have a heart for our missionaries through praying, giving, gifting and going. God is faithful to that which He calls us.

Our last letter to the missionary women went out yesterday. We are praying for them as they too prepare to make their way to Alicante, Spain. Praying for their husbands and children that will be left behind. Also, for our single missionaries as they prepare to leave those around them behind as well.

Keep a watch on the blog starting Friday as I will try to post our journey along the way. Hopefully, I will be able to attach a few pics as well each day.

May I encourage all of you to remember to lift us up in prayer as we step onto the plane Friday to leave the country. We absolutely “feel” your prayers and need them to help us walk out the plans He has for this retreat and this group of women.
 
Sorry this is short but lots of details to take care of in personal packing! Praise the LORD we have a personal check list that we have developed over the years that helps us as a team member not to forget important things, like your passport! Ha,ha,ha,ha Yes, believe it or not that has happened. Oh, the stories that could be told after 19 years of serving in this ministry. Like the time I had a team member go out the wrong door at the airport coming back through customs. I could see her, she could see me, but they would not let her step back through the doorway even though she just went through it. Ha,ha,ha

Praying that all of you have a great rest of the week!

His,
Vickie

Just Saying…..

Saturday morning my great nephew and I made a Walmart run while Nana kept an eye on little sister. On our way home I said, “Hey, how about if I pray for you since you fell asleep on the couch before our prayer time last night?” He said, “ok.” So, I proceeded to pray for him and his day. Toward the end of the prayer I said, “I love you God, I love you Jesus, I love you Holy Spirit.” (Which I have always done with him, wanting him to realize our God is a Triune God.) I finished the prayer with a good, In Jesus Name, conclusion. When we got home and out of the car walking through the garage, he stopped and looked at me. He said, “Vic, you do know that the Holy Spirit is really God?” “Really!” I said and chuckled to myself.

Well, we are 11 days out from stepping on the plane to leave the country to Alicante, Spain. I want to thank all of you that continue to give towards missionary sponsorship. We only have 22 more missionaries to sponsor. Keep praying for those sponsorships and share the opportunity with those you know that have a heart for our missionaries. Go to www.purejoyinternational.org and scroll down to “donate.” It will be exciting to see how God answers our prayers for those sponsorships!

I am hearing from some of the missionaries about our upcoming conference. They are so excited. Excited to be encouraged and refreshed. Encouraged that they are going to get some rest, yet focused time on the LORD. Encouraged that they will be able to meet other missionaries that are serving in their part of the world. Encouraged to be staying in a nice hotel and having meals prepared by someone besides themselves! Ha,ha,ha,ha

And may I also remind us that we all need encouragement? Please take time to reach out to someone today that you may not have spoken to in awhile. Make a visit or even just send a text. You never know the difference God makes through those little acts of thoughtfulness.

His,
Vickie

LORD, Pack My Lunch Today...

Recently, Jamie (one of my nieces), called me to share a funny story about her 6-year-old son. Seems he had been asking her to pack him a lunch for a few days in a row. Not because the school doesn’t serve good meals, but because it is the cool thing to do, carry your lunch. She obviously kept forgetting. Then one evening several days later she went to get something out of the refrigerator just before bed time to find two lunch boxes sitting in the refrigerator. She promptly asked her son what his two lunch boxes were doing in the refrigerator. His response, “I put them there to remind you, Mom, because I know you forget sometimes.” Ha,ha,ha 

This morning, as I was doing my quiet time, I was reminded again about that story as I was reading the line from the LORD’S prayer in Matthew 6:11 that says, “Give us today our daily bread.” I wonder how often we ask Him to “pack our lunch for the day,” to give us our daily bread. And better yet, do we really believe that what He packs for us is enough for the day?

This week I am praying for each of you that lay eyes on this blog, that you will intentionally ask God to pack your lunch daily. Ask Him to give you your daily bread….and believe it is enough no matter what it looks like in the physical. Get those lunch boxes on the prayer closet shelves! (smile)

We have had 3 more missionaries sponsored last week in response to our reminder that it is time to help towards sponsorships, if you are going to help. That leaves us with 28 more that still need to be sponsored. Keep those resources pouring in until that number comes to “0”. To give go to www.purejoyinternational.org scroll down and click on donations. It will give you ways to give and an address if you choose to give by mail.

Love you all and have a JESUS week!

His,
Vickie

It’s Time…

For those of you planning to give to the sponsorship of missionaries for Spain, it is time. We are 3 weeks out from the team leaving the country. We still have 31 missionary women left to sponsor. Any monies you are giving towards this trip need to come in soon. So, seek the LORD and see what He would place on your heart to give. Go to www.purejoyinternational.org. Scroll down to donate and it will give you instructions to give on line and or a mailing address to pay by mail.

Also, you can just click on donation button to the right of this page.

This past weekend I was honored to be a part of the home-going of Robin Bowman a friend and team member for our trip to Moscow this past April and Athens Greece in 2017. What a genuine celebration service it was for all! A true testimony of Jesus Christ and the difference He makes in our lives as believers, if we are willing to Trust and Obey.
   
It was said, that day that we all will leave a legacy. Whether we are intentional about leaving one or not. We will leave one. A legacy meaning what people have to say about you.
 
But, as a believer Robin Bowman left the fragrance of Christ. And that is something that comes only from abiding in Him. What will you leave when you leave this earth? A legacy, a testimony about you.  Or will you leave the fragrance of Christ? A testimony of Him.

Have a great Week!

Love you all,

His,
Vickie